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

  • A woman with long red hair standing outdoors in a snowy forest, wearing a gray coat.

    Sarah Safton

    Clinic Director & Speech-Language Pathologist

  • A smiling woman with long brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a red patterned sleeveless top and a silver heart-shaped necklace, sitting indoors with a bookshelf in the background.

    Taylor McCreary

    speech-language pathologist

  • A young woman with wavy blonde hair and glasses smiling, wearing a red knitted sweater and a gold necklace with a heart pendant, in an indoor setting with kitchen cabinets and decorations in the background.

    Talia Muth

    speech-language pathologist

  • A young woman with long dark hair, glasses, and earrings, smiling softly, standing in front of a textured stone wall.

    Jelena Stakić

    Speech-Language Pathologist

  • 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…

A woman with long red hair and blue eyes smiling outdoors in a winter setting, wearing a gray coat with a bow detail on the collar.

"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."

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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

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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!)

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  • 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.

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We might not click if…

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