Natalie Bergman,
DCP, RPsych, CPT
DIRECTOR, KIDS RECONNECT
Child Psychologist
Doctor of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Registered Psychologist
Certified Play Therapist
QUALITIES
Natalie Bergman is a child psychologist
and Certified Play Therapist in Calgary
who uses her caring heart Superpowers
to connect with children
through play therapy
and healing heart-to-heart conversations.
Natalie’s Superhero Story
Attention Parents
Before your first session, you can share this story
with your child. Parents can also scroll below
to read about Natalie’s specialized
child psychologist and play therapist
expertise and experience
in her professional bio.
nce upon a time, there was a little girl named Natalie…
(… or should we call her “Angry-Sangry”, because when she got mad, it was like a wild thunderstorm crashing through the sky? Well, no, of course we would never call someone names. That would not be super kind, but you get the point, right?)
When Natalie got upset (which happened a lot), let’s say, she felt very angry, or very sad, those big tricky (“angry-sangry”) feelings rumbled deep inside her heart, loud as rolling thunder. She could feel anger rising up like fireworks going off. Or she would feel so sad, like crying a rainstorm of unhappy tears. When she felt that something was unfair, her anger or sadness would roar louder than loud.
People around Natalie were not sure what to do to help her with those tricky feelings. That’s because tricky feelings are just that. Tricky to figure out.
Some teachers tried to help her. They would say: “Calm down, Natalie.” Well, this didn’t work; it just made her feel angrier or sadder than ever.
(That’s because when someone is feeling overwhelmed, hearing “calm down” does not help them feel any calmer – just the opposite.)
One day, some kids at school told Natalie that she was being mean. But she did not mean to be mean to anyone, so hearing this made Natalie feel super sad and mad and confused (“angry-sangry”, so to speak).
Her parents tried to help little Natalie too. They would say, “Natalie, use your inside voice.” That was frustrating for her. She thought nobody was listening or understanding her, so when they told her to speak softly, she wanted to shout even louder to get them to listen and care. There was just no way she could keep such huge big, tricky feelings all wrapped up inside her heart.
Understanding Big Tricky feelings
What do you think was going on in Natalie’s heart? Was she a mean, “angry-sangry” kid? No, of course not.
But Natalie, like many kids, was running into difficult challenges with tricky feelings. She was not tricky, it was the feelings that were tricky to feel and to handle. Sometimes growing up gets super hard for some kids, in different ways, for all kinds of reasons. And sometimes this can lead to something that grown-ups call “acting out” or “temper tantrums”, which can call for specialized support.
What does “acting out” mean? You might have seen a kid “acting out” at school (Or maybe this has even happened to you? Once or twice? Aha – gotcha!)
Sound familiar? Yes, sometimes kids’ feelings get a little out of hand. Here’s Natalie showing you how big tricky feelings might look like.
That’s because sometimes kids don’t just feel emotions in a small way, they live them out LOUD — and not a little, but a LOT, and for what feels like most of the time. It’s exhausting for kids and for everyone who loves them: parents, sisters, brothers, friends, teachers, classmates. In this case, kids don’t mean to do “angry-sangry” things or to say something mean. They don’t mean to “act out”. But when they get mad, it’s like a fuming, furious storm across the supermarket aisle. When they feel sad, it’s like a huge ocean of tears is flooding the land.
This is exactly what was happening in Natalie’s world. When things felt unfair or something went wrong, her Angry Part or Sad Part (or both!) would show up, roaring louder than loud.
Feeling big tricky feelings without knowing what to do with them was making life at home and school really tough
Bit by bit, a stormy Dark Cloud of Doubt crept up and made its way into little Natalie’s heart. The doubts grew louder and louder. When she was in time-outs at home or at school, she began to wonder, with tears in her eyes:
“Maybe I am the problem. Perhaps I am a mean kid? When I “act out”, my feelings feel so loud — I can’t even think, I just want to SHOUT.
What if, maybe… maybe I am too much.”
Oh no. What a tricky situation.
But don’t worry, things would soon turn around.
(Because that is how Superhero stories go!)
One day, after a big storm of Terrible Trouble at school and then Terrible Trouble at home (the kind with slammed doors, crying, and hiding under a tall tower of blankets wanting to NEVER ever come out), Natalie met someone surprising — in a play therapist’s playroom!
Well, in the playroom she met not only a person (a super kind play therapist!), but also three different “feeling parts”: angry, sad, and brave.
• “Hey Natalie”, the first one said in a soft, gentle, kind voice. It was a small red dragon with kind eyes. “I am your Angry Part. Nice to meet you. We are feelings in your heart, and we are here to help you out.”
• Then another feeling came up: her Sad Part, like a fish in a river of tears, quiet and shivering, holding a small crumpled note that read, “Please don’t forget me.”
• And then another feeling showed up: her Brave Part, a Feelings Detective wearing a cool Superhero cape, standing tall and strong, who softly said: “Hi Natalie. We are here for you. How about we take a breath? Have a seat on this comfy pouffy pillow. Let’s be curious, gentle, and playful. We can figure this out.”
As she got to know these helpful “feeling parts”, in play therapy, she became more and more emPOWERed to grow and thrive. Natalie discovered that she didn’t have to be scared of big tricky feelings. She could be curious. gentle, and playful. In a fun playroom, she learned to explore her heart safely when big tricky feelings came up. Figuring out tricky feelings in play therapy was actually fun – what a fabulous surprise!
