Meet Our Team
At True Balance Counselling, we ensure quality service by our team of psychologists.
We welcome you to read our biographies to learn more about us and how we could help you meet your goals.
All our psychologists are committed to providing you with
compassionate, non-judgemental support.
Daelynn Takasaki, B.A., M.Ed.
Registered Psychologist #3420
Co-Owner, True Balance Counselling
Daelynn has been in private practice since 2006 and she has extensive experience working with all ages including individuals, couples, groups and families. However, her true passion is working with children, adolescents, parents and families and she utilizes her extensive training in Play Therapy, Gottman training and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in her work with clients in moving them towards change. In addition to counselling, Daelynn also provides Psycho-Educational and Mental Health assessments privately through True Balance Counselling.
Daelynn has been a Registered Psychologist since 2008. Prior to opening True Balance Counselling her experience included overseeing the Counselling Program for a School Division, Counselling in a post-secondary institution and at a non-profit agency, as well as teaching and providing training and supervision opportunities for other professionals.
Daelynn feels her most important role is being a mother to her two beautiful daughters.
Specialties Include:
-
Divorce/Separation
-
Children
-
Parenting
-
Assessment
Tanya Jackson (Krueger), B.A., M.Ed.
Registered Psychologist #2724
Co-Owner, True Balance Counselling
Tanya has been working as a Registered Psychologist since 2002. She completed her BA in Psychology and her Masters in Counselling Psychology. She specializes in working with OCD, Phobias, Anxiety, Relationship Issues, and Trauma. She is compassionate in her relationships and provides strength-based therapy for individuals, couples and families of all age groups utilizing approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Strategies, Gottman Couples Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Play Therapy, and EMDR. Tanya continues to work in a post-secondary institution.
Prior to opening True Balance Counselling, she was the Clinical Team Leader in a school division and worked at a non-profit counselling agency. She enjoys counselling, facilitating presentations and team building activities, and supervising interns.
Tanya grew up in this community. In her spare time she enjoys soccer, spin, skiing, travelling, wine with friends, cheering her kids on at their sports, and spending time with her husband, kids, and their two pugs. She is passionate about helping others and living a positive balanced life.
Specialties Include:
-
OCD
-
Anxiety
-
Healthy Relationships
Sandy Witdouck, B.A., MACP
Registered Psychologist #4982
Sandy became a Registered Psychologist in 2018.
She has extensive work experience with youth, adults, groups, and families in residential programs, community-based programs and school settings. She also provides instruction in Psychology to students in a post-secondary institution.
Sandy believes that by working collaboratively with people, meaningful goals and interventions can be established so that individuals reach their desired state of being. She practices with a strength-based, culturally sensitive approach and integrates Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, mindfulness strategies, and emotional regulation techniques. She prioritizes overall health, fitness and maintaining balance in her life, and is passionate about helping others reach balance in their lives by working through obstacles and challenges that might be holding them back.
For enjoyment, Sandy spends time with her family, bikes, hikes, skis, and attends fitness classes.
Kelsey Atkinson, B.A., MC
Registered Psychologist #5389
Kelsey is a Registered Psychologist with a B.A. in Psychology (University of Lethbridge), and M.C. (Gonzaga University). She is a very welcoming, accepting and empathic Therapist who has a perceptive approach to therapy with a youthful energy that is motivated by the belief that all individuals have the inherent potential to flourish. Kelsey will meet the client where they are at with a style that utilizes their instilled strengths while providing a safe and nurturing environment. Kelsey has extensive experience working with children and adolescents, and in her new endeavors with private practice has thoroughly enjoyed her work with adults thus far. Kelsey takes an adaptive and flexible, client centered, therapeutic approach with the use of CBT, DBT, Mindfulness, Solution Focused, creative experiential and Somatic/body-centered methods.
Kelsey enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Kelsey is an animal lover with dreams of owning a “fun farm”, but for right now is happy with her main pup, Indy. In her spare time Kelsey jumps at the chance to get outside to enjoy some fresh air and enjoy adventures near and far. In her down time, Kelsey has no shame enjoying Netflix or attempting some sort of Pinterest project (more often ending with a lovely Pinterest Fail!).
Melissa Gleeson, B.A., MACP
Registered Psychologist #3946
Melissa has been a Registered Psychologist since 2013 and has experience working with children, adolescents and adults in individual, couple and group settings. She has completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. She has also completed additional training in Mindfulness Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
Melissa’s areas of professional areas of interest include infertility, adoption, anxiety, stress management, major life transitions or changes, relationship and family issues, grief/loss and personal growth. Her approach to counselling is strength based and person centered. She draws from a variety of approaches including EMDR, Mindfulness Integrated CBT, CBT, Solution Focused Therapy and Positive Psychology.
In her spare time, Melissa enjoys spending time with her family and friends in the outdoors. In the summer, she enjoys camping, biking, and swimming and in the winter, cross country skiing and playing in the snow with her son.
In addition to her role at True Balance Counselling, Christie has been working as a Registered Psychologist in a local school division since 2015. Prior to that she worked as a behaviour consultant for individuals with developmental disabilities and severe behaviour challenges. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology as well as her Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology at the University of Lethbridge. Christie has a strong understanding of various disabilities such as Autism and FASD, as well as the challenges that can come with diagnoses such as ADHD and Anxiety. She specializes in working with individuals with challenging behaviours, as well as psycho-educational assessment and inclusive programming.
In her spare time, Christie enjoys spending time with her family, dancing with Ammena Dance Studio, golf, yoga, and reading.
