Below you will find answers to frequently asked questions about our specialized child counselling services.
In today’s world, kids often learn how to be friends, listen to others, or check in on their feelings and those of others by trial and error, or not at all. Nobody teaches them these skills.
There’s a gentler, way more fun way for kids to learn, practice, and explore emotional and relational skills— that’s exactly where the Feelings and Friends Group comes in! Our Feelings and Friends program is unique in Calgary, in offering a safe space for kids to learn these essential life skills in a processing group setting.
Here are four features that make this group stand out:
1. Small group, big impact
Kids work in small groups, which means personalized attention and a stronger sense of community. This setting helps children build confidence and leadership skills and fosters real connections.
2. Emotional exploration
Feelings matter! This group teaches kids how to express their emotions, understand their own feelings, and relate to others. They learn the art of being a good friend—listening, empathizing, and supporting one another.
3. Child-led learning
The program is designed to be child-led, meaning kids are encouraged to make decisions, understand social cues, and have their voices heard. It’s all about empowering them to navigate social situations with resilience and positivity.
4. Fun and unique activities
With the guidance of a facilitator, children engage in real-time problem-solving, planning, and teamwork. They learn and grow together, developing emotional and relational skills as they play and celebrate team success. We have exciting, themed days like PJ Day and Beach Day that add an extra layer of fun!
If you’re searching for a program that doesn’t just teach social skills but also nurtures emotional intelligence and helps them practice with other Superhero kids, the Feelings and Friends Group is the perfect choice to give your child the tools to succeed both socially and emotionally.
Explore more about our Feelings and Friends Group and call us to save a spot for your Superhero kiddo.
Yes, EMDR therapy can definitely be used to help children and adolescents. Our team’s Rita Motta is an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapist, and recently wrote this blog post to answer this common question.
Ready to book and appointment?
Call our friendly Intake Team at 403-815-0271 to get started with an EMDR Therapy appointment for you, your child or adolescent kiddo.
Yes, we are hiring!
Our team is growing and we are typically reviewing applications for Registered Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, and Registered Provisional Psychologists.
You can find our current job postings on our Calgary Reconnect Counselling Group careers page.
Thank you for your interest in joining our team. We look forward to reviewing your application.
Yes, we do! At present, four of our therapists offer Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy:
You can learn more about their professional qualifications and expertise by reading their bios on our team page.
Call us at 403-815-0271 to get started with an EMDR Therapy appointment for you or your child.
No. At this time we are not accepting practicum student applications. The Practicum Student position on our team has been filled for fall 2024-spring 2025.
We wish you “OWL” the best and hope that you soon find another wonderful place to complete your practicum hours and grow your experience as a therapist.
Fees for our specialized sessions are $240 to $260 per hour, based on the therapist’s level of expertise, training, and qualifications.
If you would like to work with a supervised practicum student, our fee is $100.
Please note our cancellation policy: if you cancel your appointment in less than 48 hours or two business days or you fail to show up for your arranged session, you will be charged your full session fee.
The Feelings & Friends 90-minute group sessions are $200 each; please check our Groups page for details.
Firstly, the sooner a child can feel better, the better.
In terms of school, feeling stressed impairs a child’s ability to learn. Even more deeply, when a child is not doing well in school, it hinders their sense of worth or self-esteem.
Their emotional struggles affect how a child feels about school and impact how well they can do in school. A sudden drop in school performance is often a signal that something big is going on in a child’s emotional world that requires or could greatly benefit from specialized help.
In therapy, children manage and process their “big feelings” so that the impacts of going through whatever is troubling them do not carry through for weeks, months, or even years into adolescence and adulthood. Kids need to feel better to do better.
Kids need to feel better
to do better.
This way, therapy can be viewed as a way to support your child’s success in school, even when they’re not in school during the session. Therapy can help your child improve their learning, their sense of engagement in their class, their friendships at school, and their sibling relationships.
Many parents have advised that coming in with their child during the daytime allows them to support their child in these areas in a special way. Besides – how many times do you, as a parent, wish you could miss a boring work meeting during the workday?
We are pleased to offer you free onsite parking at the time of your child’s session.
- To park at the free 90-minute visitor parking behind the building, please register your licence plate. Using your smartphone, scan the QR code on the poster located inside the building, across from the elevator (not the posters outside) and follow the prompted process.
- Street parking is also available: 1-hour parking on 17th Avenue and 2-hour parking on 17th Street.
Yes, you are welcome to join your child in their session. This can be most productive at the beginning of young children’s counselling journey, to better understand our approach and to experience how it helps your child. Teens tend to prefer independent sessions, without a parent present.
In the case of Feelings & Friends Groups, parents have their own special parent-only sessions, one at the beginning of the group, and one at the end. Parents do not attend the child-only group sessions, and kids do not attend the parents-only sessions.
