Our Registered Psychologists, Certified Counsellors and Licensed Therapists are passionate about helping you live your life fully and meaningfully.
At Wellwood Counselling, we walk with you toward healing, helping you live a more fulfilled, meaningful and authentic life. Finding purpose and living meaningfully can be difficult in our world. You don’t have to do this alone! We’re honoured to walk with you as we pursue deep relational, emotional and mental wellbeing together.
Are you ready to live your life fully?
Our mission is to walk with you, providing personal and professional psychological support as you move towards more responsible, meaningful and authentic living.
Our vision is to build a future where every person experiences deep relational, emotional and mental well-being.
It is the privilege of a lifetime to become who you truly are.
Wellwood Counselling was founded in 2017 by Ben Bentum as a business partnership with a vision to provide existential psychotherapy in Edmonton. Our vision was to have a workplace where our therapists’ genuine ways of being-in-the-world were honoured, and quality professional counselling services are offered to people looking to live their lives more fully and meaningfully.
We wanted to create a safe and healthy environment in which to welcome clients. In treating ourselves with openness, responsibility, and compassion, we offer a place for clients to do the same with themselves. As we navigated the conversation between our inner worlds and the limits and opportunities in the outer world, we found meaningful relationships with our work, the people we work with, and our community.
In 2024 Ben purchased Wellwood Counselling from his business partner and became the sole practice owner. His vision was to support therapists with personal frameworks that matched many of those developed through existential training, such as:
Our core practice values remain existential, attracting existentially minded therapists, though we practice from diverse modalities representing our unique personal histories.
Living fully, feeling purpose and meaning, can be difficult in our world. Many people encounter barriers to thriving. Wellwood Counselling was founded to walk with people towards living full and meaningful lives.
Wellwood is a safe place to work towards a deeper, more meaningful life and I can help. I am my full self in therapy, and will share thoughts and responses that may help you better understand your experience. I aim to be authentic in my sessions, as well as open and genuinely interested in your life experience. My existential training and orientation allow for a full understanding of your experience. You don’t have to do this alone. You are wonderful and there is hope.
Ben deeply values relationship and has always been curiously fascinated by people and our unique experiences. This interest led him to enroll in psychology courses in university to better understand people and himself through psychological theories. After graduating from university, he worked in a community agency, gaining meaningful experience in a diverse and supportive environment. His passion for accompanying people into exploring the depth of human experience led to him launch Wellwood Counselling – a place for people to have space to turn towards themselves and practice dialoguing with the world in deep meaningful ways.
Ben has completed a Master of Arts degree (MA) in Counselling Psychology and is a Registered Psychologist (RPsych) with the College of Alberta Psychologists and the Nunavut Territory Psychology Registry. He is certified in Observed and Experiential Integration (OEI) – a trauma processing therapy. He is also completing additional existential training to earn the Existential Analysis Psychotherapy Diploma.
Ben believes that our mental health and wellness are evident in our dialogue between our inner selves and the world around us. When this conversation is open and flowing, we are able to choose our authentic responses to the world in a personal and meaningful way. When this reciprocal communication becomes obstructed, often through traumas, oppression, negative experiences, anxieties, losses and more, we no longer live with true inner consent and begin coping rigidly in life. This stuck and reactive way of living does not feel meaningful or lead to a full experience of life.
During therapy, Ben works to understand your experience. He explores where life may be stuck or reactive and how your way of living may be helping or hurting your experience of living fully. Once we have a clear picture of your experience, the path forward can becomeclearer. He uses phenomenology, which is the ‘study of experience’ to help people better understand themselves and their dialogue with the world.
It is my desire to walk alongside people as they are doing life, navigating adversity and finding healing and peace. In my approach I deeply value the relationship that is formed between you as the client and me, and having a heart posture of genuineness, openness, compassion and humility. I believe that we are people who are constantly becoming; this means that we are not stagnant and deterministic but dynamic, growing and ever changing. My priority is to understand the uniqueness of what you are going through in order to collaboratively (with you) find meaningful ways for you to find peace and bring healing to your story. We as people may go through similar traumas and experiences but we all have a unique narrative that needs to be appreciated. Come as you are, from wherever that may be, for you are allowed to be yourself as we work together.
Jennifer has always had an appreciation for other people’s narratives and life stories – she especially enjoys meeting people from all walks of life. It’s one of her greatest honours to get to witness a part of their lives, as people are incredibly brave and humble to show up to seek healing, peace understanding and wholeness. She was inspired to join Wellwood Counselling, as she appreciates and respects her colleagues’ diverse experiences, deep kindness and value of relationships.
Jennifer has a Master of Counselling Psychology (MCP) degree from Adler University in Vancouver, and is a Registered Psychologist (RPsych) with the College of Alberta Psychologists. She is a certified Somatic Experience Practitioner (SEP) – a globally recognized trauma processing therapy.
Jennifer believes that we are in the process of moving towards wholeness and healing. We are often attracted to the life’s exciting moments – graduating from school, becoming an adult, buying a house – that we struggle with the moments in between that can often feel mundane or unchanging. Our journey with health is never-ending, but it’s a meaningful process with many different experiences – exciting, memorable, boring, painful and more. As humans, we are learning to be with these experiences.
During therapy, Jennifer ensures that her clients feel respected, valued and cared for. She supports her clients to provide what they need for their own healing, whether they work with her or someone else. She fosters a safe environment where clients can feel deeply and work through difficult emotions.
