McKinney Psychology

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McKinney Psychology Are you feeling stressed, overwhelmed & out of control? We can help.

We are a multi-disciplinary team of psychologists, counsellors, social workers, speech language pathologists,and nurses here to support YOU and your family through the tough times.

10/13/2026

Traditional Teachings Update

10/13/2026

The woman who helped map Canada, and was left out of the story for 150 years

Most Canadians know the name David Thompson, the man who mapped a fifth of North America.

Far fewer know the woman who travelled beside him.

Her name was Charlotte Small.

She was born in 1785 at Île-à-la-Crosse, in what is now Saskatchewan, to a Cree mother and a Scottish fur trader. Her father left for Britain when she was a small child and never came back. She was raised by her mother among the Cree.

In 1799, aged just 13, she married Thompson. For the next 13 years she lived the fur trade life with him, moving between posts across what are now Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia.

She travelled by canoe, on horseback and on foot. Estimates of the distance range from 20,000 to more than 40,000 kilometres. By any count, that is farther than Lewis and Clark.

And she did much of it with small children.

In 1807 she crossed the Rocky Mountains through Howse Pass with three little ones, the youngest only about a year old. Thompson's journal describes men clinging to the horses' manes to cross a raging mountain river. Charlotte made those same crossings with the children.

She spoke Cree and English, and Thompson himself wrote that her language and her ties to the Cree gave him a great advantage in his work.

Then came the part that set them apart.

When fur traders retired, many simply abandoned their Indigenous wives and children. Thompson did not. In 1812 he brought Charlotte and the children east, and they married again in a Montreal church.

Life in the East was not kind. Two of their children died soon after the move. Thompson's businesses later failed, and the man who mapped half a continent pawned his instruments, and once even his coat, to survive. He went blind in his final years.

Through all of it, they stayed together. Nearly 58 years of marriage and 13 children.

David Thompson died in February 1857. Charlotte followed him less than three months later. They are buried together in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery, in a grave that sat unmarked for 70 years.

For generations, history remembered him and forgot her. No portrait of her exists. She left no diary.

It took until 2008 for Canada to name Charlotte Small a National Historic Person. Today a statue of her stands at Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, and another of the two of them at Invermere, B.C.

She represents thousands of Indigenous and Métis women whose knowledge, languages and survival skills made the exploration of this country possible, and whose names were never written down.

As we head into Thanksgiving weekend, this time of year invites us to slow down and notice what has carried us through a...
10/12/2026

As we head into Thanksgiving weekend, this time of year invites us to slow down and notice what has carried us through another season.

Across rural Alberta, Thanksgiving often comes alongside harvest. The long days, changing weather, full bins, tired bodies, shared meals, and the relief that comes with seeing another season through. Harvest has always been a reminder that so much of life depends on land, community, patience, hard work, and things we cannot entirely control.

We also recognize that Thanksgiving can hold complicated meanings. Some have experienced losses and have loved ones missing at the table. As well, traditional stories about this holiday have often left out the histories, and ongoing impacts of colonization. Gratitude does not require us to ignore those losses and those truths.

We can celebrate harvest, family, friendship, and the abundance in our lives while making room for reflection, respect, and a deeper understanding of the land and the people who have cared for it across generations.

As we enjoy one of the last beautiful holidays of fall, we hope there is time for gathering around the table, good food, laughter, rest, acceptance and CONNECTION. Lets also consider a moment to appreciate the people, the land, and the communities that sustain us.

From all of us at McKinney Psychology, we wish you a meaningful and peaceful Thanksgiving weekend. 🍂🌾🧡

🍂 Thanksgiving Weekend Closure 🍂McKinney Psychology is closed October 9–12, reopening October 13.We wish you a weekend w...
10/10/2026

🍂 Thanksgiving Weekend Closure 🍂

McKinney Psychology is closed October 9–12, reopening October 13.

We wish you a weekend with space for rest, rejuvenation, and connection; whatever that looks like for you. We’re grateful for the extra time to tend to our own self-care and connect with the people who matter to us.

