At Off the Beaten Path Psychology & Wellness, we believe...
...that healing happens in connection -- with others, with yourself, and sometimes with a good trail under your feet.
We believe that therapy doesn't have to look one particular way to work. It doesn't have to happen in a sterile office with a clock on the wall and a tissue box positioned just so. It can happen on a walk through the trees, in a cozy heritage home in downtown Airdrie, beside a window that looks out over the foothills, or on a screen from your kitchen table. What matters isn't the setting, it's that you feel safe enough to actually show up.
We believe in a holistic approach to wellbeing, which is a fancy way of saying we see the whole person. Not just the symptom, not just the diagnosis, not just the hardest thing you've been through, but all of you. The part of you that's struggling right now, and the part of you that already knows the way forward, even if it's a little hard to see at the moment.
Many of our clients come to us as families, sometimes a parent, then a child, then a couple, each finding their own psychologist within our team.
We think that's a beautiful thing.
Healing rarely happens in isolation, and we're honoured to support whole families on their individual journeys.
Why Choose Us for Your Healing Journey
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At OBP, we meet you where you are, literally and figuratively. Whether that's a cozy office inside Nauton Place in downtown Airdrie, a bright and welcoming space in Southeast Calgary, or a trail in the foothills of Cochrane, our spaces are intentionally designed (or chosen by nature) to help your nervous system settle so the real work can begin.
We're not a one-size-fits-all practice. We never have been. If you want to walk and talk, we'll walk. If you need to go deep on trauma with evidence-based approaches like EMDR, we're trained for that. If you'd rather stay in your own living room and do sessions online, done. You get to help shape what this looks like.
We also believe in something that might sound obvious but isn't always practised: if you start working with one of our psychologists and it doesn't feel like the right fit, we'll help you find someone within our team who is. No awkwardness, no hurt feelings. We want this to work for you.
We Offer...
Trauma-Informed Care, Rooted in Real Relationship
We specialize in trauma-focused approaches including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and attachment-focused therapy. This means we understand that what's happening today often has roots in what happened before, and that the therapeutic relationship itself is part of how healing happens. You're not just talking at someone. You're working with someone.
A Team That Comes from Where You've Been
Many of our psychologists have backgrounds in education before psychology, which means we understand how environment shapes a person's ability to feel safe, open, and ready to learn. We've worked in schools, with families, with kids who needed someone to see them differently. That background informs everything we do.
Your Choice of How, When, and Where
Daytime or evening. In-person or online. Indoors or out. Our team offers flexible scheduling including evenings and Saturdays, including locations in Airdrie, Calgary, and Cochrane, and walk and talk sessions for those who do their best thinking in motion (you know who you are).
A Holistic Approach That Trusts You
We combine evidence-based clinical approaches with a deep respect for what you already know about yourself. You are not a checklist of symptoms. Our psychologists bring diverse specialties, from couples counselling to psychoeducational assessments to therapy intensives, but the throughline is the same: we're here to support the whole person, not just the presenting problem.
At OBP, we know that reaching out takes courage.
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We've worked with hundreds of people across Alberta who came to us feeling stuck, burned out, disconnected, or like the things that used to hold them together just weren't working anymore.
Through trauma-informed, attachment-focused, and evidence-based approaches, we've helped people reconnect with themselves, strengthen their relationships, and find a new way forward. One that actually fits who they are.
You don't have to have it figured out before you connect. You just have to take the first step.
Our Why & Mission
Off the Beaten Path Psychology and Wellness exists because people deserve access to therapy that is genuine, flexible, and grounded in real clinical expertise, without the coldness that can sometimes come with it. Our team is driven by a shared belief that people are capable of profound growth when they feel truly seen and supported. That's why we show up the way we do, with both the credentials and the humanity to back it up.
