About Us
The bluebird - a symbol of happiness and hope
At Bluebird Psychology, we specialize in helping children, teens, and adults navigate life’s challenges with warmth, understanding, and clinical expertise. Located in Calgary, our clinic offers comprehensive assessments, therapy, and support tailored to the unique needs of you and your child.
Whether you’re seeking help for learning difficulties, ADHD, giftedness, behavioural concerns, or emotional regulation, we’re here to walk alongside your family with empathy and expert care.
Meet Our Team!
Amy Dykstra, MEd
Registered Psychologist and Clinic Owner-
Amy is a Registered Psychologist in Alberta and British Columbia who offers support to children, teens, and adults. She provides a supportive space for children and teens to talk and learn new ways to cope. Amy is currently accepting new clients for Adult ADHD Assessments and parent consultation.
Amy earned her Master of Education in School and Child Psychology from the University of Calgary and is trained in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). She has completed additional education at the Rocky Mountain Play Therapy Institute, where she obtained a certificate in play therapy, and holds a Post-Master's Certificate in Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice from New York University.
Prior to entering private practice, she worked for several years as a psychologist with the Calgary Board of Education. She has also supported families receiving assistance through Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and worked with adults in the Never Too Late Program at Catholic Family Services.
In addition to her clinical work, Amy has contributed her expertise to several publications, including Time Magazine, HuffPost, Today’s Parent, Mom’s Who Think, Parade, and Parents.
As a mother herself, she understands the unique challenges and joys that come with parenting and brings this empathy and lived experience into her practice.
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amy@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Celeste Rodrigues-Forbes, MSW
Registered Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist™
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Celeste Rodrigues-Forbes is a Registered Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist™ who supports children, adolescents, and families in Calgary. She offers a warm, engaging, and developmentally attuned space where children and teens can explore their emotions, build coping skills, and work through challenges.
Celeste has a particular interest in working with children and youth experiencing anxiety, emotional regulation difficulties, perfectionism, and school-related challenges, including school avoidance, bullying and behavioural difficulties. She works closely with parents, offering guidance and support to strengthen connection, build confidence, and navigate behavioural and emotional concerns at home. She has a particular passion for supporting children who feel deeply, struggle with big emotions, or find it difficult to cope in structured environments such as school.
Celeste primarily uses play-based approaches, meeting children in the language they know best—play. She integrates play therapy, expressive arts, sandtray, and developmentally appropriate talk-based strategies to support emotional expression, insight, and growth. Her work is grounded in attachment theory, client-centred approaches, and systems theory.
Celeste holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Calgary and has completed extensive training in play therapy through the Rocky Mountain Play Therapy Institute. Her additional training includes trauma-informed practice, Adlerian Play Therapy, and parent consultation approaches. She has experience supporting children, youth, and families across community and private practice settings, including work with anxiety, trauma, behavioural challenges, and family dynamics.
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celeste@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Kassandra Burk, MSc
Registered Psychologist-
Kassandra is a Registered Psychologist who specializes in assessment for children, adolescents, and adults. She completed her Master of Science in School and Applied Child Psychology through the University of Calgary in 2024. Kassandra provides various assessments, including psychoeducational, ADHD, gifted, as well as assessments to support applications for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) and the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program.
Kassandra is passionate about the mental health and well-being of the individuals she works with. She values collaboration and takes a comprehensive approach to assessments, with the goal of understanding each individual’s unique strengths and needs.
Kassandra has a Master of Science in School and Applied Child Psychology through the University of Calgary (MSc, 2024). In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking, baking, and spending time with friends and family.
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kassandra@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Shawna Cunha, MEd, MA
Registered Provisional Psychologist-
Shawna is a Registered Provisional Psychologist who brings nearly two decades of experience supporting adolescents, families, and educators. After spending 19 years as a middle school teacher, she transitioned into mental health work and began practicing full-time in December 2024. Her extensive background in education - including several years supporting schools in part-time mental health roles - provides her with a unique and insightful perspective when working with youth, parents, and adults navigating life’s challenges.
Shawna holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University and a Master of Education from the University of Calgary. She practices from a client-centred, trauma-informed, and strengths-based lens, integrating evidence-based therapeutic modalities such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and somatic approaches. She has also completed EMDR training and now offers EMDR therapy within her clinical work.
