Virtual Therapy · Serving Alberta

Online Therapy in Alberta

TEO Counselling Services provides online video therapy to adults and couples across Alberta — Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, and everywhere in between. No commutes and no waiting rooms: meet with your therapist from wherever you feel comfortable.

Free initial consultation · No referral needed · Seven days a week

Every registration above can be checked on its public register — the links go straight there.

Online therapy in Alberta, at a glance. TEO Counselling provides therapy for trauma and PTSD (EMDR, IFS), anxiety, depression and grief, and couples counselling with Mohamad, across Alberta through video sessions with two clinicians: Mohamad Shabib, MACP, a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association who is also a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the CRPO in Ontario, and Rola Shbib, BSW (Hons), RSW (Ontario). Individual sessions are $150 and couples sessions are $175, each 60 minutes, with appointments from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm Mountain Time, seven days a week. Alberta Health Care does not cover counselling in private practice; whether an extended health plan reimburses depends on the designation it names — CCC, RSW or Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), and every session comes with an insurance-ready receipt. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation. Sessions reach anywhere in Alberta, including rural and remote communities, so evening and weekend appointments are routine, and direct billing is available with Mohamad for Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans (Canada Life, Manulife) — see direct billing for the detail.

A Canadian Certified Counsellor Serving Alberta

Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC, is a Canadian Certified Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) — a voluntary national certification, not a provincial licence. He is also a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), a registration that applies in Ontario only. Sessions are available in English and Arabic.

How booking works in Alberta

Book a free 15-minute consultation

The call is with Mohamad Shabib, who founded the practice, or with Rola Shbib. Whoever takes it answers your questions, tells you what the work would involve, and there is nothing to pay and nothing to commit to.

Get matched to a clinician

On that call you are matched with the clinician who fits what you bring, your province (Alberta) and your language — Mohamad, Rola Shbib, or Alison Shaji if you are in British Columbia. If you already know who you would rather work with, say so and it is arranged.

Your first 60-minute session

By video, at a time you pick — evenings and weekends included. Individual sessions are $150 and couples sessions $175, each 60 minutes, with an insurance-ready receipt afterwards.

Book a free 15-minute consultation

$150 individual · $175 couples · 60 minutes · direct billing with Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans (Canada Life, Manulife); an insurance-ready receipt for every other plan. Fees & insurance · Direct billing

How We Can Help

Why Online Therapy Works

Trauma work, including EMDR, and couples work both run by video here, following the same structure they would in a room. Online sessions also mean you can keep the same therapist whether you live in downtown Calgary or a rural community — and appointments fit around work and family instead of traffic.

Fees & Insurance in Alberta

Some Alberta extended health plans include coverage for counselling. Coverage for services provided by a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) varies by insurer, so check your plan details before booking. You will receive a receipt after each session to submit to your provider.

Who you would be working with

Sessions for Alberta clients are with Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC or Rola Shbib, BSW (Hons), RSW (Ontario), and we confirm which on the free consultation call. Mohamad's training is concentrated in trauma and relationships: Advanced EMDR through an EMDRIA-approved programme, Internal Family Systems Levels 1 and 2, the Gottman Method Levels 1 and 2 for couples, and CBT for Trauma Levels 1 and 2. He has also worked directly in concurrent trauma and addictions treatment.

Sessions are available in English and Arabic, and you can move between the two mid-session if that is how the words arrive.

One point of honesty about credentials, because it is easy to blur: the Canadian Certified Counsellor designation is a voluntary national certification held through the CCPA, not a provincial licence. His Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) registration with the CRPO applies in Ontario. Counselling is not a regulated profession in Alberta, which is exactly why the designation behind the person matters when you are choosing one.

TEO’s third clinician, Alison Shaji, is registered in British Columbia, so Alberta clients work with Mohamad Shabib or Rola Shbib, BSW (Hons), RSW (Ontario).