My name is Janelle Lee Pong, and I am a social worker and Narrative therapist residing in Treaty 6 territory and within Métis Region 4. As a first-generation daughter to Caribbean parents, the ways in which interacting cultures can shape our worldview and values is both personal and endlessly fascinating to me. Prior to working in mental health, my undergraduate studies focused on the training of high-performance athletes. Alongside all of the sports, I spent several years working for a non-profit where I had the wonderful pleasure of providing school and community programming to kids and their families. This is a time in my life that I greatly treasure, and the privilege of caring for people and being of service to the community members around me, is largely responsible for leading me to my work today.
As someone from cultures and communities of storytelling, working in Narrative Therapy seemed like a perfect way for me to invite clients to share stories of their own. I received my education in Contemporary Feminist Narrative Therapy from my wonderful teachers, mentors, predecessors, and colleagues at the Calgary Narrative Collective (CNC). What this means for you, is that we will explore considerations of race, culture, gender, sexuality, politics, and religion into our conversations with one another, to better understand the unique contexts in which you live your life, and to help us make sense of the trials you are facing. And I will write to you, and with you. I will construct poems from your words and the ideas that we concoct together in our sessions. This is a practice that was handed down to me by my dear mentors at the CNC, and I cannot wait to share the delightfulness of this process with you.
Your ways of thinking are unlike anyone else’s, the opportunities you have had -and have access to- differ from other people’s, the choices available to you and the experiences that have shaped you are uniquely yours, and you bring to therapy your own set of interesting wisdoms and insights…after all, you are the expert on all things you. Your story is unlike anyone else’s, so let us use this expert knowledge to make sense of what troubles you today.
As someone who has experienced the rich, and at times surprising, benefits of therapy in my own life, it is my joy to walk with others as they seek growth, healing, and positive change. I do my best to create a safe space for deep reflection and the processing of emotions associated with formative experiences. You can expect me to be authentic, gentle, and respectful. I will seek to accentuate your values, strengths, and wisdom to facilitate our work together. I have been told that I have a gift for asking good questions and I hope this is your experience. Finally, I am an ordinary person who enjoys connecting with others and tries not to take himself too seriously. I have particular interests in the areas of relationship dynamics, personal growth, life transitions, anxiety, grief, and spiritual/faith concerns.
Tim enjoys opening space for others to process significant events, thoughts, feelings and questions that have an impact on everyday life. He enjoys engaging in meaningful questions and appreciates exploring those questions with clients in session. He’s able to help others feel comfortable and safe as they approach difficult topics and feelings. He was inspired to join a community of colleagues at Wellwood Counselling that share his passion for exploring significant questions around meaning, responsibility, and authenticity.
Tim has completed a Master of Counselling Psychology (MCP) degree from Athabasca University, a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Calvin Theological Seminary, and is a Certified Canadian Counsellor from the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. He has a breadth of knowledge and experience in various academic fields and can share his insights with his clients.
Tim believes that life is beautiful, but it can also be difficult. Our sense of well-being is multi-faceted and connected to the relationships we have with others, our work, our bodies, and our beliefs about meaning and purpose in life. He engages with clients holistically, appreciating that many problems do not have easy solutions and may require wisdom and levity. Ultimately, experiencing the emotions elicited by life, as fully as we can, moves us toward health.
During therapy, Tim builds rapport and trust with clients, which benefits the therapeutic process. He has experience and comfort working with clients from diverse background, beliefs, and cultures.
I recognize that showing up to therapy is vulnerable, so I really strive to meet you where you’re at – whether that’s numb, sad, overwhelmed, confused, or anything else! It’s important to me that people feel seen and accepted however and wherever they are. The cornerstones of my practice are: emotion-focused, trauma-informed, and continually striving for cultural humility. As a therapist, I value collaboration, genuineness, and compassion. I enjoy working with folks of all ages, though typically focus more on late teens and adulthood.
From a young age, Megan always loved to support people wherever they’re at. She has always been curious about how people become who they are, why they make the choices that they do, and how they navigate suffering. When starting university, she realized that psychology was the right field to pursue her passion for supporting others and learning about people. She was inspired to join Wellwood Counselling to join a friendly and client-focused team of mental health professionals that care about supporting clients to feel seen and understood.
Megan has completed a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Educational Psychology with a focus on Counselling Psychology. She has also completed a Master of Art in Counselling Psychology degree. She’s trained in Basic and Advanced Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
Megan believes that mental health and wellness is facilitated by being able to connect with and accept our internal experience – treating ourselves with curiosity, understanding, and kindness. Mental health and wellness are also facilitated by having a balanced life and a positive connection to community (whether relationships or wider communities).
Megan seeks to work with clients from a place of warmth, humility, curiosity and support. She specializes in supporting clients navigating shame, perfectionism and relational (emotional, physical, sexual) trauma. Megan often focuses on emotions in her work and genuinely values when clients share about suffering and heaviness in their lives.
My journey with Wellwood Counselling began as a practicum student in 2023/2024, while I was enrolled at Concordia University of Edmonton. I am currently fulfilling the role of clinic manager and admin assistant. However, I have a strong passion for psychotherapy and depth therapy, with a particularly high interest in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy.
My goal in this role is to gain essential skills, alongside training in different therapeutic orientations, so that I can apply them to my own practice once I complete my Master’s Degree. I find so much purpose in helping others and I strive to develop the skills I need to effectively help others establish their own sense of well-being. I am a lifelong learner who is committed to making a difference and providing a safe space for everyone to walk through their own journey. Wellwood has been a remarkable environment to grow in and I have so much gratitude for the profound and valuable skills that I have already gained throughout my journey with Wellwood.
Relational, authentic, genuine, attentive and caring.
Just and responsible quality services.
Open, inquisitive, and pursuing clear understanding.
Built on a deep view of human nature.