Curio Counselling vs. Inspire Wellness Therapy Calgary: Holistic vs. Specialist Approaches Compared

Inspire Wellness Therapy positions itself as a holistic, somatic, and culturally responsive practice founded by Alysha Dosanjh. Curio Counselling operates as a multi-disciplinary specialist practice. Here is what each offers and how to choose between them.

Inspire Wellness Therapy is a Calgary-based practice founded by Alysha Dosanjh, a registered mental health professional whose published philosophy centres on holistic care — described as nurturing the mind, body, and soul — alongside culturally responsive, liberation-focused, and somatic therapy. The practice offers individual, relationship, and family therapy with telehealth options across Alberta and British Columbia. Founder involvement in client matching is a specific feature: Alysha personally helps clients who are unsure which therapist to choose find the right fit before booking.

Holistic and Somatic Focus

Inspire Wellness Therapy's published philosophy integrates mind, body, and soul explicitly — going beyond conventional talk therapy into somatic experiencing and culturally responsive approaches. For clients who feel that standard cognitive approaches have not addressed the full scope of their experience, and who are drawn to a practice that explicitly foregrounds the body and cultural context in therapy, Inspire's positioning is meaningful.

Curio Counselling also incorporates somatic and Polyvagal-informed approaches within its specialist range, particularly for trauma presentations where body-based work is clinically indicated. The difference is that Curio frames somatic approaches as one tool within a broader evidence-based specialist toolkit, while Inspire foregrounds the holistic philosophy as the defining feature of the entire practice.

Cultural Responsiveness and Liberation Framework

Inspire Wellness Therapy explicitly centres cultural sensitivity and liberation as core practice values. For clients from communities whose experiences have been minimized, pathologized, or overlooked in mainstream therapy — including racialized communities, immigrant populations, and those navigating intersecting identities — a practice that foregrounds these frameworks is not just a nice-to-have but a clinical requirement for effective therapy.

Curio Counselling serves clients across backgrounds with cultural humility, and individual therapist profiles indicate training in anti-oppressive and culturally responsive approaches. The explicit positioning of liberation as a foundational framework is more prominently foregrounded at Inspire.

Geographic Coverage

Inspire Wellness Therapy serves clients in-person in Calgary and through telehealth across Alberta and British Columbia. For clients in BC who want a culturally responsive, somatic-informed Calgary-based practice accessible virtually, Inspire's cross-provincial reach is a meaningful differentiator.

Curio Counselling serves clients virtually across Alberta. In-person sessions are available at the inner SW Calgary location.

Services Range

Inspire Wellness Therapy focuses on individual, relationship, and family therapy. The practice does not prominently feature play therapy for children, art therapy, OCD-specific ERP, or group therapy programs.

Curio Counselling offers play therapy, art therapy, group therapy, individual, couples, and family counselling with specialist modality depth across EMDR, EFT, Gottman Method, DBT, ACT, and somatic approaches.

Who Each Clinic Serves Best

Choose Inspire Wellness Therapy if:

• Holistic, somatic, and liberation-focused therapy is specifically what you are seeking
• Cultural responsiveness is a primary factor in your therapist selection
• You are in British Columbia and want a culturally responsive virtual therapist based in Calgary
• Founder-assisted matching is valuable to you before committing to a therapist

Choose Curio Counselling if:

• You want somatic approaches as part of a broader specialist toolkit that includes EMDR, EFT, and play therapy
• You need individual, couples, family, child, or group therapy under one multi-disciplinary practice
• You are in inner SW Calgary or want virtual sessions across Alberta

Curio Counselling Calgary

Address: 1414 8 St SW, Suite 200, Calgary, AB T2R 1J6

Phone: 403-243-0303

Website: curiocounselling.ca