Michael Snow

Canadian Certified Counsellor, MACP graduate, and the person who turned a career pivot during COVID into a practice built around meeting men where they are — often literally, outdoors.

MACP | CCC | CCPA Member | Registered in Alberta

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From Policy Work To Real Connection

"Some of the most honest conversations I've had happened while moving through nature — not sitting across from someone."

Registered in Alberta · Serving Calgary and beyond · Online across Canada

Michael spent years working in Canadian government on international assistance policy strategic, analytical work that kept him at arm's length from the thing he was actually good at: connecting with people and helping them through difficult moments.

Before that policy career, he'd already been building the foundation. As a university resident assistant, he was the person people came to at 2am with the things they couldn't say anywhere else. As a youth employment facilitator, he helped young men figure out direction. As an outdoor recreation guide, he learned something that would later define his whole practice: conversations that happen while moving feel different. Less formal. More honest.

COVID accelerated the career change. Watching the weight of isolation land differently on men many of whom had no framework for processing what they were going through he enrolled in Yorkville University's Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. The outdoor format wasn't a gimmick; it was the logical extension of everything he'd learned about how men actually open up.

Snow Psychology is the result: a practice built specifically for men who've been putting this off, who don't love the idea of sitting in a sterile office, and who want to work with someone who's direct, knowledgeable, and won't waste their time.

Built a foundation in peer support, crisis de-escalation, and one-on-one mentorship with young men navigating major transitions

Resident Assistant & Youth Facilitator

Years in policy work sharpened analytical thinking and communication skills, but reinforced the pull toward direct, person-first work.

Canadian Government — International Assistance Policy

Leading groups through Calgary's parks revealed how movement and nature change the quality of conversation — a discovery that would shape his entire therapeutic approach.

Outdoor Recreation Guide — Calgary

Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, with a focus on relational, attachment-based, and cognitive-behavioural approaches — grounded in real-world application, not just theory.

MACP — Yorkville University

Calgary-based solo practice focused on men's mental health, walk-and-talk outdoor therapy, and online sessions across Canada. CCC certified, CCPA registered.

Snow Psychology — Private Practice

THE APPROACH

How The Work Actually Happens

Sessions aren't just talking for the sake of talking. Every method used has a specific purpose — and you'll understand what it is and why it's being used.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Practical and structured — CBT helps identify the thought patterns that drive difficult emotions and behaviours, and replaces them with more accurate, workable ones. Especially effective for anxiety, anger, and low mood.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Your early relationships shaped how you connect today. Attachment-based work explores those patterns — especially relevant for men navigating relationship conflict, intimacy struggles, or repeating cycles they can't explain.

Relational & Humanistic Therapy

The therapeutic relationship itself is part of what works. This approach is collaborative, honest, and non-judgmental — built on the belief that people do better when they feel genuinely understood, not just diagnosed.

Nervous System Regulation

Stress, trauma, and chronic pressure don't just live in the mind — they're stored in the body. These techniques address the physiological side of anxiety and overwhelm, giving you real tools for when things escalate.

Wellbeing Check-in Every Session

Every session starts with a brief wellbeing check-in so both you and Michael can track how things are actually progressing. If something isn't working, it gets adjusted — not ignored. This is what real progress looks like.

What We Work Through

THE APPROACH

These are the areas where most clients find themselves. If your experience doesn't fit neatly into a category, that's fine — it rarely does.

01 Trauma & Anger

Unprocessed experiences often surface as disproportionate anger — in relationships, at work, with yourself. This work moves through the root causes, not around them, using somatic and CBT-based tools.

02 Anxiety & Stress

From low-grade constant worry to acute anxiety episodes — sessions focus on both the thought patterns driving it and the nervous system responses that keep it locked in. Practical tools you can use outside of sessions.

03 Depression & Burnout

When the exhaustion isn't just physical — when motivation, identity, and purpose feel hollowed out. Sessions work to understand what depleted you and rebuild from a more grounded foundation, at your pace.

04 Relationships & Self-Worth

Patterns that repeat across relationships, difficulty expressing needs, low self-regard, or the sense that you're always disappointing people — attachment-based work addresses these directly and without judgment.

05 Life Transitions & Identity

Career changes, relationship endings, becoming a father, losing a parent, aging — major transitions destabilize identity in ways men often aren't given language for. This work gives you that language and more.

IN SESSION

What To Expect
When You Show Up

No mystery, no surprises. Here's exactly what sessions look like — both outdoors and online.

Outdoor — Walk & Talk · 75 min

In Calgary's parks

You meet Michael at an agreed location — Fish Creek, Edworthy, Nose Hill, Prince's Island, or Lindsay Park. You set the pace. No desk, no eye contact pressure. You'll start with a brief wellbeing check-in, then move into whatever you're working through. Sessions are 75 minutes. If weather is bad, you can pivot to video with no hassle.

Online — Video Call · 50 min

From Wherever You Are

Secure, encrypted video sessions through Jane App — no downloads required. Available to clients across Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and other provinces (not Ontario, Quebec, or the Maritimes). Same structure: wellbeing check-in, then the work. Some clients prefer this format year-round; others use it as a winter alternative to outdoor sessions.

First session — both formats

Building the foundation

The first full session is about context — understanding your history, what brought you here, and what you want to change. It's not a formal intake in a clinical sense. It's a real conversation. Michael will share his observations, what he thinks might be useful to work on, and what the next few sessions could look like.

Ongoing — Your Goals, Your Pace

Real Progress, Tracked

Sessions are guided by what you bring and what you're working toward. The wellbeing check-in at the start of each session creates a record of actual progress over time — not just feelings about progress. If something isn't working, that conversation is had directly, not avoided.

HOW MICHAEL WORKS

The Values Behind The Practice

Directness Over
Comfort

Progress doesn't come from sessions where the hard things are never said. Michael is honest about what he's observing, what might be worth exploring, and when something isn't working — because that's what actually helps.

Transparency About The Process

You'll always know what's being used and why. If Michael is drawing on CBT, attachment theory, or nervous system work, he'll explain it in plain language. No mystery, no dependence on jargon, no feeling like something is being done to you.

Respect For

Your Time

The wellbeing check-in exists because many men have sat through years of therapy without knowing if it was working. That won't happen here. If something needs to change — approach, format, frequency — it gets addressed, not quietly continued.