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:
-
Break Barriers: Build trust with strategies that deeply resonate with youth.
-
Inspire Growth: Use creative tools to encourage reflection, healing, and progress.
-
Empower Change: Transform challenges into opportunities for connection and growth.
Pull up a chair:
Where connection begins.
At Counsellor Talk, we’ve seen it again and again: the biggest breakthroughs rarely happen because someone finally finds the perfect words … they happen because someone feels safe enough to be real.
Sometimes it starts with the smallest moment:
-
a chair pulled a little closer
-
a warm “I’m glad you’re here”
-
a pause that says, “Take your time”
-
noticing when a student needs something
-
being present , yes really present
Connection is the quiet power you have to make a difference. It tells a student, a colleague, a parent, a human: You matter. I’m with you. We can figure out the next step together.
And we hope you’ll pull up a chair and join us as we create inspirational resources you can actually use—words that land gently, tools that fit real days, and reminders that you don’t have to do this alone.
Pull up a chair.
That’s often where hope walks in.
Counsellor Talk Toolkits
Check out our Free Counsellor Talk Resources
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.
About Counsellor Talk
Passion, Positivity, Possibility and Purpose
Susan Spellman Cann
Susan Spellman Cann is a Registered Psychologist with more than four decades of experience supporting students, educators, and school communities. Her career has woven together teaching (regular and special education), counselling in elementary, junior high, and high school settings, and roles in universities, private practice, and the Calgary Stampede Foundation. One theme has always stayed the same: Susan believes in young people—and in the adults who show up for them every day.
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Susan holds a deep love for the coast and the calm of summer days—especially time spent on the Mira River with her family. Calgary has been home for over forty years, and it’s where much of her professional life—and heart work—has lived.
Susan is also a lifelong learner with a soft spot for technology and creativity. She loves exploring how digital tools can make counselling resources more engaging, more accessible, and more meaningful for the next generation.
Today, Susan is semi-retired and happily leaning into her artistic side—creating, designing (including the covers and graphics for Counsellor Talk), writing ( there may even be another book or two in her) walking, travelling, spending time with family and friends, and playing pickleball.
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.