What sessions cost in Alberta

Individual therapy is $150 per 60-minute session. Couples counselling is $175. The first conversation — 15 minutes, to work out whether this is a good fit — is free, and no referral is needed to book it.

Alberta Health Care does not cover counselling in private practice, and no provincial plan in Canada does. Where coverage exists, it comes through an extended health plan through work: coverage for a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) varies between insurers, so it is worth checking the designation your booklet actually names before your first session.

You receive an insurance-ready receipt after every session. A small number of reduced-fee spots are held — if cost is the thing standing in the way, say so on the consultation call.

How the time difference works

Sessions run from the Pacific coast, and Alberta is on Mountain Time — one hour ahead, all year, since both provinces change their clocks together.

In practice that puts appointments between 1:00 pm and 10:00 pm Alberta time, seven days a week. That is an unusually late-friendly window: a nine o’clock evening session in Calgary or Edmonton is an ordinary booking here rather than a favour, which matters if you work shifts or are only free once the house is quiet.

The trade-off is honest — mornings are not available. Nothing starts before one in the afternoon your time.

What the first few sessions look like

The free consultation is a conversation, not an assessment. You describe what is going on in whatever order it comes out, and you get a straight answer about whether this is the right kind of help — including if the honest answer is that someone else would be a better fit.

The first full session is mostly history and direction: what brought you here, what has already been tried, what you want to be different. Nothing is dug into before you are ready, and structured trauma work in particular does not begin until there is enough stability and enough trust in the room to make it worth doing.

From there the pace is yours. Some people come weekly for a few months and stop; others come fortnightly for longer. There is no package to sign and no minimum number of sessions.

What you say in session is kept confidential, with the limits every clinician here works under: a risk of serious harm to you or someone else, a child in need of protection, a court order or subpoena, and the reporting obligations a regulator can impose. Those limits are explained in full in the first session, before anything sensitive is discussed.

Free and low-cost counselling in Alberta

If private therapy is out of reach right now, Alberta has real alternatives, and it is better to know them than to go without. None of them is run by TEO, and none of them pays TEO anything for the mention.

  • · Alberta Mental Health Help Line — 1-877-303-2642. Staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for support, information and referral into local services.
  • · AHS Addiction Helpline — 1-866-332-2322. Also around the clock, for substance use and concurrent concerns.
  • · Rapid Access Counselling. Delivered through community agencies in several Alberta regions, usually as single-session or short-term counselling at no charge and without a referral. Availability depends on where you live.
  • · Counselling Alberta. Low-cost counselling on a sliding scale, by video or in person, for people across the province.
  • · 211 Alberta. Call, text or chat 211 for navigation to community, social and mental health services in your area.
  • · Your workplace. Some employers include an employee assistance programme with a handful of no-cost sessions — worth checking before you assume you have to pay.

The honest trade is waiting, eligibility rules and less choice of clinician, and free programmes are rarely designed for longer structured work such as EMDR. A small number of reduced-fee spots are also held here — if cost is the thing standing in the way, say so on the consultation call. Our library of free printable workbooks and handouts is open to anyone, with no email address asked for.

Common questions

Do you have an office in Alberta?

No. TEO Counselling is virtual only — every session is by video, wherever you are in the province. That is deliberate rather than a limitation: someone in Fort McMurray or Lethbridge gets the same access as someone in Calgary, and it is why there is no waitlist.

Is counselling covered by Alberta Health Care?

No. Counselling and psychotherapy are not covered by provincial health plans anywhere in Canada. Coverage comes through extended health benefits, an employee assistance programme, or private payment. You receive a receipt after each session for your insurer.

Counselling is not regulated in Alberta. Does that matter?

It matters when you are choosing. Because the title is not protected provincially, anyone may call themselves a counsellor here, so the meaningful question is what designation the person actually holds and who oversees it. Mohamad holds the Canadian Certified Counsellor designation through the CCPA, which carries a code of ethics and a complaints process.

How late can I book?

