Introducing Kickstand Connect
A free, confidential virtual clinic tailor-made for Alberta's young people.
When it comes to mental well-being, we believe that connections can make a big difference. That’s why we’ve launched Kickstand Connect – a virtual walk-in clinic exclusive for young Albertans aged 12 to 25. Appointments are available for any reason – no problem or question is too big or small. You can even make an appointment to check out how it works and what we offer.
At Kickstand Connect, you can access free mental health and substance use counselling, peer support, employment services and register for free workshops and support groups! Registration takes only a few minutes – all you need is an email address and to provide your name, date of birth, gender and postal code when you book an appointment; you do not need your health card for most services. Our Kickstand Connect team has experience working with young people from all walks of life including BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ youth – and they can’t wait to meet you! Feel free to drop in and have a chat with any provider to learn more about us.
Check our Services Schedule, make an appointment, and connect with us today!
Our services just got more personal. Download the Kickstand Connect app today!
Sign-up for Kickstand Connect online and access your account and appointments via the app.
Choose the Kickstand Connect that works for you!
Services We Offer
Mental Health Counselling
We currently offer single-session therapy: a single therapeutic session between provider and service user. This model of care helps us to make our services accessible to young people when they need it and means that we do not have a waiting list for services. You can sign-up for counselling on the day of or up to one week in advance.
Currently we have mental health counselling available on Mondays from 1 to 9 PM, Wednesdays from 5 to 9 PM and Thursdays from 1 to 9 PM.
NEW: Short-Term Mental Health Counselling!
We are excited to share that short-term counselling is now available on Kickstand Connect!
Short-term counselling is helpful if you would like regularly scheduled appointments with the same therapist to help you deal with a tough situation, learn new coping skills, or work toward your personal goals. Short-term counselling will include an intake and assessment appointment and 3-4 scheduled appointments with a therapist.
How does it work?
Step 1: Make an 1:1 appointment with a peer support worker or mental health counselor and let them know you are interested in short-term counselling.
Step 2: Someone from Kickstand Connect will reach out by email to set-up a “Choice Appointment”. Here you will fill out some questionnaires about your mental health and overall health, plus share your goals for short-term counselling.
Step 3: Then, you will get to share your preference for which therapist you’d like to work with!
Step 4: Your assigned therapist will reach out by e-mail to schedule your first short-term appointment.
Interested in short-term counselling? Make a 1:1 appointment for peer support or mental health counselling to learn more, ask questions, and get started!
Substance Use Counselling
The use of substances is common in our families and communities today and it can sometimes be confusing or lead to questions for young people. Do you want to talk to a professional and get accurate information? Do you have a question or concern about your own patterns of substance use or of someone in your life? Are you worried and don’t know where to ask for help? Our substance use counselors can listen without judgement and help by providing information, teaching skills and strategies, or acting as a safe person and place to practice a conversation. Reach out today to see if this is right for you.
Substance Use Counselling is available on Monday evenings from 5 to 9 PM. You can sign-up for counselling on the day of or up to one week in advance.!
Peer Support
Are you uncertain about where to start or feel uncomfortable talking to a healthcare provider? If you’d like to first open up to someone who can actually understand what you are going through, we have peer support workers to help you. Kickstand peer support workers come from different backgrounds and have their own experiences with mental health or substance use challenges. They are trained for virtual walk-in appointments, on a first-come, first-serve basis, and can offer you emotional support and connections based on their lived experiences.
Peer Support is available on Thursdays from 1 to 5 PM. You can sign-up for a peer support chat on the day of or up to one week in advance!
Employment Support
Below you can find helpful articles on school, employment support, and skill building plus a list of external employment services.
Groups and Workshops
Kickstand Connect offers a range of groups and workshops – all you have to do is find the one that interests you. Our groups often have two leaders who cover a wide range of topics and focus on learning, practising new skills, or both. Since these programs are designed for interaction with fellow participants, they might not be ideal for one-on-one support. If you’d prefer a private session, please choose one of our other services.
1:1 Appointments Schedule
Check our website and social media regularly for updated program and service options!
Groups & Workshops Schedule
Check our website and social media regularly for updated program and service options!
Frequently Asked Questions
Kickstand Connect offers a virtual clinic with trained professionals and a safe space for group sessions, exclusively for young Albertans aged 12-25 and their parents or caregivers. It is a free online portal and mobile app where young people can accessvirtually bothsame-dayand pre-bookedappointments(up to a week in advance)with a mental health professional, peer support worker, employment specialistor participate in group activities and workshops. Based on a single session model, Kickstand Connect offers various same-dayand pre-bookedservices, none of which require a healthcare card, referral, or any form of payment.