As the harvest season winds down, we’re thankful for our clients, team, and community. Thank you for the trust you place in us. 🤎

We’re excited to welcome Gracie (Whitfield) Hoogkamp to the McKinney Psychology team as our new Intake Coordinator! 🌿She...
10/03/2026

We’re excited to welcome Gracie (Whitfield) Hoogkamp to the McKinney Psychology team as our new Intake Coordinator! 🌿

She brings a warm, approachable and compassionate style to her work, along with experience in client communication, scheduling, coordinating services, maintaining confidential records, and helping people feel comfortable and supported.

Gracie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Lethbridge and brings experience supporting children, youth, adults, and families through her previous work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lacombe.

Gracie has a strong interest in mental health, community well-being, and continuing her education in counselling psychology.

As part of our client care team, Gracie will often be one of the friendly people helping with new inquiries, scheduling, answering questions, and connecting clients with the therapist who may be the best fit for their needs.

Please join us in giving Gracie a warm welcome to McKinney Psychology! We can't wait for you to meet her!🧡

If you are interested in accessing services you can start here: https://mckinneypsych.com/contact/

Does your child or teen need support? Could Jordan’s Principle help cover the cost? 🧡🪶For eligible First Nations childre...
09/30/2026

Does your child or teen need support? Could Jordan’s Principle help cover the cost? 🧡🪶

For eligible First Nations children, Jordan’s Principle may fund counselling, trauma therapy and psychological assessments; depending on the child’s needs and funding approval.

Our new blog explains:
🪶What services may be covered
🪶Who may be eligible
🪶How to apply and what documents you’ll need
🪶How McKinney Psychology can help

Supporting families in Ponoka, Maskwacis and across Central Alberta.

📖 Read “What Does Jordan’s Principle Pay For?” on our website at https://mckinneypsych.com/what-does-jordans-principle-pay-for-counselling-assessments-mental-health-services-for-first-nations-children-in-alberta/

Save this post or share it with a parent or caregiver who could use this information.

Help us celebrate Hannah’s 2 year anniversary with McKinney Psychology! Hannah joined our team in September 2024, shortl...
09/17/2026

Help us celebrate Hannah’s 2 year anniversary with McKinney Psychology!

Hannah joined our team in September 2024, shortly after completing her Master of Social Work, and somehow it feels like she has been part of McKinney Psychology forever.

With two little boys at home, Hannah’s life is FULL — but she still brings so much energy, humour, heart, and honesty into the clinic. She loves working with teens, adults, and couples, with particular expertise in addictions and perinatal mental health.

There is also a pretty special full-circle story here. Hannah’s mom was my very first manager early in my career with Alberta Health Services. All these years later, getting to work alongside Hannah feels like one of those lovely reminders of how small the world can be.

Around the clinic, Hannah can always be counted on to arrive with a story, happily participate in any celebration involving cake, and — perhaps most importantly — tell it like it is. 😂

And now she has added another role to an already very full life: teaching in the Social Work program at Red Deer Polytechnic. I love seeing clinicians bring real-world clinical experience into the classroom while staying connected to academia, research, and the next generation of helping professionals. Both sides of that relationship make the other stronger.

Happy 2 years, Hannah! 💛

I genuinely can’t believe it has only been two years. It feels like you have been part of this team forever, and we are very lucky to have you.

Here’s to more stories, more learning, more great clinical work… and obviously, more cake. 🎂

🎉 HUGE congratulations to Caleb for passing the EPPP! 🎉For anyone outside the psychology world, the EPPP (Examination fo...
09/11/2026

🎉 HUGE congratulations to Caleb for passing the EPPP! 🎉

For anyone outside the psychology world, the EPPP (Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology) is a massive professional licensing exam with a reputation for being an absolute BEAR. If you know, you know.

And if you don’t know… imagine taking years of graduate education in psychology, throwing assessment, diagnosis, intervention, ethics, neuroscience, cognition, learning, development, social psychology, research methods, statistics, professional practice and approximately 47 other things you vaguely remember learning once into one enormous exam. 😅

Then study for it for MONTHS.
While working. While seeing clients.
While completing supervision requirements.
While trying to maintain some semblance of a normal life.
Not to mention how expensive it is.