Sessions run to 10:00 pm Alberta time, seven days a week, because the practice operates on Pacific hours. Late-evening appointments are ordinary here rather than an exception. Mornings are not available — nothing starts before 1:00 pm your time.

Can I be seen outside Calgary and Edmonton?

Yes. The service is province-wide, and rural access is one of the clearest arguments for working this way. A private space and a reasonably stable connection are all that is needed; sessions can run by phone if the connection is poor.

Can I get free therapy in Alberta?

Yes, there are free routes in Alberta, and they are worth trying before you pay for anything. The Alberta Mental Health Help Line (1-877-303-2642) is staffed around the clock and can refer you into local services. Alberta Health Services runs Rapid Access Counselling through community agencies in several regions, usually as single-session or short-term counselling at no charge. Counselling Alberta offers low-cost sessions on a sliding scale. 211 Alberta — call, text or chat 211 — is the general navigation line for community and social services, including counselling. Many workplaces also include an employee assistance programme with a handful of no-cost sessions. These routes come with waits, eligibility rules and less choice of clinician than private practice; that is the honest trade. TEO's own sessions are private-pay, and the first 15-minute consultation is free.

Is there a 24-hour mental health hotline in Alberta?

Yes. The Alberta Mental Health Help Line is 1-877-303-2642 and answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The AHS Addiction Helpline is 1-866-332-2322, also around the clock. Anywhere in Canada you can call or text 9-8-8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline. Locally, Distress Centre Calgary is (403) 266-4357 and the CMHA Edmonton Distress Line is 780-482-4357. Therapy is not a crisis service — if you are in immediate danger, call 911.

Alberta mental health resources

Therapy is not a crisis service. These run around the clock when it cannot wait for an appointment:

  • · Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
  • · Distress Centre Calgary: (403) 266-4357 (24/7)
  • · CMHA Edmonton Distress Line: 780-482-4357 (24/7)
  • · AHS Addiction Helpline: 1-866-332-2322 (24/7)
  • · 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8 (24/7)
  • · Kids Help Phone (for young people): 1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868

More Alberta crisis lines and free programs — verified, with links — are on our resources page.

Our library of 24 free printable tools — workbooks and handouts on anxiety, trauma, grief and relationships — is free to download and use between sessions.

If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.

Therapy in Alberta: the practical details

Appointments for Alberta run from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm Mountain Time, seven days a week. The practice keeps Pacific hours and Alberta sits one hour ahead all year, which is what makes the late evenings possible.

Counselling is not a regulated profession in Alberta: no college registers counsellors or psychotherapists, and no counselling title is protected, so the word alone tells you nothing about a person's training or oversight. Alberta law does draw one line — psychosocial treatment of a serious, grossly impairing mental disorder is a restricted activity reserved to certain regulated health professionals, while ordinary counselling for emotional support and personal development sits expressly outside that restriction. Choosing a therapist here therefore comes down to the designation behind the name, because the province is not checking it for you.

Two clinicians see Alberta clients: Mohamad Shabib and Rola Shbib. Mohamad's designation is the Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), held through the CCPA, a national body with a code of ethics and a complaints process behind it. Rola is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers — an Ontario registration, named plainly so you know exactly where it applies.

On coverage: Alberta extended health plans vary in which designations they will reimburse. Some booklets name CCC, others RSW or Registered Psychotherapist, and the difference decides the claim — so read the wording in yours, or ask the insurer directly, before the first paid session.

Where we work in Alberta

Every session is online, so where you are in the province changes nothing about access. These pages cover the local picture.

Book a free 15-minute consultation

It is a chance for both of us to see whether we're the right fit — no pressure, no commitment.

Book Free Consultation

Page information last updated September 2026.

Not ready to book? Send a message instead.

If you would rather ask a question first, write a line or two and we will reply by email. No appointment, no commitment.

Please keep this general — this form is not a secure channel, so there is no need to describe your history or health details here. We only need enough to reply usefully. If this is an emergency, use the numbers below instead.