Dr. Olive Okraku
North Edmonton Counselling Services
North Edmonton Counselling Services was established to demystify and destigmatize counselling, and to improve the quality of life of our clients. Dr. Olive Okraku takes a holistic approach that explores the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of who you are. This biopsychosocial model of practice recognizes that all these aspects are linked and we can’t effectively address one without considering the others.
Creating a safe space to facilitate change
Dr. Olive Okraku is a registered psychologist with a Master’s degree specializing in clinical psychology and a Ph.D. in counselling psychology.
As important as her credentials, however, is her purpose. Working from a place of compassion, empathy, inclusivity, and science Dr. Okraku creates a safe space for change to happen so that people can live fulfilling and authentic lives.
Dr. Okraku works with adults, families, adolescents, and children — as individuals, couples, or families, within clinical, health, community, counselling, and school psychology specialties. She has specialized training in evidence-based approaches that reduce distress and improve the lives of her clients (e.g. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — CBT; Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing-EMDR; Prolonged Exposure Therapy-PE) and more.
The North Edmonton Counselling Services Difference
OUR VISION
To serve people with compassion and empathy by creating an inclusive, non-judgmental, and safe space that facilitates change, healing, and growth.
OUR MISSION
To provide psychological services to children, youth, couples, individuals, and families from a biopsychosocial perspective. To provide services that are transformative and inclusive, enabling people to live fulfilling and authentic lives.
Accessible, Personalized Care for All
Mental health services should be available and accessible to all. Dr. Olive Okraku works with adults, adolescents, couples, children (10+), and families spanning generational, cultural, spiritual, racial, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Therapeutic approaches:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
- Hope-Based Counselling
- Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Approach
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
- Positive Psychology and Resilience Approaches
- Trauma-Informed Therapy
- Solution Focused Approach
- Infertility Therapy Approach
Dr. Olive Okraku’s areas of interest include trauma and PTSD, depressive and bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, addictions, chronic illness and health-related issues, stress/lifestyle-related issues, couples, interfaith relationships, personality issues, women's issues, infertility, parenting, spirituality, and multi and cross-cultural issues.
Reach out and reclaim your life
Together we can identify, explore, and resolve issues that create barriers to living a fulfilling life. North Edmonton Counselling Services provides comprehensive counselling services to individuals of any age, couples, and families.
Working with compassion, empathy, and without judgement, Dr. Olive Okraku will help you discover your innate strength and resilience to manage difficult life transitions, heal emotional pain, restore balance, and enhance your coping skills.
Building on Your Core Strengths
Dr. Okraku’s clinical training and work experience in various settings have equipped her in treating a variety of presenting problems effectively and successfully.
However, it is her core values about people, their strength and resilience, and the power of diversity, that sets her apart from many other healthcare providers. She works from a strengths-based perspective, which recognizes and builds on peoples’ strengths rather than focusing on their shortcomings. Making changes, and exploring the difficulties one faces are important. However, transformation, healing, and growth can occur when we strive through difficulties and identify and magnify any goodness.
With our diverse experiences and backgrounds comes each person’s unique lens/perspective which one processes experiences and makes meaning.
Her approach is to provide personalized care that is unique and tailor-made for each and every individual. She works in collaboration with her clients — this becomes “our” work. She supports, teaches, facilitates, and sometimes guides, but doesn't make the decisions, on your journey to wellness.
Our mental health is as important as our physical health, and the two are inextricably linked. Life can be difficult and sometimes full of unexpected adversities. Without dismissing the “story”, her goal is to help people retell their narrative in a way that allows them to regain control over their lives and create a sense of peace and optimism instead of feeling “stuck”.
Each one of us has the right to live a meaningful, authentic, and full life, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, social status, culture, body type/size, religion/spirituality, and ethnicity. Dr. Okraku’s goal is to provide a transformative process to allow people to feel safe, understood, and supported while exploring their issues or concerns.
Comprehensive mental health services for all
Adult Counselling
Providing a wide range of holistic counselling therapy options in a highly collaborative, empathetic, non-judgmental setting for issues related to self-discovery, stress and lifestyle, loss, trauma, depression, anxiety, work, chronic pain and illness, and others.
Children & Youth Counselling
Timely, appropriate therapeutic intervention to equip your child (10+) or teen with essential, life-long social and emotional skills — leading to a better quality of life.
Marriage & Couples Counselling
Providing insight into how your actions and emotions impact your relationship in order to help partners learn how to express emotions in a healthy way, strengthen their bond, create emotional safety, and reduce fear and conflict.
What Clients Are Saying
Let us know how we can help
If you are feeling unsure or overwhelmed, just know that the very act of seeking out information is the right first step in your journey.
As a trained and experienced psychologist, Dr. Olive Okraku can join you in this journey, and together we can work to explore and address whatever issues are keeping you from living a fulfilling life. Her approach is holistic, which takes into account all the aspects of “You” — not just the mental state you may be experiencing.
