Dr. Poliana Goncalves Barbosa

Registered Provisional Psychologist, EMDR Certified, Perinatal Mental Health Certified

Virtual & In-Person | $200 per hour

I offer compassionate support for individuals navigating a wide range of emotional and psychological challenges, including anxiety, depression, and both acute and complex trauma. My work also addresses difficulties with emotional regulation, grief and loss, and the lasting effects of oppression and abuse. I help clients through significant life transitions, relationship struggles, and issues related to self-esteem and identity. My practice includes specialized care for perinatal mental health, including the emotional complexities of pregnancy, postpartum, abortion, miscarriage, and fertility challenges. I also support those affected by family violence, parenting difficulties, and attachment wounds, creating a safe and affirming space for healing, growth, and connection.

Hello!

I hold a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Psychology from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil), a PhD in Psychology from the University of Alberta, and a Master’s in Counselling from Athabasca University. Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of working in the counselling field — both in private practice and through volunteer work — supporting individuals through some of life’s most vulnerable and transformative moments.

My clinical experience includes walking alongside adults (ages 18+) and couples as they navigate anxiety, depression, trauma (including complex trauma), emotional regulation challenges, grief, loss, and the lasting impacts of oppression and abuse. I’ve also supported clients through life transitions, relationship struggles, self-esteem issues, perinatal mental health, abortion, family violence, and a range of women’s issues — always with a commitment to compassion, curiosity, and care.

To me, counselling is a space where we gently turn inward — where we reconnect with our truest selves and begin to understand our stories in new, empowering ways. We are relational beings, shaped by the worlds we inhabit and the relationships we hold dear. I believe that within each of us lies a deep capacity for healing, growth, and alignment — and that therapy can help us move closer to the life we want to live.

My role is to hold space for that process — to offer a grounded, nonjudgmental presence where clients feel safe enough to be fully seen, and brave enough to explore. In our work together, clients are invited to deepen their awareness, sit with their emotions, and nurture a compassionate relationship with themselves.

While my practice is rooted in humanistic and feminist values, I take an integrative approach to therapy — drawing from evidence-based methods and current research, and tailoring each session to the unique needs of the person sitting across from me. I see therapeutic models as tools, not rules: culturally and historically shaped, and most powerful when used with flexibility, intention, and care. Above all, I honour each client’s wisdom, voice, and pace in the journey toward healing.

You can follow Poliana on Instagram at Tides of Becoming

Insurance Coverage

Poliana offers direct billing to Alberta Blue Cross and Green Shield. She is able to provide services to many other insurance companies with reimbursement options.

For more detailed information on insurance coverage, click here.

Mental Health Concerns

I offer compassionate support for individuals navigating a wide range of emotional and psychological challenges, including anxiety, depression, and both acute and complex trauma. My work also addresses difficulties with emotional regulation, grief and loss, and the lasting effects of oppression and abuse. I help clients through significant life transitions, relationship struggles, and issues related to self-esteem and identity. My practice includes specialized care for perinatal mental health, including the emotional complexities of pregnancy, postpartum, abortion, miscarriage, and fertility challenges. I also support those affected by family violence, parenting difficulties, and attachment wounds, creating a safe and affirming space for healing, growth, and connection.

Abuse

Anger

Anxiety

Childhood Trauma

Couples Issues

Depression

Emotional Regulation

Grief and Loss

Life Transitions

Loneliness

Self Esteem

Trauma & PTSD

Women's Issues

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Mental Health Approaches

In my work, I draw from a blend of therapeutic approaches that resonate with both my values and the unique needs of each person I support. I often use Emotion-Focused Therapy to help clients connect with and process their feelings, and EMDR when working through trauma. Existential and Psychodynamic therapies guide deeper exploration of meaning, identity, and past experiences, while Narrative and Solution-Focused therapies help reframe stories and build on strengths. This integrative approach allows me to meet people where they are and walk alongside them in their healing journey.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Culturally Sensitive Therapy

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)

Existential Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Feminist Therapy

Group Counselling

Humanistic Therapy

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Mindfulness Therapy

Narrative Therapy

Person Centered Therapy

Psychodynamic Therapy

Solution-focused Therapy

Strength Based Therapy (SBT)

Trauma Informed Therapy

More About Dr. Poliana

I find deep joy in getting lost in literary fiction, especially stories with rich, complex characters that linger in my mind long after I’ve turned the last page. I can happily spend hours immersed in a good book. Long walks are one of my favorite ways to recharge — there’s something profoundly grounding about being in nature, breathing deeply, and letting the world slow down for a while.

I’m also the proud (and often exhausted) mother of two wonderfully spirited kids who fill my days with laughter, chaos, and endless love. They remind me daily of both the beauty and the messiness of being human — and I wouldn’t have it any other way.