Here are some cool things little Natalie figured out about big tricky feelings:
- When I feel different feelings, that is okay.
- The feelings I feel are not bad. They are not too big or too messy. I am NOT “too big“ or “too messy”.
- Feelings are tiny helpful heroes in my heart, each trying — in their own way — to protect me.
- My feelings are here to tell me something, and I can figure out what.
- Feelings come and go. They show up to help me out, then after I listen and learn, new ones appear. It’s like an adventure!
- When I feel a big feeling, I can breathe in and out. Then I can get quiet and curious. What could my feeling be trying to tell me? To find out, I need to listen and guide my heart in a kind way.
Once she figured out all that, Natalie did not try to push her feelings away anymore. When a big feeling showed up (sometimes a familiar one she knew, other times some that were new), she listened carefully. She got better and better at getting quiet (because you have to be quiet to listen, to be gentle, curious, and to breathe). Now she knew in her heart that she was ABSOLUTELY NOT “too much”. She was actually a LOVELY kid with a big heart.
Plus you know what else helped her figure out big tricky feelings? Natalie also played a lot, too! In the play therapy playroom, she became friends with the parts of her that once felt too loud, too messy, too big. Tricky feelings became fun to figure out. Little by little, she grew into her big, beautiful, brave emPOWERed heart that held many different feelings.
Now we get to the best part of Natalie‘s Superhero story.
Natalie became a “Feelings Helper” when she grew up!
This is not just a made-up story; as with all good, interesting stories, some of it is imaginary and some is really real. Natalie is a real person: she lives in Calgary and is all grown up now. She is a Child Psychologist and Certified Play Therapist at Kids Reconnect.
(These long grown-up words simply mean that she is a ”Feelings Helper for Kids”)
So now that she is grown up, as a Feelings Helper (which is just a formal grown-up way to say Child Psychologist), Natalie helps children meet the interesting feelings that come up in their own hearts: Angry Parts, Sad Parts, Brave Parts — or confused, or overwhelmed. Sometimes anxious. Perhaps also scared, frustrated, worried, upset, distracted, jealous, disappointed… and so many more. Using play therapy, Natalie helps kids find their hidden Superhero heart Superpowers, and figure out how to use them to grow and thrive!
She does all this using play therapy at Kids Reconnect. Take a peek at all her cool pictures below!
What is play therapy with Natalie like?
Natalie works with an awesome team of Feelings Helpers at Kids Reconnect in Calgary, where play therapy is not scary at all. Just the opposite!
- Play therapy is playful
- It’s creative
- It’s brave
- It’s fun and emPOWERing — and helpful for kids and parents alike!
In the playful play therapy playrooms at Kids Reconnect, no feeling is “too much” and no child is “too angry”. Natalie knows this for 100,000%. She uses play therapy (with lots of toys, stuffies, puppets, sand castles, figurines, clay, slime, art, games, you name it!) to explore the tricky feelings in kids’ hearts. Then she helps kids and their parents understand and figure things out.
At Kids Reconnect, big loud feelings turn into strengths and big hearts become unstoppable.
This is what Natalie says to kids, parents, and families:
If a kid has a heart that feels so much?
It’s not a problem, it’s a fun challenge to figure out.It’s a Superpower growing —
waiting to change the world!
Natalie Bergman is a Certified Play Therapist
Natalie’s Professional Bio
Natalie Bergman is a child psychologist based in Calgary. She is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists, a Certified Play Therapist (CPT) with the Canadian Association for Play Therapy (CAPT™), a Registered Play Therapist™ (RPT) with the Association for Play Therapy (APT), and a co-founder and director at Kids Reconnect in Calgary.
Natalie holds a Doctor of Counselling and Psychotherapy degree and a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. She has also completed additional training with the League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists, Learn to Play Therapy Events, and Frank Anderson’s Internal Family Systems Trauma Treatment.
Her specialty is helping kids heal, grow, and thrive using play therapy and helping parents to find a new way of understanding their child’s behaviour and a new way of responding to it. By creating an environment where trust thrives and where all needs are respected, Natalie emPOWERs children to discover their potential. She helps parents learn how to influence their child’s life, working with parents and kids to achieve the positive changes parents would like to see. She loves creating child counselling experiences at Kids Reconnect that feel adventurous and joyful for kids.
Natalie is passionate about working with children and families and has many years of experience with play-based therapy, which is a natural way for children to communicate. Using her caring heart to emotionally connect with children, Natalie helps them to heal using play therapy and heart-to-heart conversations. She also helps kids heal in a small group setting at the the Kids Reconnect Feelings & Friends Group for Kids, in child-led, therapist-guided group sessions.
Using her profound insights into the world of children, Natalie helps parents to understand and connect with their child. She also supports couples to achieve closeness and connection as a couples therapist at Couples Reconnect. In the couples therapy realm, she has completed an Externship in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy® and Core Skills Training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy® with the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT).
Professional Memberships and Languages
Natalie is a member of the Canadian Association for Play Therapy (CAPT), the Association for Play Therapy (USA), the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta (PAA), and the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT). She speaks English and Russian.
Natalie is a Director at Kids Reconnect
With her friend Marcella Galizia, Natalie co-founded Calgary Reconnect Counselling Group (CRCG), assembling a team of therapists with two specialized branches: Kids Reconnect and Couples Reconnect.