Shawna supports adolescents and adults experiencing a range of concerns, including anxiety and depression, emotional dysregulation, ADHD and executive functioning difficulties, stress and burnout, grief and loss, relationship and communication challenges, and life transitions and identity development.
Given her extensive history in schools, she is particularly skilled in supporting teens and young adults with academic stress, peer conflict, self-worth challenges, and the pressures of high achievement. She has significant experience with ADHD and helps both youth and adults build strategies for healthier routines, motivation, organization, and relationships.
Shawna’s therapeutic approach emphasizes connection, emotional safety, and collaboration. She integrates mindfulness, breathwork, and holistic wellness practices to support mind–body balance and long-term resilience. She is also working toward certification in Animal-Assisted Therapy, inspired by her belief in the healing role of nature and animals.
Outside the office, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She can usually be found outdoors - walking dogs, exploring nature, or volunteering with local animal rescues - which brings grounding and balance to her personal and professional life.
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shawna@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Melanie Bastien, MA, MSc
Registered Provisional Psychologist-
Melanie is a Registered Provisional Psychologist who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Master of Arts in Child and Youth Studies, and a Master of Science in School and Applied Child Psychology. In addition to her academic background, she has extensive experience supporting high-risk youth with complex needs within the child welfare system.
Her current focus is on conducting psychoeducational assessments with children and youth to explore learning, cognitive, and social-emotional challenges. She strives to develop a comprehensive understanding of each child’s learning profile while recognizing their individual strengths. She prioritizes contextualizing assessment results in practical ways and aims to provide meaningful recommendations that support each child’s growth.
She also provides intervention for children experiencing difficulties with anxiety, emotional regulation, and attention, using a fun and engaging Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approach.
Outside of her professional work, Melanie enjoys embracing her nerdy side through video games, anime, and fantasy novels.
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melanie@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Shradha Suri, MRes, MA
Registered Provisional Psychologist-
Shradha Suri is a Registered Provisional Psychologist with over ten years of experience supporting children with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, developmental delays, and learning challenges. She believes that behind every assessment and treatment plan is a child and family who deserve to be truly understood - and her practice reflects that balance of clinical precision, trauma-informed care, and genuine warmth.
Shradha holds a Master of Research in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK) with specialization in Autism Spectrum Disorder; and a Master of Arts in Psychology from Panjab University (India), and brings this strong academic foundation into her clinical work today.
Shradha conducts comprehensive psychoeducational and diagnostic assessments to help identify each child's unique strengths and needs. From there, she works collaboratively with families, educators, and multidisciplinary teams - including occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and behavioural consultants - to build individualized support plans that translate assessment insights into meaningful, everyday progress at home and at school.
With experience spanning Canada, the UAE, and India, Shradha brings a culturally attuned and adaptable approach to her work, shaped by years spent not just assessing children but also delivering direct therapy alongside them.
Shradha draws on a range of evidence-based modalities, tailored to each child and family's needs- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness- helping children and families identify and reframe unhelpful thought patterns; Solution-Focused Therapy, building on existing strengths to create practical, goal-oriented change; Attachment-based approaches, supporting secure, trusting relationships between children and caregivers; Polyvagal-informed interventions, helping children build regulation and resilience through a nervous-system-informed lens. Whether guiding parents through a new diagnosis, coaching educators on classroom strategies, or supporting a child directly, Shradha's goal is always the same: to help every child feel seen, supported, and equipped to thrive!
Outside of her clinical work, Shradha practices yoga and breathwork, which help her stay grounded amid life's fast pace. This personal commitment to regulation and self-care mirrors the very principles she brings into her work with children and families.
Shradha is able to provide services in English, Punjabi, and Hindi.
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shradha@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Mercedes Bagshawe, MSc
Registered Provisional Psychologist-
Mercedes is a Registered Provisional Psychologist and PhD student in School and Applied Child Psychology at the University of Calgary. She has experience working with children, adolescents, and emerging adults across clinical, school, and community settings, supporting individuals with a range of neurodevelopmental, emotional, behavioural, and complex mental health needs.