We specialize in working with kids from 2 to 12 years old and teenagers up to 17 years old.
Our therapists are licensed mental health professionals —Registered Psychologists with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) or Registered Social Workers with the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). They have specialized training, skills, experience, and expertise in play therapy and relationship-based treatment approaches to work with children, youth, parents, and families. We are proud to serve children and families with diverse backgrounds and family relationships.
Get to know our therapists and learn more about their professional qualifications and expertise by reading the KR team’s bios.
To begin counselling, the first session is always a parents-only session.
For their first session, kids are welcomed to EmPOWERland by our Intake Specialist, and they select their choice of snack and beverage. Then, their specialized child therapist greets them in person for the first time. The first session is a welcoming introduction, where we establish assent (permission from your child to work with them) and connection.
We also begin exploring your child’s goals and how we will get there together. Your child will not be present in the last 10 minutes of the first session, which will be a short conversation with parents where we discuss our observations and offer suggestions. If further conversations are needed, we can schedule update sessions for parents.
This can vary widely depending on the difficulties that your child is facing. It takes some time for most kids to feel safe and begin expressing themselves openly with their therapist. In most cases, parents will notice progress in their child after 3 to 5 sessions. In cases where the objective of therapy is to alleviate minor behavioural issues, this can usually be achieved after 4 months to a year of weekly or bi-weekly sessions.
We accept cash, major credit cards (except Amex), and Interac e-transfer as methods of payment. Please contact our Intake Team for details on using Interac e-transfers via your bank.
At the moment, we are able to direct bill some insurance providers, such as Blue Cross and Green Shield.
Please bring your consent forms which are provided to you in your welcome package. As part of the intake process, our Intake Specialist will advise you on the documents you will need to bring to your first session, based on your unique situation and whether you have sole custody or joint custody.
Child sessions are 50 minutes in duration. Other types of sessions (family, parenting, couples) are usually 90 minutes.
Feelings & Friends Group for Kids group sessions are 90 minutes.
That would be Ana Hoepfner, a Calgary-based writer and designer on the Kids Reconnect team.
Our Kids Reconnect website is often the first point of contact for parents and kids who are looking for child counselling services. Instead of a (sadly all-too-common!) cold, prescriptive, clinical website that is chock-full of scary mental health diagnoses and labels, our team wants parents and kids to experience a heartwarming, empowering, playful child counselling adventure at Kids Reconnect — and that starts from your first phone call with our friendly Intake Team or your visit to our website.
Ana delights in her work aiming to make your website user experience memorable, useful, and playful.
What do you think of our website?
- If you love our website, THANK YOU.
- And if you have ideas or questions about how to make it better, Ana would love to hear from you, so THANK YOU for that, too. You can connect with Ana via email at [email protected] or LinkedIn.
We welcome clients from Monday to Saturday, from 8 am to 8 pm.
Your confidentiality and privacy are important to us. We are happy to discuss our commitment to confidentiality in greater detail with you, as well as any limits and exceptions to confidentiality in our work. Please give us a call at (403) 815-0271.
In Alberta, licenced psychologists cannot prescribe any medications. If you require a medication prescription, you need to talk to a doctor or psychiatrist.
In some cases, kids who have physical or developmental disabilities can benefit from our services. The building where we are located complies with standards set in the Alberta Building Code and incorporates some basic accessibility needs, such as a wheelchair ramp; it does not exceed the requirements of the Code.
Kids with complex support needs require a level of services beyond what we can provide. For more information on whether our services are right for your child, please reach out to our Intake Specialist.
Your health and safety are our priority.
COVID-19 Update: June 23, 2022
Per directive from the College of Alberta Psychologists, as of June 24th, 2022, COVID-19 pre-screening is no longer required. Calgary Reconnect Counselling Group continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation, as these requirements may evolve over time. We will issue updates as needed and will update our websites to reflect any new developments.
Kids Reconnect follows all active public health orders set forth by Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, including mandatory mask requirements.
For in-person sessions, here is what we are doing to help limit the spread of infection and keep you safe during your visit:
• Hand sanitizer is available throughout the clinic
• We continuously encourage all clients and staff members to practice regular handwashing and hand sanitization
• We have increased our daily cleaning and disinfection of common areas and surfaces
• Each therapy room is sanitized every hour after a session takes place
• Clients are pre-screened for symptoms of COVID-19 before scheduling appointments and upon arrival
• Appointments are scheduled considering adequate intervals to reduce contact between clients in the hallways and waiting areas
• Furniture is amply spaced so clients and staff can sit and play at a safe distance during sessions
• We provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when the minimum safe distance cannot be maintained
Please ask about our Telepsychology (videoconferencing or phone) Counselling Sessions. Watch our KR – Telepsychology video to experience what online therapy will look like for your child.
Do you have a question that is not (yet!) answered here?
Please call our friendly Intake Team – we’d love to hear from you.
