Emotion Regulation Therapy in Calgary for Children and Teens
"Big feelings aren’t the problem. It’s what happens when they take over the driver’s seat."
When emotions run hot, life gets bumpy — for your child and for you. At Creative Sky Psychology, we help kids and teens in Calgary learn how to steer through storms — not shut their feelings down. Whether your child feels “out of control,” “too sensitive,” or just overwhelmed by everyday challenges, we teach regulation like a life skill — because it is.
Through creative, age-matched therapy, we help children recognize what they’re feeling, name it, ride it out, and recover with confidence.
What Is Emotion Regulation?
Emotion regulation is like an emotional GPS. It helps children know:
Where they are (naming the feeling),
When they’ve gone off track (recognizing overwhelm),
And how to reroute (so they can return to calm).
No child is born knowing how to do this. It’s a skill — built through practice, connection, and support.
Children who struggle with emotion regulation may:
Go from 0 to 100 in seconds
Struggle to calm down after upset
Get stuck in meltdown or shutdown cycles
React strongly to noise, transitions, or disappointment
We often see these patterns in children who are bright, energetic, sensitive, or navigating ADHD, anxiety, trauma, or autism. Therapy provides the roadmap — and the co-pilot — they need.
When to Seek Support
You don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from emotion regulation therapy. It’s helpful for children and teens who experience:
Emotional outbursts that feel disproportionate
Anxiety, frustration, or difficulty “bouncing back”
Shutdowns or rage episodes
Ongoing overwhelm in social or sensory settings
We also support kids whose regulation challenges are connected to:
ADHD and executive functioning delays
Autism or sensory sensitivities
Giftedness and perfectionism
Anxiety, trauma, or intense emotional wiring
We believe that kids aren’t “too much.” They’re asking for help — and we’re here to decode what their behavior is trying to say.
Our Approach at Creative Sky
We don’t offer cookie-cutter sessions. We use creative, brain-based, and body-based tools that work with how your child is wired.
Therapy might include:
CBT strategies to connect thoughts, feelings, and actions
Play and art therapy to externalize big emotions safely
Narrative therapy to help kids reframe stories like “I’m bad” into “I had a hard time”
Mindfulness and sensory strategies for calming and centering
Parent coaching to support consistent strategies at home
We focus on connection before correction — because kids regulate with us before they regulate on their own.
Age-Specific Therapy at a Glance
Preschoolers (Ages 3–5)
Preschoolers (Ages 3–5)
We help little ones build their emotional alphabet. Through play, body cues, and caregiver co-regulation, we support the earliest layers of emotional development.
School-Age Kids (6–12)
At this stage, kids are developing a deeper emotional vocabulary. We work on identifying triggers, expanding their “window of tolerance,” and practicing real-time calming strategies through creative, sensory-integrated tools.
Teens (13–18)
Adolescents often face emotional identity challenges. We help them explore emotional reactivity, repair relationships, and develop healthy coping tools like journaling, ACT, and body-based regulation.
Parent Support & Collaboration
“You’re not just on the sidelines — you’re holding the toolkit.”
We walk alongside parents, offering:
Simple ways to co-regulate without escalating
Brain-based insight into meltdowns and shutdowns
Tools for validation and boundary-setting
Help navigating school accommodations and team support
Our goal? For you to feel less like a referee — and more like a guide.
Why Families Choose Creative Sky
Developmentally Matched
We tailor our approach to your child’s stage — using play, movement, art, and concrete strategies that make therapy stick.
Neurodiversity-Affirming
We don’t pathologize feelings. Sensitivity isn’t a flaw — it’s a strength. We help kids use their emotional depth as a superpower, not a burden.
Wraparound Support
We connect with teachers, OTs, SLPs, and caregivers when helpful to ensure consistency across environments.
Parent-Integrated
Therapy doesn’t stop in the office. We give you strategies to keep the momentum going at home and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the window of tolerance? Simply put the window of tolerance it is a child’s ability to tolerate change and stress. The term refers to their ability to cope with environmental stimuli, emotional challenges, and thoughts of self and others. As a child’s system becomes taxed, their ability to cope vastly narrows. With a narrow ability to cope “the window of tolerance” for challenges becomes limited. This is often the case with a child who has a meltdown for “no reason”. With proper investigative work, we can almost always find a reason. I’ve worked with children who have begun to thrive once minor adaptations in their sensory environment are tweaked. At times the challenges are larger and take more time. This depends on the complexity of their challenges, level of insight, and level of adult support available. Change can take time! Creative Sky Psychology aims to expand the window of tolerance so children can build strength, resiliency, and reach their full potential.
Tip: When kids are upset you can build resiliency by modeling the behaviour you would like them to learn! Building resiliency takes pace when children are calm. When children are upset (adults too for that matter) the brain goes offline! Pre-teaching skills or ideas of what kids can do when they are upset can help them build a tool box that is unique to the child’s needs. Have patience. It takes time, but in the end your child will learn how to self-regulate their emotions when they become upset.
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Although frustrating for parents, meltdowns or tantrums are often a part of normal child development that occur in response to everyday frustrations. Meltdowns can also occur in response to sensory overload in the environment, or if children are feeling anxious, dysregulated, or even socially isolated. Meltdowns are often expressed as crying, screaming yelling, and can lead to hitting and kicking. It is important to look at the root cause of the meltdowns if they are ongoing. For example, tantrums and meltdowns can be reinforced if their child has found a way to gain something of personal value. Meltdowns may also be continuous if the sensory system cannot adapt to the environment. In this case your child may need some additional environmental supports. If your child is experiencing meltdowns that seem excessive in length or time it is important to find the underlying cause and a solution so they are able to learn and thrive!
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The most important factor in dealing with tantrums is understanding the underlying cause and being proactive in preventing them from occurring, or minimizing the time they occur for. In order to determine the underlying cause, take note of when the tantrums most frequently occur, and what happens before, during, and after the tantrum. Reactive strategies are vastly different than their proactive counterparts. When your child or teen is in the middle of a tantrum or meltdown it is important to validate their emotions, keep them safe, and use minimal language. Once they are in the “throws” of a tantrum, it is important to remember that their brains have gone offline. At this point, they cannot process any information, however if you can keep them emotionally safe in this experience, they will learn self-calming skills. Your child or teen will also learn that they can count on you as a “safe” person to get their emotional needs met.
ASD is a Neurodevelopmental condition that causes individuals to experience differences in various areas of functioning. We often speak of the deficits or challenges that an individual with Autism faces. While challenges do exist, individuals with Autism also have special talents, gifts, and a unique way of learning. Fostering such gifts and abilities allows for children to build self-esteem and gain opportunities for interaction and future growth. Strength-based therapy is key for growth!
Creative Sky Psychology offers treatment for areas of challenge related to Autism in several areas including:
Floortime (Greenspan)
Social Thinking
Reference and Regulate
Positive Discipline
Zones of Regulations
Autism Assessments (ADOS, ADI-R)
Art Therapy
Play Therapy
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
FSCD (Family Support for Children with Disabilities)