We're also deeply committed to the communities we're part of. For the past six years, we've sponsored a World Vision child named Princess in the Philippines, because we believe wellbeing doesn't stop at our borders. We're proud supporters of the Moose Hide Campaign as an act of reparation and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. We support CKUA Radio because music matters to how we all feel, and if you've ever been in our Nauton House office and asked what's playing, you already know this about us.
Locally, we contribute to and champion causes including Bert Church Girls Rugby, 100 Men Who Give a Damn, Boys and Girls Club of Airdrie, Community Links, Know Where to Run, and many others. This community has supported us, and we don't take that lightly.
Who We Support
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We work with people of all ages: children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and couples. Our team supports individuals navigating anxiety, trauma, grief, burnout, relationship challenges, life transitions, and more.
We offer individual counselling for all ages, from children and adolescents navigating big feelings and big transitions, to adults ready to do the deeper work. We also offer couples and marriage counselling, therapy intensives for those who want to go deeper in a concentrated period of time, psychoeducational assessments for children and youth, and walk and talk therapy for those who find movement helps them process.
If you're not sure whether OBP is the right fit for your specific needs, reach out. We're happy to help you figure that out, even if the answer is that we point you somewhere else.
Our Difference
What makes OBP different isn't just one thing: We're a group practice, which means you have access to a team of experienced registered psychologists with a wide range of specialties, rather than a single provider. Our team brings expertise in EMDR, attachment-focused therapy, emotion-focused couples therapy, trauma-informed approaches, and psychoeducational assessment.
We offer daytime, evening, and Saturday appointments. We have three locations in Calgary, Airdrie, and Cochrane, Alberta, plus telehealth. We offer both indoor and outdoor sessions. And we operate with a collaborative, non-hierarchical spirit: if you want to switch to a different psychologist within our practice for any reason, we support that completely. Your fit matters more than our egos.
Our Approach
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Our practice is grounded in evidence-based modalities including EMDR (and we have an EMDRIA-approved consultant on our team), attachment-focused therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and cognitive-behavioural approaches. We also integrate nature-based therapy, walk and talk sessions, for those who find the nervous system settles more easily when there's a trail involved.
We offer intensive therapy formats for those who want to do concentrated, deep work over one or two days rather than the traditional weekly model. And we bring all of this together with warmth, humour, and a genuine belief that you are the expert on your own life. We're just here to help you access what you already know.
Our Values & Company Culture
Authenticity. Compassion. Courage. Growth. Autonomy. Ethical care.
We believe therapy only works when you feel genuinely free to direct your own journey. Our role is to walk alongside you, offer expertise, and create the conditions for growth, not to tell you who to be or what to want. Your autonomy matters, and we protect it.
Ethical practice is deeply important to us. As registered psychologists, our team members are regulated health professionals governed under the Health Professions Act and are all members in good standing with the College of Alberta Psychologists. We take that seriously. It means you can trust that the care you receive meets the highest professional and ethical standards in the province.
We're also a team that genuinely loves learning. We consult together regularly, challenge each other's thinking, and are always refining our craft because the research evolves, our clients evolve, and we should too. That commitment to continual growth isn't just about keeping our credentials current. It's about showing up better for the people who trust us with the hard stuff.
We believe therapy should feel human, and so should the people delivering it: warm, boundaried, honest, and always working to earn your trust.
Our Community Involvement
OBP doesn’t just operate in Airdrie, Cochrane, and Calgary; we're part of them.
We're proud members of the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and the Airdrie Downtown Business Association. We show up at local events, sponsor local causes, and believe that a thriving community is good for everyone's mental health (and yes, we see the irony in a psychology practice pointing that out).
Our ongoing community commitments include: World Vision child sponsorship (Princess in the Philippines, six years and counting), the Moose Hide Campaign, CKUA Radio, Bert Church Girls Rugby, 100 Men Who Give a Damn, Boys and Girls Club, Community Links, and Know Where to Run. We believe health and healing extend beyond the therapy room. This is one of the ways we try to live that.