Mental health can affect nearly every part of life—from relationships and work to sleep, physical health, confidence, and the way we respond to stress.
At Reform Health + Wellness in Red Deer, psychology and counselling services provide a confidential, supportive space to better understand what you are experiencing, develop practical strategies, and work toward meaningful change.
Our psychology services are provided by Gillian Goheen-Smith, Registered Provisional Psychologist, who works with children, adolescents, adults, parents, veterans, first responders, and individuals navigating a wide range of emotional, behavioural, and life challenges.
Whether you are looking for support with anxiety, trauma, ADHD, chronic pain, relationships, emotional regulation, or a difficult period in your life, care is individualized around your experiences, strengths, needs, and goals.
What Can Psychology & Counselling Help With?
People seek psychological support for many different reasons. You do not need to be experiencing a crisis to benefit from therapy.
Areas of focus at Reform Health + Wellness include:
- Anxiety, worry, and persistent overthinking
- Stress, overwhelm, and burnout
- Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- ADHD and executive functioning challenges
- Anger and emotional regulation
- Chronic pain and the psychological impact of injury
- Relationship and attachment patterns
- Parenting and family challenges
- Body image and self-worth
- Co-dependency
- Domestic violence and relationship trauma
- Difficult or unmet childhood experiences
- Workplace and organizational stress
- Veterans and military-related concerns
- First responder mental health
- Major life transitions and periods of change
Your psychologist will work with you to identify the concerns that matter most to you and determine an approach that fits your circumstances.
Meet Gillian Goheen-Smith
Registered Provisional Psychologist
Gillian Goheen-Smith brings more than 20 years of experience in education and community-based counselling to her psychology practice.
Her background gives her a strong developmental perspective and an understanding of how early experiences, trauma, relationships, family systems, and environmental factors can influence people throughout their lives.
Gillian works with children, adolescents, adults, and families and has particular interests in anxiety, trauma and PTSD, ADHD and executive functioning, chronic pain, emotional regulation, relationship challenges, domestic violence and relationship trauma, parenting, veterans, first responders, and professionals working in high-stress environments.
She also provides psycho-educational and ADHD assessments.
Therapeutic Approaches
Psychological treatment is not one-size-fits-all.
Gillian draws from several evidence-informed therapeutic approaches and considers each client's experiences, goals, preferences, relationships, environment, and strengths when developing a treatment approach.
Depending on the individual, therapy may incorporate:
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — EMDR
EMDR may be incorporated into treatment when working with trauma and other distressing experiences where clinically appropriate.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy — CBT
CBT explores connections between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours and can help clients identify patterns and develop practical strategies for responding differently.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy — DBT
DBT-informed strategies may support emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy — ACT
ACT focuses on developing psychological flexibility, relating differently to difficult thoughts and emotions, and taking meaningful action guided by personal values.
Solution-Focused Therapy
Solution-focused approaches emphasize strengths, practical strategies, existing resources, and achievable steps toward change.
Trauma-Informed & Developmentally Informed Care
Gillian's approach also considers how development, relationships, previous experiences, trauma, and unmet needs may influence present-day patterns and challenges.
ADHD & Psycho-Educational Assessments in Red Deer
Understanding why someone is struggling can be an important step toward finding the right supports.
Gillian provides ADHD, psycho-educational, and general functioning assessments for clients seeking greater clarity around attention, executive functioning, learning, behaviour, and related concerns.
Assessment recommendations depend on the individual's age, concerns, history, and reason for seeking assessment.
If you are unsure whether an assessment is appropriate, schedule a free 15 minute consult with Gillian Goheen-Smith to determine the most appropriate next step.
Psychology for Children & Adolescents
Children and teenagers may experience stress and emotional challenges differently than adults.
Gillian's extensive background in education allows her to bring a developmental lens to her work with younger clients and their families.
Psychological support may address concerns such as:
- Anxiety and excessive worry
- ADHD and executive functioning
- Emotional regulation
- Anger and behavioural concerns
- Self-esteem
- Family and relationship challenges
- Difficult life experiences
- Trauma
- School-related stress
- Parent-child challenges
Care is tailored to the child's or adolescent's developmental stage, circumstances, and individual needs.
Support for Veterans & First Responders
Veterans, military members, first responders, and professionals working in high-stress environments can encounter experiences and pressures that are difficult to understand outside of those roles.
Gillian has a particular interest in supporting these populations and provides trauma-informed psychological care for concerns including trauma and PTSD, stress, emotional regulation, relationships, chronic pain, occupational pressures, and the effects that demanding work can have outside the workplace.
Treatment is individualized according to each client's experiences and goals.
Psychology & Chronic Pain
Persistent pain is more than a physical experience.
Pain can affect sleep, mood, relationships, activity levels, confidence, work, and overall quality of life. At the same time, stress, fear, previous experiences, and emotional well-being can influence how individuals cope with persistent symptoms.
Psychological care can form one part of a broader approach to chronic pain by helping clients develop coping strategies, address the emotional impact of ongoing symptoms, and work toward meaningful activities and goals.
At Reform Health + Wellness, psychology can also be coordinated with other members of your healthcare team when appropriate and with your consent.
Meet Wilson
Certified Facility Dog
Gillian may also work alongside Wilson, a professionally trained facility dog, when therapeutically appropriate and comfortable for the client.
Wilson can provide a calm and reassuring presence within the therapeutic environment. His role may include quiet companionship, grounding support during difficult moments, or simply helping therapy feel more approachable for clients who benefit from his presence.
Wilson may be particularly helpful for some children and teenagers, veterans, first responders, neurodivergent clients, and individuals experiencing trauma, anxiety, or emotional dysregulation.
Working with Wilson is based on each client's preferences and therapeutic needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about psychology and counselling at Reform Health + Wellness
No referral is required to book counselling at Reform Health + Wellness. You can self-refer. Some extended health benefit plans may require a physician’s referral for reimbursement — we recommend checking with your insurance provider.
Counselling and psychology is not covered under the standard Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan. Most clients access care through private extended health benefit plans (Alberta Blue Cross, Sun Life, Manulife, etc.). We offer direct billing to most major insurers where available. We also accept private pay. Please contact us or your benefits provider to confirm your coverage.
The number of sessions varies depending on your goals, the nature of your concerns, and how you respond to support. Some people benefit from short-term, focused work, while others prefer a longer course of therapy or ongoing maintenance sessions. Your counsellor or psychologist will provide clear recommendations after the initial assessment and regularly re-evaluate progress with you.
Yes. What you share in counselling and psychology is confidential, with the standard legal and ethical limits that apply to all regulated mental health professionals in Alberta (for example, situations involving imminent risk of serious harm or legal requirements to report). Your counsellor or psychologist will review confidentiality with you at the beginning of care.
Our team draws on evidence-based approaches tailored to your needs and preferences. These may include cognitive-behavioural strategies, mindfulness-based techniques, emotion-focused work, and other modalities shown to support lasting change. Your counsellor will discuss the approach with you so you understand how the work will unfold.
Psychology & Counselling in Red Deer
Taking the first step toward psychological care can feel difficult, particularly if you have never attended therapy before.
At Reform Health + Wellness, our goal is to provide a respectful, collaborative environment where you can better understand what you are experiencing, develop practical tools, and work toward changes that matter to you.
Gillian Goheen-Smith, Registered Provisional Psychologist, provides psychology and counselling services for children, adolescents, adults, families, veterans, first responders, and individuals throughout Red Deer and Central Alberta.
