Anxiety
Anxiety Counselling
Services in Calgary
Congratulations on being open to exploring healing and health from anxiety in your or a loved one’s life through Anxiety Counselling. On this page, you will find a brief as well as a longer description of the approach, services, and logistics for Anxiety Counselling at Sana Psychological.
Fear of the future, “what ifs”, harm coming to others, anticipating disaster, panic, difficulty with sleeping, and more are all symptoms of anxiety (see the informal self-test below). Fear is a natural, evolutionary response designed to keep us safe but, at times, it can cross a line into unhealthy, unproductive symptoms that can create great distress and impact on a person’s life. Sana Psychological supports individuals who are experiencing anxiety along with problem behaviours, such as substance or other behavioural difficulties.

The short story
At Sana Psychological, Paige Abbott (Registered Psychologist) provides support for anxiety using a variety of therapeutic modalities, including Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and emotional processing.
Anxiety counselling starts with an initial session or two to get to know you and understand your goals for counselling, followed by short-or long-term counselling depending on your needs and preference. The investment for anxiety counselling is a $220/50 minute session. Sessions are available in person or by phone or video for anyone who is located in Alberta or New Brunswick at the time of their appointment.

The longer story
Anxiety counselling is an opportunity to discuss challenges and symptoms with an open, non-judgmental professional who can not only provide an empathetic ear but also suggestions, tools, and recommendations for you to support yourself in your daily life. Anxiety treatment is meant to provide short-term as well as long-term benefits for those who engage in it, as it can open up tools and strategies that will hopefully serve you throughout the rest of your life.
How Do You Know if You or a Loved One Has a Problem?
Challenges with anxiety can present themselves in a variety of different ways. Below is an informal self-test to assist you in starting to gauge whether anxiety counselling would be recommended.
Let’s start by having you ask whether you have experienced any of these mental health or physical symptoms in the past 3 months:
- Feeling excessive worry or fear
- Difficulty quieting your mind
- Issues with irregular appetite or sleep
- Issues with concentration or memory
- Fear of the future
- A great deal of time is spent thinking about ‘what ifs’
- You are terrified of a loved one getting sick or dying
- You identify some/many of your fears to be ‘irrational’
- Feeling isolated
- Feeling unmotivated
- Less enjoyment and pleasure in life
- Feeling restless, agitated much of the time
- Increased isolation
- Difficulty relaxing and persistent muscle tension
- Increased irritability
- Low stress tolerance
- Changed sexual behaviour (increased or decreased)
- Limited or no time for self-care, which can include basic hygiene
- Feeling desperate for escape
- Specific phobias (intense fear of a specific object or situation)
- Difficulty leaving your home and/or safe spaces (agoraphobia/social anxiety)
- Panic attacks
- Engaging in rituals to help self-soothe (e.g., cleaning, picking)
- Compulsive behaviours (e.g., hair-pulling)
- Heightened awareness of everything around you
If you indicated that you had experienced one or more of these symptoms in the past three months, then it would be a good time to explore anxiety counselling. These symptoms tend to appear as an anxiety disorder progresses rather than when it is a non-issue. While these symptoms may still be on the mild end of the spectrum for you, it would be best to get proper support to prevent the progression or severity of the symptoms.


Treatment Approach
Anxiety counselling can be a short-term process of 3-6 months.
This is well-suited to those who have previously engaged in counselling, have good self-awareness, a strong support network, and existing self-care tools. Even for those with these strategies in their resource kit, periodic counselling for prevention and maintenance is helpful to maintain momentum towards well-being.
Anxiety counselling may be a longer-term and more intensive process (6+ months of regular appointments) for those who have never done counselling before, struggle with insight and change, have multiple symptoms, and/or severe symptoms that are creating great distress and disturbance in their life.


Paige enjoys the connection and relationships that she establishes with clients and believes that this therapeutic bond is at the forefront of importance for change. If you do not feel comfortable with your therapist, then the process is not likely to be very effective. This is obviously not something that can be created or forced, it is something that is apparent through feelings and your experience. If you feel Paige is a good fit as a therapist for you, great. If not, please indicate that you are open to other resources and some suggestions can be provided without shame or judgment.
Anxiety counselling will draw in elements of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy as well as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, emotional processing, psychoeducation, and potentially more depending on need. These modalities are seamlessly integrated into a personalized and customized approach to therapy to meet the needs and personality of every client. Paige is an active and talkative therapist (surprising, given that she is an introvert!) and likes to ask questions, provide feedback, and educate.

Logistics
Sessions can be in person in the Sana Psychological office in Calgary or remotely using Technology Assisted Counselling (phone or video sessions). The investment is a $220/50 minute session. Sessions are available to anyone who is in the province of Alberta or New Brunswick at the time of their appointment. Payment options available to you include cash, credit card, debit, e-transfer, and direct billing with a variety of insurance carriers.
Appointments can be scheduled online at anytime. If the ‘New Client’ option is not available, please check our About Page to see when new client sessions are being scheduled. You can email us indicating your interest and we will go from there!
If you have questions about the services offered, do not hesitate to reach out. Email will be the quickest way to get in touch. We aim to respond to emails and phone calls within 1 business day.



For loved ones
For Loved Ones: If you are connected with someone who is experiencing significant issues with anxiety and they are open to getting help, great. Please have them reach out or reach out on their behalf to see what is possible for support. If they are not open to supporting at this time, we would encourage you to contact Sana Psychological to discuss options for counselling for yourself, recognizing that you are in a situation that is draining and stressful. You do not need to go through this alone.
Sana Psychological is here to meet you where you are at in your journey of self-development. We hope that you find value in our slogan: Do different, be different!
