• This program is for:

    Individuals and/or families who reside in Alberta who need short-term counselling related to relationships, sexuality, gender and sexual diversity and sexual health.

  • Costs & Fees

    Our counselling services are free of charge.

  • Location

    Centre for Sexuality offices or virtually online or on the phone.

    Arrangements may be made to meet in public or other community locations.

  • Hours & Availability

    9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Friday
    9 a.m. – 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

  • How to Register

    Book online through our intake form.

  • Contact Us

    Contact Us

Is This An Emergency?

If you’re having a crisis or need to talk with someone right away, Distress Centre, Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line and Canada’s Suicide Crisis Helpline (988) offer 24/7 service.

We are currently experiencing a temporary staffing transition within our counselling team, which may result in a wait for services.

We appreciate your patience and are committed to connecting with you as soon as an appointment becomes available. Please fill out our Intake form to join our waitlist.

We will be prioritizing pregnancy options counselling appointments during this staff transition. Please email dpalmiere@centreforsexuality.ca for pregnancy options counselling.

If you are looking for more immediate support, the following services are available:

Free Supportive Counselling

We believe that all people have the skills, strengths and abilities to achieve their goals. Through our free counselling, we provide emotional support and guidance to help you make positive changes related to your sexual health, gender, sexuality or relationships.

Together, we will work on finding possible solutions to the challenges you are experiencing.

We are unable to provide crisis services. If you need help right now, the Distress Centre and the Alberta Mental Health Help Line offer 24/7 support.

Please note that we offer short-term, solutions-focused counselling, usually lasting 1-5 sessions, free of charge. To continue to offer accessible, barrier-free counselling, we are unable to provide long-term counselling for significant mental health challenges or trauma. If you are looking for affirming mental health and trauma-specific counselling services, you are welcome to reach out to us for alternative service recommendations.

Book Online

Sessions are client-led, which means that you and your counsellor work together on achieving your goals for the session.

We offer short-term, solutions-focused counselling. This means that you will usually meet with us for one to five sessions for support and psychoeducation on a specific issue.

Our free counselling sessions are 60 minutes long and provided by a registered social worker.

Individuals or families who live in Alberta and want support related to a current issue, challenge or concern related to relationships, sexuality, gender and sexual diversity or sexual health. This includes topics like:

  • Gender and sexual diversity support, including: transgender support and resources, identity exploration, coming out as 2SLGBTQ+, support and resources for parents/caregivers or 2SLGBTQ+ children and youth
  • Relationship difficulties, including: setting and maintaining boundaries, consent, communication, decision-making
  • Sexual health support, including STI information and support and sexual difficulties
  • All options pregnancy counselling (parenting, adoption and abortion) and post-abortion counselling

Anyone 13 years and under requires parental consent to access our services. Youth between the ages of 14 and 17 will be assessed to determine if they are a mature minor. If a youth is considered to be a mature minor they can access our services without parental consent.

We are not a crisis service. If you need help right now, contact the Distress Centre or the Alberta Mental Health Help Line.

We do not provide:

Trauma-specific therapy: We find that treatment focused on healing from trauma requires more long-term support than we are able to provide. If you have experienced trauma, we can still support you with the challenges that you are facing today. However, due to the short-term nature of our services, we are unable to provide trauma-specific interventions. We can help you find more in-depth or comprehensive support; contact our Information Specialist for help.

Conversion therapy: We are a feminist and pro-choice organization and do not offer or support any type of conversion therapy. Our support model emphasizes individual choice and self-determination; participation in any of our sessions is voluntary.

Court Mandated Counselling: We do not offer court-ordered or otherwise mandated counselling and do not accept referrals for people involved in the justice system. If you’re looking to access these services, contact us for a referral.

2SLGBTQ+ Supports

We help folks who want emotional support and guidance related to gender and sexual diversity. We can provide information and support related to topics like:

  • Coming out​
  • Exploration of gender and/or sexuality​
  • Navigating medical, social or legal transition
  • Referral letters to gender affirming specialists​
  • Gender affirming gear

If you need more information, please give us a call at 403-283-5580, or fill out an intake form to book a free counselling session.

Safe and supportive environments at home for children, teens and young adults are vital to their well-being. We offer counselling sessions for parents/natural supports of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals to help them create safe, affirming spaces. We cover topics like:​

  • Family relationships
  • Advocacy/systems navigation
  • School systems
  • Healthcare systems​
  • Grief and loss​
  • Strategies to support your 2SLGBTQ+ family member
  • Which behaviours help and which behaviours hurt​

If you need more information, please give us a call at 403-283-5580, or fill out an intake form to book a free counselling session.

We offer referrals to match clients with services and resources that can help them. All referrals are discussed with clients and we always get consent to disclose information before contacting any service on a client’s behalf.

To book a free supportive counselling session, complete our counselling intake form.

Questions?

We’re here to help direct you to the services and supports most useful to you. If you’d like to talk to someone about your options, contact our Information Specialist: intake@centreforsexuality.ca

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