Christie Archer, B.A., M.Ed
Registered Psychologist #4469
Allie Borgstrom, B.A., M.Ed
Registered Psychologist #4600
Allie is a Registered Psychologist with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and a Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology. She is passionate about working collaboratively with children, youth, and adults, to assist them in achieving their goals.
Allie is a client centered therapist, who values creating a warm and welcoming environment for therapy where she utilizes a variety of therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Thearpy (CBT), Mindfulness, Narrative Therapy, Play Therapy, and EMDR. Allie has extensive counselling experience, having practiced with a non-profit agency, a school division, and within the health care system.
Outside of counselling, Allie loves nature, exploring, and most of all, her family.
Damaris Malpica, B.N., MACP
Provisional Psychologist #3349p
Damaris is a Provisional Psychologist and graduated with a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology degree in 2020. Prior to that she worked as a Registered Nurse, and then as a stay-at-home mom for two amazing kids. Her counselling experience is mainly with young adults, and she looks forward to expanding her areas of practice to include couples and families in the future.
Damaris is a warm, empathic, open therapist who believes that a strong connection with clients is the key to successful therapy and lasting change. She uses a variety of approaches including CBT, mindfulness, dialectical behavior therapy, emotion focused therapy, and compassion focused therapy, and is able to tailor therapeutic approaches to individual clients. She has supported clients experiencing depression, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma, and self-harm, among other difficulties, and is adept at helping clients regain balance
in their lives.In her spare time, Damaris likes to travel, work out, read, bake, play board games, and hang out with her family. She also loves puzzles of any sort, including escape rooms.
Aleigha Arksey, B.A., M.Ed
Provisional Psychologist #3455
Aleigha Arksey is a recent Provisional Psychologist, with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.Ed. in Counselling Psychology (University of Lethbridge). After graduation Aleigha spent 2 years working as a Canadian Certified Counsellor at various non-for-profit agencies in Lethbridge, where she utilized a client centered approach with children, adolescents, families, and adults. Working with an open heart and open mind, Aleigha values the connection formed with clients when working alongside them to achieve their goals.
Aleigha draws from a variety of approaches including CBT, mindfulness, play therapy, strength-based, and solution focused, and believes in tailoring therapeutic approaches to meet each client’s needs. She has experience aiding people with anxiety, grief and loss, trauma, and life transitions. When working with youth clients, Aleigha places importance on providing support to the parents and caregivers as a way to help the youth flourish.
Outside of counselling, Aleigha loves to engage in creative endeavours like crocheting, dancing, and teaching herself ukulele. Aleigha has always enjoyed video games and is currently having a blast playing Zelda. As a certified yoga teacher, Aleigha also likes to use yoga and meditation to bring balance into her life.
Sarah Henderson, B.A., MACP
Provisional Psychologist #3469
Sarah is a Provisional Psychologist with her Masters in Counselling Psychology. Sarah’s therapeutic approach is client-centered; utilizing cognitive behavioural (CBT), solution-focused, Mindfulness, experiential and existential methods. She sees the client as the expert in their own life experience and is honoured to explore and hold space for the client as they work together toward client goals. During her internship, Sarah worked with a large organization, allowing her to experience a range of diverse needs and clientele. She has a passion for working with young adults and couples and has completed Gottman Level 1 training.
Sarah emphasizes working collaboratively with other professionals in the client’s support system as well as collaborative consultation with other psychologists. As each client is unique, and desires to be seen and heard, Sarah’s ultimate goal is establishing a strong therapeutic connection with clients. This foundation is key for exploration, guidance and discovery.
Sarah’s other passions include her two very energetic and adventurous kids, cooking, travel, anything west coast-related, and interior design (of which she holds a diploma).
Ashley Jordan, B.Sc., B.Ed., M.C.
Provisional Psychologist #P6326
Ashley is a Provisional Psychologist with a B.Sc., in Psychology (Mount Saint Vincent University), a Bachelor of Education (Acadia University), and a Master of Counselling Psychology (Athabasca University). Ashley began her career in Nova Scotia as a teacher, but quickly discovered her passion for working with students who were faced with additional challenges outside of their academics. She moved to Northern Alberta where she worked for several not-for-profit agencies that provided services for high-risk youth and young adults, while she completed her masters. Ashley has worked in school divisions for the past four years and is intentional in creating an environment where clients can feel heard, supported, and understood.
Ashley values a client-centered and collaborative approach. She supports clients in reaching their goals by building on their existing strengths and resiliency, teaching strategies and practical skills, increasing understanding and self-awareness, and enhancing overall coping and wellness. Her therapeutic approach is informed by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy and Mindfulness.
In her spare time, Ashley likes to travel back to Nova Scotia to visit her family. She lives a healthy and active lifestyle by going to the gym, coaching basketball, and trying new recipes.
Glenna Stengler, BSW
Office Administrator
We are pleased to introduce you to our Office Administrator, Glenna. She is our client care specialist, ensuring anyone that contacts TBC is set up to get the support they are looking for.
Glenna has spent the past several years as an owner of a local small business. Through this experience , Glenna has enjoyed learning a whole new set of skills in the field of business and administration. Prior to this, she received her Bachelor of Social Work Degree from the University of Calgary and worked for many years in this field before changing career paths to assist in running a family business. Glenna also has a Child and Youth Care Diploma from Lethbridge Community College.
Glenna likes to spend time with her kids, especially when they are enjoying the outdoors, doing things such as camping, skiing, or hiking. She also enjoys things such as long walks with the dog or relaxing with a good book.
