Carol Korenowski: Our vision is to connect folks to high-quality, safe, effective, and affirming online counselling wherever they live in Alberta.

A QUICK INTRODUCTION ABOUT WHAT YOUR COMPANY DOES/YOUR VALUES/MISSION.

 
Therapy Alberta is a group of caring psychologists and therapists who are committed to a mission of improving mental health and mental health care in Alberta. Our vision is to connect folks to high-quality, safe, effective, and affirming online counselling wherever they live in Alberta. We primarily serve the cities of Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer, but also small and rural communities. We are committed to decreasing barriers for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and people from BIPOC origins. Our core values include compassion, accessibility, excellence, socially conscious service, and whole person care.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF?

After my own positive and negative experiences in mental health therapy, I became a psychologist committed to offering high-quality care to folks who are struggling with mental health, especially after trauma. I expanded my private practice this year to build a community of therapists who share my values and are passionate about helping people and decreasing the barriers to good mental health therapy.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME A YEAR OR TWO, WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF?

 
I would talk to more people in the field and build more connections in the business community. When I started my business, it was a very lonely time and I did a lot of things on my own. I wish I had reached out for support sooner and leveraged the wisdom of other professionals and business owners.

WHAT PROBLEM DOES YOUR BUSINESS SOLVE?

We serve couples, families, and individuals who are struggling – we help them build a better relationship with themselves and others, and move forward with more freedom and ease. Healing can happen within the individual and in the community; our goal is to decrease stigma around mental health and therapy.

WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR BUSINESS?

 
During COVID I realized online therapy allowed me to better serve people across Alberta, and reduce barriers for people to receive high quality, compassionate therapy. Some people who started therapy with me that year said they never would have reached out if it weren’t for online counselling. In many ways, online is better for us and our clients. We can show up as our best selves and take good care of ourselves as therapists working online, often from home, and our clients can more easily and privately attend therapy without a commute, waiting room, of clinical office. It’s good for the earth too! We’re paperless and consume less resources. Now our growing group of therapists work exclusively online with folks across Alberta!

WHAT IS YOUR MAGIC SAUCE?

We are exclusively online, and we are passionately non-judgmental, accepting our clients as they are. We’ve all been in therapy and we know what’s it like to struggle. We are compassionate counsellors who care about building a great relationship with people where they can feel seen, heard, accepted, believed, and understood.

WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?

We will grow a thriving team of psychologists, social workers, and counsellors so we can serve more clients across Alberta and improve individual and community mental health. We will partner with community agencies to get mental health care and online therapy more accessible for people- for example, in retirement homes for seniors. We will be a top provider of multi-disciplinary online mental health care in Alberta in 5 years.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU’VE FACED SO FAR?

Building systems and processes and running a business as a therapist is tough. I never went to business school! I have been learning a lot of new skills, but I have also been expanding my team to rely on experts who can support our mission and vision and help us grow.

HOW DO PEOPLE GET INVOLVED/BUY INTO YOUR VISION?

We welcome folks in Alberta who are interested in therapy, therapists who are interested in joining us, and community organization who are interested in partnering with us to visit our website @ www.therapyalberta.com and reach out today!