- Mental Health and/or Substance Use Counselling
- Peer Support for young people
- Employment Services
- Groups and Workshops
- Coming in the future: primary/physical care appointments, pharmacy consultation, family peer support and more!
Our counsellors are all licensed mental health professionals, from a variety of backgrounds, including clinical social work, psychology, occupational therapy, and registered nursing.
Many of our group programs are offered by Kickstand’s community partners, who include Sagesse, Eating Disorder Support Network of Alberta, YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Youth Cannabis Awareness Program, ATB and many others
We primarily utilize a single session, solution focused approach to mental health counselling. Single session therapy is simply, a single therapeutic session between provider and service user. This model of care helps us to make our services accessible to people when they need it and means that we do not have a waiting list for services.
Yes, you can come more than once! Each visit, the provider will help you out with whatever your concern or issue is that day and then if you think you need that support again next week or month, you can come back. You will not be guaranteed the same provider each time but all of our providers are trained in the single session, solution-focused model and you won’t have to tell your story all over again.
If you are 14-17 years, you do not need a parent or caregiver to sign up for an appointment and while you are welcome to bring them along, their permission is not required for most Kickstand Connect services. If you are 12 or 13 years, we encourage you to bring along a parent or caregiver so the provider can explain the service at the beginning of the appointment.
Young people aged 12-25 years can access services using our online booking portal and all you need to sign up for an appointment is your name, an email address you have access to, your date of birth, postal code and gender identity. You do not require a healthcare card, referral, or any form of payment to access Kickstand Connect services.
Same day and pre-booked single session services are available Mondays (except statutory holidays) from 1:00 to 9:00 pm, Wednesdays from 5:00 to 9:00 pm, and Thursdays from 1:00-9:00pm.
We welcome any Albertan aged 12-25 years to use our services. Maybe you’re not sure how you’re feeling or you’re tired of not feeling great. Maybe you have thought of getting help, but you are uncertain if you’re “sick enough” to be taken seriously. Maybe you are on a waiting list for another service and need some support while you wait. Maybe you need some help figuring out an education or employment concern. You are the right person, and you can make an appointment at Kickstand Connect and talk to a peer, a mental health professional, or an employment specialist!
Absolutely! At Kickstand, we are committed to being a safe space for trans and gender diverse youth to access health and wellness services.
We are working to become a part of the Skipping Stones Trans Affirming Network and all of our staff and providers have received the Trans Wellness Initiative Affirming Spaces Training.
Meet our mental health providers HERE.
Below you will find the information we ask for when you make an appointment on Kickstand Connect and our reasoning behind each ask.
First Name: This is so we know what to call you during your appointment! If your chosen name is different from your legal name, you’re welcome to write that instead.
Last Name: We do not need your legal name for our walk-in services, but we do encourage you to use your real last name. There will be some services, like pharmacy services or talking to a physician (family doctor) where we would need your full, legal name.
Phone number: We will not use this number to contact you in any way, unless you give us permission to do so. We use phone numbers primarily for emergency contact purposes.
DOB: We ask for you date of birth so we know how old you are. This helps us to make sure you are a good fit for our services, as our services have been built to best support people ages 12 to 25.
I am…
This is to help us understand who you are and where you are coming from. Some of our services are for family members/caregivers, and sometimes a service provider might be helping a young person to sign up for an appointment. This helps us to understand who is using Kickstand Connect services.
Gender
We ask for demographic information, like gender identity, to better understand the young people who use our services. Knowing a little bit about your identity can help us find out if young people of all identities feel comfortable using our services. If we can see there is a group of a certain identity that isn’t signing up for appointments, we can use that knowledge to make changes & learn how to better reach out to and support young people from those communities.
My ethnic/racial identity is…
Like with gender identity, we ask for your racial or ethnic identity to better understand the young people who use our services. Knowing a little bit about your identity can help us find out if young people of all identities feel comfortable using our services. If we can see there is a group of a certain identity that isn’t signing up for appointments, we can use that knowledge to make changes & learn how to better reach out to and support young people from those communities.
Which Alberta health region are you in?
We want to make sure that our services are for Alberta young people! Like asking for demographic information, knowing what regions the young people who use our services are from can help us figure out if people from any region feel like Kickstand services aren’t for them.
If you are not sure which region you are in, here is a map to help you out!
If you had not accessed Kickstand services, where else would you have gone for help?
Part of our goal at Kickstand is to change the way that young people access health and wellness services in Alberta. To help us achieve this, we want to know where you would have gone to get help if you didn’t use Kickstand Connect. In the long term, this will help Kickstand to try to reach those young people who don’t feel that the typical health and wellness services in their community are right for them.
You can find the Kickstand Connect Terms of Use & Privacy Policy here:
