Help in Alberta

For Immediate Crises:

If you are experiencing an immediate crisis, consider accessing one of these resources:

  • Emergencies: Calling 911 or going to your local hospital emergency room
  • For urgent non emergency support consider: Calling a local distress centre (e.g., Calgary Distress Centre at 403-266-4357 or Edmonton Distress Line at 780-482-4357) or 988 (Suicide Crisis Helpline, for information see 988.ca), the Family Violence Information Line (310-1818 within Alberta), Hope for Wellness Help Line which is free national telephone crisis intervention and counselling support for Indigenous people in Canada (1-855-242-3310), the Dr. Margaret Savage Helpline for persons experiencing domestic violence (780-594-3353), your region’s local distress hotline which you can find at https://988.ca/community-resources ; or, contacting your family doctor or a walk-in medical clinic (if open / available). Note, for the hotlines, due to limited resources there might be a several minutes’ wait to speak to someone.
  • For family violence, these resources through the government of Alberta: https://www.alberta.ca/family-violence-find-supports.aspx
  • Also “Heads Up Guys” is a website for men that lists resources: https://headsupguys.org/depression-tips/reach-out-depression/

Additionally, some online therapist search sites such as the one below allow you to search specifically for clinicians specializing in helping people with suicidal thoughts or self-harming behaviours. That said, the other resources above are more available than a therapist on an urgent / emergency basis.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca?tr=Hdr_Brand

From Alberta Health Services (AHS)

Also, Alberta Health Services has a great website listing a variety of other virtual mental health resources such as “SMART Recovery” for individuals having difficulty with addiction, “togetherall” (peer support), Kids’ Help Phone contact information, etc:

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/amh/Page17137.aspx

Please note that this page is neither counselling nor counselling therapy. If you need these services, please contact me or another professional. If urgent support is needed, calling Calgary Distress Centre at 403-266-4357 is an option , or your region’s local distress hotline which you can find at https://988.ca/community-resources . For emergencies, consider calling 911 or going to your local Emergency Room. This page is for information only, is not advice, and implies neither an intent to provide professional services to readers nor that a professional relationship has been established with readers. Current adult residents of the Canadian province of Alberta are the only intended audience of this page.