Connecting with those who want to make a difference – and have some fun along the way.
Connecting with those who want to make a difference – and have some fun along the way.
Connecting with those who want to make a difference – and have some fun along the way.
Spark Meaningful Connections. Ignite Creative Possibilities.
Counsellor Talk: Creative Resources for Counsellors, Educators, and Mental Health Professionals
What If Every Interaction
Could Change a Life?
We believe the most profound growth emerges through creative and meaningful connections.
This space is designed to empower you with the tools, resources, and inspiration you need to make every interaction with young people an opportunity to build trust, foster growth, and ignite real change.
Counsellor Talk is here to support you as you create the connections that transform lives—for the youth you serve and for yourself.
Through our creative resources, engaging blog, professional development workshops, and our book, Counsellor Talk: Connecting Through Creative Counselling Techniques, we help you:
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Break Barriers: Build trust with strategies that deeply resonate with youth.
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Inspire Growth: Use creative tools to encourage reflection, healing, and progress.
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Empower Change: Transform challenges into opportunities for connection and growth.
Pull up a chair:
Where connection begins.
Imagine sitting around a campfire, sharing stories and exchanging insights with trusted mentors.
The warmth of the fire invites openness, and the shared moments spark connection and understanding.
With over 30 years of experience as psychologists and counsellors, we’ve seen firsthand how the empty chair technique can create powerful breakthroughs—not only in the lives of the young people we’ve had the privilege to support, but as a tool we’ve used in our own journeys of reflection and growth.
By imagining someone—or even a part of yourself—sitting in the chair, you open the door to exploring emotions and uncovering new perspectives.
Like the stories told around the campfire, the empty chair fosters clarity and connection, creating space for healing and meaningful change.
Counsellor Talk
Creative Resources for Counsellors, Educators, and Mental Health Professionals
Counsellor Talk
The Book
Authored by psychologists and school counsellors with over 60 years of combined experience, this engaging and practical guide is designed to inspire and empower professionals working with youth.
Discover creative, evidence-informed strategies that deepen connection, build trust, and transform everyday interactions into meaningful moments of growth.
Counsellor Talk
Workshops
Amplify your impact with dynamic, creativity-fueled workshops designed to inspire and empower educators and those in the field of mental health working with youth.
Unlock innovative strategies, foster meaningful connections, and transform classrooms or your practice with practical tools that ignite growth and engagement.
Our Story:
Passion, Positivity, Possibility and Purpose
Susan Spellman Cann
Susan Spellman Cann is a Registered Psychologist with more than four decades of experience which includes teaching regular and special education, as well as being an elementary, junior high, and high school counsellor. Throughout her career, Susan has been dedicated to empowering youth, teachers, and counsellors. Her experience which has spanned across K-12 schools, universities, private practice, and being a psychologist for the Calgary Stampede Foundation has allowed her to have an amazing career. Working with youth has brought her great joy.
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Susan loves to spend summers on the beach, especially on the picturesque Mira River with her loving family. The beautiful Calgary, Alberta has been home for over forty years.
Susan's passion for technology motivates her to continuously learn about its potential to positively impact the next generation of counsellors. Through volunteering, both online and offline, Susan continues to pay it forward.
Presently Susan is semi-retired, so she indulges in her love of everything artistic (including creating the cover and graphics for Counsellor Talk), going for walks, travelling, spending precious time with family and friends, and playing pickleball. You can find out more about Susan's professional life here.
Susan Spellman Cann
Registered Psychologist
COUNSELLOR TALK
The Book
COUNSELLOR TALK:
CONNECTING THROUGH CREATIVE COUNSELLING TECHNIQUES
What if every interaction with a young person sparked authentic connection, profound growth, and lasting trust?
Counsellor Talk: Connecting Through Creative Counselling Techniques is a unique, practical, and engaging guide designed to empower counsellors, educators, and mental health professionals to create meaningful relationships that cultivate opportunities for young people to thrive.
Written by psychologists and school counsellors with over 60 years of combined experience, this book serves as a masterclass in blending art, science, and heart to revolutionize your practice. When youth feel truly seen, heard, and supported, breakthroughs happen—for them and for you.
Discover how to reignite your passion for your work, deepen connections, and transform challenges into opportunities for growth.
Listen to a podcast of what the book is all about: It’s created using AI by NotebookLM, however it does give you a great overview of what our non AI generated book is all about.
If you’d like to purchase our book, check it out on Amazon
Susan and Helen are ready to share loads of ideas with you.
COUNSELLOR TALK
The Blog
Explore our blog for thought-provoking content, innovative ideas, practical insights, and creative strategies to elevate your work with youth.
Each post offers something unique, from actionable tools to personal reflections, all designed to support your work and inspire meaningful connections.
