Relationships & patterns
Family Therapy in Calgary
Everyone's tired of walking on eggshells. One person always ends up in the middle. The same fight keeps happening with different words. Family therapy isn't about deciding who's right, it's about understanding the pattern the whole family keeps repeating, and building a different way through it together.
The pattern may look like
- One family member constantly caught between two others
- Conversations that turn into blowups before anything gets resolved
- A teen or adult child who's pulled away and stopped talking
- Old roles nobody chose but everyone's stuck in: the peacemaker, the scapegoat, the one who fixes everything
- Tension that spikes around specific topics: money, in-laws, parenting differences, a recent loss or life change
- Feeling like you're the only one trying to hold things together
Understanding the pattern, together
Family systems develop roles and cycles for a reason, usually to manage stress or protect someone from conflict. Those roles can outlive their purpose and start causing the very tension they were meant to prevent. Family therapy looks at the system as a whole, not just the person who got sent to fix it.
- Map the pattern: who gets pulled in, when, and what usually triggers it
- Understand the protective role each position has served in the family
- Build direct communication that doesn't route through a third person
- Practise new ways of engaging that actually hold outside the session
This isn't about assigning blame
Family therapy is not about finding the one person responsible for everything going wrong. It's about recognizing patterns that formed to manage something difficult, deciding together which ones still serve the family, and creating room for people to relate differently, especially across generations or during major transitions.
Practical details
In-person in Calgary, virtual across Alberta
- Location
- Thrive Business Centre, 11500 29 St SE, Calgary, AB T2Z 3W9, with free parking on site.
- Session format
- In-person sessions in Calgary and secure virtual sessions for clients anywhere in Alberta, including Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Peace River, and rural communities.
- Your clinician
- Every session is provided by Sheri Boyd, MA, MBA, a provisionally registered psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP).
- Fees & insurance
- $235 per 50-minute session (booked in a 60-minute slot). Psychological services are GST-exempt. Direct billing is available for Alberta Blue Cross, Sun Life, Green Shield Canada, and Canada Life, with detailed receipts provided for every other plan.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What if not everyone in the family wants to come?
Family therapy can still be useful with just one or two members present. Change in how one person shows up often shifts the whole system, even without full attendance.
Do you see families with teenagers?
Yes. If the focus is mainly on one teen's individual experience, Teen Therapy → may be a better starting point; family sessions can run alongside it.
What's the difference between family therapy and couples therapy?
Couples therapy focuses on the relationship between partners. Family therapy includes the wider system, parents, kids, or extended family, and how everyone's roles interact.
How many people need to attend a session?
This depends on what's being worked on. Some sessions involve the whole family, others involve a smaller subset. We'll figure out the right configuration together.
Is this covered by insurance?
Direct billing is available for several major providers, and receipts are provided for any plan requiring reimbursement.
Are sessions available virtually?
Yes, in person in Calgary and virtually anywhere in Alberta.
Short answers
What Is Triangulation in Family Relationships
Triangulation happens when tension between two people gets routed through a third, a kid caught between parents, a sibling asked to relay messages. It feels like keeping the peace, but it usually keeps the real conflict from ever getting resolved.
Naming the pattern is the first step to stepping out of the middle.
Family of Origin Work: Why the Past Still Shows Up Now
The roles you learned growing up (fixer, peacemaker, scapegoat) don't disappear just because you're an adult now. They show up in how you handle conflict, closeness, and stress in your current family.
Understanding where a pattern started makes it easier to choose something different.