The EPPP is the kind of exam that follows you everywhere. You study. You think about studying. You feel guilty because you aren’t studying. You study some more. Eventually, words like “psychometrics” start showing up in your dreams.

It is a whole season of life. 😂

Passing it represents YEARS of education, thousands of hours of training and clinical experience, and a ridiculous amount of discipline, persistence, caffeine, and very unglamorous evenings buried in study material.

And Caleb, YOU DID IT.
So today, we are ABSOLUTELY celebrating.

YOU worked incredibly hard for this.
✅ EPPP — DONE
✅ 1600 supervised practice hours — DONE
✅ Ethics exam — DONE

These are the biggest hurdles on the road to full registration. And very soon, one little word disappears from Caleb’s title: Provisional. He will have two very well earned words :
REGISTERED PSYCHOLOGIST. 🎉

Caleb, we are so excited for you and incredibly proud to have you as part of the McKinney Psychology team.

Please help us congratulate him because this one deserves to be celebrated! 👏🎉🥳

Apparently it is this time of year that people join McKinney Psychology… because we have another anniversary to celebrat...
09/10/2026

Apparently it is this time of year that people join McKinney Psychology… because we have another anniversary to celebrate! 🎉

We are a bit late celebrating Erika! 💛. She joined us in August 2025.

There are very few people who can match Erika’s sense of humour and quick wit. She is genuinely one of the funniest people I know, and you can always count on her to add a little laughter to the day. Usually while carrying a coffee in one of what we can only assume is an ever growing collection of mugs and go-cups. ☕😂

AND there is more to celebrate.... Erika is adding another role to an already full life. She has joined Red Deer Polytechnic as an instructor in the Social Work program supporting internships. I love seeing clinicians bring current, real world clinical experience into the classroom while also staying connected to academia, research and the next generation of helping professionals. Clinical work makes teaching richer, and teaching has a way of keeping clinical work thoughtful, current, and continually evolving. It is such a valuable connection between practice and education.

Erika brings humour, honesty, creativity and a whole lot of personality to McKinney Psychology, and we are so glad she chose to bring all of that here.

Happy anniversary, Erika! 🎉💛

Here’s to another year of helping kids and adults feel a little more understood, making the rest of us laugh, planning the next Disney trip… and absolutely not needing another pretty coffee mug. ☕️😉

We are so happy to welcome Tamara to the McKinney Psychology team! 💛Tamara is currently completing her Master of Arts in...
09/09/2026

We are so happy to welcome Tamara to the McKinney Psychology team! 💛

Tamara is currently completing her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology through Yorkville University and is joining us as a student therapist, offering low-fee counselling to clients in our community.

Tamara brings a warm, collaborative, and non-judgmental approach to therapy. She believes that our experiences, relationships, families, cultures, and circumstances all help shape who we are and that therapy can create space to better understand the patterns that leave us feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected.

Her areas of interest include:

✨ Anxiety and depression
✨ Adolescents and young adults
✨ Postpartum mental health and new parent support
✨ Relationships, connection, and intimacy
✨ Athletes and sport identity
✨ Life transitions
✨ Sexual health
✨ Cultural identity and integration
✨ Multigenerational family dynamics

Tamara’s approach is grounded in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), while also drawing from Emotionally Focused Therapy and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. She takes a holistic view of wellbeing and considers the connections between mind, body, relationships, culture, environment, and sense of self.

Tamara also brings a particular interest in helping clients explore how family and culture influence identity, including navigating collectivist and individualistic values and integrating multiple cultural identities.

Outside of the therapy room, Tamara enjoys photography, basketball, swimming, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

If you have been thinking about counselling but cost has been a barrier, Tamara’s low-fee counselling appointments are now available.

We are excited to have her learning, growing, and supporting clients alongside our team. 💛

📞 Contact McKinney Psychology to book an appointment with Tamara. Her schedule is going to fill up fast!

Address

5016 50 Street
Ponoka, AB
T4J1R5

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+14037831854

Website

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