Empowering parents + children to talk, listen + understand
We believe everyone deserves to feel heard, especially our littlest people who are just learning to navigate the world and form relationships.
Meet the Team
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Sarah Safton
Clinic Director & Speech-Language Pathologist
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Lauren Richardson
Speech-Language Pathologist
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Emily Brown
Speech-Language Pathologist
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Taylor McCreary
speech-language pathologist
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Leah McCorkill
speech-language pathologist
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MacKenzie Schmidt
speech-language pathologist
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Talia Muth
speech-language pathologist
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Emma Wedholm
speech-language pathologist
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Becca Clark
slp assistant / admin
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Sarah Krassman
slp assistant / admin
Where It All Began
We have supported, reassured, and educated parents who were concerned about their child's communication since 2019, when Brighten Therapy consisted of only a blog and IG account.
But the dream really started long before that…
"When I was 14, a friend of mine was diagnosed with brain cancer.
After witnessing the incredible care he received and seeing him enter remission, I vowed to help kids like him… But I knew that medicine wasn't the environment for me.
When my friend was recovering from surgery, it was heartbreaking seeing him unable to communicate. Even though he was right there, I missed him when he couldn’t talk to me.
Fortunately, through speech therapy, I watched him re-learn how to speak, and felt how much it meant to him (and me) to be able to really connect and be friends again.
That's when I knew speech-language pathology was the impact I wanted to make."
2019: After over seven years of university, our founder Sarah graduated from the University of Alberta with a Master's of Science in Speech-Language Pathology.
2019: Sarah worked in preschool public health and partnered with private companies to serve kids of all ages — where she discovered her love for working with families!
2020: Cue the pandemic… when the Alberta government cut many SLP jobs, all sessions moved online, and Sarah started dreaming of better ways to help her little people.
2021: Brighten Therapy was born! And quickly grew into a team of SLPs providing speech, language, and feeding therapy in-person across Calgary or virtually Alberta-wide.
How We Got Here
We might be a fit if…
You want play-based, fun, child-led learning!
You want to be present during sessions and learn the techniques we use with your child.
You want a neurodiversity-affirming approach.
You like the idea of using play and daily routines to practice skills.
You’re happy to chat and ask questions during scheduled appointments.
You want a compassionate learning environment for all of us (parents and SLPs too!)
You want structured, adult-directed drills.
You want a therapist to work 1:1 with your child while you are elsewhere.
You are looking for ABA and/or behavioural intervention.
You want worksheets and 'homework' for practice.
You need regular access to your therapist by phone/email (we see kids all day, no screen time)
You believe in stricter learning environments and want a more direct approach.
