Co-founder of Solasta, specialising in grief, adoption, and autism assessments — a steady presence for life’s harder transitions.
Life can feel overwhelming when you’re juggling work, family, and personal expectations while trying to keep yourself afloat. I work with adults and parents who are navigating work-life balance struggles, mid-life transitions, grief and loss, and the stress of ongoing change. My style is steady, calm, and collaborative, offering a reliable space where you can pause, reflect, and untangle what feels too heavy to carry alone. I draw on both developmental understanding and practical strategies to help you build strength and move forward with greater balance and confidence.
I have experience in supporting individuals through grief and loss, suicide bereavement, couple relationships, family therapy, parenting support, adoption and fostering (I am an adoptive parent), anxiety, and depression. I also specialize in helping parents navigate difficult relationships with adult children. I am an assessing psychologist and I offer autism assessments, which I can provide to all ages and genders, but I specialize in assessing high-masking adult women and men. I also provide psychoeducational assessments and ADHD assessments. I have held positions at Canadian Mental Health Association, St. Mary’s University, Amaris Adoption and Family Support Services (where I also served as a board member), and Norum Psychological Services. I have given workshop presentations and mental health talks at Woods Homes, Amaris Adoption and Family Support Services, Adoption Options, SAIT, and The Mustard Seed Calgary.
I am a Registered Psychologist in good standing with the College of Alberta Psychologists. I hold a Master of Counselling from City University of Seattle in Canada and a postgraduate diploma in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
I am trained in EMDR and EMDR with children. I have extensive experience in facilitating both psychoeducational and counselling support groups.
When not at Solasta (or sometimes when I am!), I enjoy hanging out with my children, searching for the best Chinese food in Calgary, and getting up in the dark early on Saturday mornings to watch Scottish football.
Offering in-person counselling in Calgary and secure online therapy across Alberta.
Publications:
- McKirdy, G. C., Roughley, R. A., & McKirdy, S. A. (2019). From Proving Perfection to Seeking Support: The Lived Experiences of Adoptive Parents in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 53(3), 276-295.