Mercedes has a particular interest in neurodiversity and neurodevelopment, including autism, ADHD, and related developmental differences. She provides comprehensive psychological, neurodevelopmental, cognitive, and psychoeducational assessments, with a focus on helping individuals and families better understand their unique strengths, needs, and learning styles.
In her therapeutic work, Mercedes takes a strengths-based, collaborative, and neurodiversity-affirming approach. She draws from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to support anxiety, emotional regulation, and coping, and incorporates trauma-informed approaches, including the Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC) framework, when working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma or complex life experiences.
Mercedes believes psychological services should be approachable, collaborative, and tailored to each child and family. She focuses on understanding each client’s strengths and needs and creating a space where they feel comfortable being themselves. Whether completing an assessment or providing therapy, her goal is to help clients better understand themselves and develop practical tools to navigate life’s challenges.
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mercedes@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Kayla Foley, MEd
Registered Provisional Psychologist-
Kayla helps children, teens, and adults understand how their brains work. As an assessment-focused clinician, she specializes in comprehensive, strengths-based assessments that bring clarity to questions about learning, development, and emotional wellbeing - and that translate into practical, actionable next steps.
Her work with children and adolescents (ages 3-18) covers a wide range of areas, including assessing and working with individuals with specific learning disorder, giftedness, intellectual disability, and autism. She also has extensive experience assessing social-emotional concerns such as anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. For adults, she provides ADHD and autism assessments designed to deliver answers that may have felt out of reach for years.
Before assessing, Kayla spent over seven years working directly in classrooms and the special education field as an educational assistant and behavioural therapist for autistic children and a range of other needs. That hands-on experience shapes everything she does. She knows what these challenges look like in real life, not just on paper, and brings that practical understanding to every assessment.
Kayla focuses exclusively on comprehensive assessments because she believes a thorough, thoughtful evaluation is the foundation for everything that follows; whether that's accessing the right supports at school, advocating for accommodations at work, or simply understanding how one's brain works a little better. A diagnosis is not a label; it's a roadmap. Her goal is to make the process feel clear, collaborative, and free of jargon, so clients leave not just with a report, but with a deeper understanding of strengths, challenges, and the path forward.
Kayla is a Registered Provisional Psychologist, and she works under supervision to provide careful, evidence-based assessments. Whether clients are seeking answers for themselves or their child, she is here to walk alongside them with curiosity, warmth, and care - and she'd love to help them find those answers.
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kayla@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Mohamed Osman-Abdallah, MSc
Registered Provisional Psychologist-
Mohamed Osman-Abdallah is a Registered Provisional Psychologist who works with teens , young adults and adults navigating anxiety, ADHD, depression, trauma, relationship challenges, self-esteem, identity, and life transitions.
His approach is warm, collaborative, and down-to-earth. Mohamed believes therapy should be a space where you can show up as you are, without having to perform, have the right words, or already know what needs to change. He balances compassion and curiosity with honest conversations and practical strategies for moving forward.
Mohamed draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), attachment-based therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), DBT-informed approaches, mindfulness, narrative therapy, and trauma-informed practices. His work is culturally responsive, neurodiversity-affirming, and LGBTQIA2S+ affirming, with attention to how culture, identity, relationships, and lived experiences shape mental health.
Mohamed holds an MSc in Counselling Psychology from the University of Calgary and provides therapy in both English and Arabic.
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mohamed@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Teresa Thompson
Clinic Administrator-
Teresa brings empathy, organization, and positivity to her role as our Office Administrator. She is passionate about helping families feel comfortable and confident while supporting the clinical team in delivering compassionate, child-centered care. With a calm and welcoming presence, Teresa helps create an environment where children and caregivers feel safe, respected, and supported from their very first visit.
Often described as the “glue” that holds the team together, Teresa plays a vital behind-the-scenes role in keeping everything running seamlessly. In addition to supporting clients and families throughout their journey, she assists Bluebird Psychology’s social media, team coordination, and day-to-day operations - ensuring communication flows smoothly and no detail is overlooked.
Teresa’s commitment to professionalism and kindness ensures the clinic operates efficiently while maintaining a caring, collaborative, and inclusive atmosphere for everyone.
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office@bluebirdpsychology.ca
Join our team!
Bluebird Psychology is looking for Registered Psychologists who are passionate about working with children, adults, and families and who are experienced in conducting psychoeducational assessments to join our team!