CHRL, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Languages: English

Community roots: Born and raised in a small rural town in Ontario. I am an ally to the Bipolar and mental health communities.

Modalities: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Themes close to my heart: Employment and career struggles, Bipolar Disorder, major life transitions and Relationships, both professional and personal.

Before I Was a Therapist

Prior to becoming a therapist, I was a high-level HR professional for 22 years across a variety of sectors such as manufacturing, not-for-profit, and government. I have also co-founded an international Bipolar Support Group and spent some time as an Employment Counsellor for an organization that focused on helping individuals with disabilities gain meaningful employment. In my spare time, I enjoy disc golf, hiking and fishing.

What Home Means to Me

Home to me is that feeling that everyone belongs in the community and deserves kindness and compassion.

Me as a Therapist

You are choosing to work with a therapist because you want professional assistance with your challenges. With that in mind, my style is built around being the copilot on your life journey, helping you to figure out which road on the map is the one you want to take to move you towards your destination. Sometimes I provide education on what that road may look like, and sometimes I will ask if that turn is one that feels right for you.

>If your goal is to navigate the tough spots in life and you think I can support that journey, then please book a free 30-minute consultation with me and let’s figure out the direction on your map.

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Languages: English • Farsi • Türkçe

“Sometimes, we don’t need someone to tell us what to do. We simply need a safe place to be heard, understood, and reminded that we don’t have to carry everything alone.”

گاهی اوقات، ما کسی را نمی‌خواهیم که به ما بگوید چه کار کنیم. ما فقط به جای امنی نیاز داریم که شنیده شویم، درک شویم و یادمان بیاید که همه چیز را به تنهایی حمل نکنیم.

Bazen ne yapılacağını söyleyecek birine ihtiyacımız olmaz. Sadece dinlenildiğimiz, anlaşıldığımız ve her şeyi yalnız taşımak zorunda olmadığımızı hatırladığımız güvenli bir alana ihtiyacımız olur.

Community Roots

Iranian • Bicultural Experience

Approaches

Person-Centered Therapy • CBT • ACT • Somatic Approaches • Trauma-Informed Care • Mindfulness Based Techniques • Body-Mind Awareness

Areas of Focus

Migration & Belonging • Identity • Relationships • Grief & Loss • Life Transitions • Trauma & PTSD • Phobias • Stress Management • Anxiety Disorders • Depression • Emotional Regulation • Cultural Adjustment

Before I Was a Therapist

My path to becoming a therapist was not a straight line.

Before entering the field of counselling, I spent several years working in sales. Although it may seem very different from therapy, that experience taught me something I continue to carry into the therapy room: people are never just one thing. Everyone has a different story, different experiences, and different ways of connecting with others.

I later moved toward psychology and education, completing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree focused on Children with Special Needs. I worked with children, including autistic children, and later supported teenagers as an educational counsellor.

Along the way, I became increasingly curious about what happens underneath the things we see on the surface.

What shapes the way we relate to ourselves and others? Why do certain patterns keep showing up? How do our experiences, relationships, culture, and environment influence the way we see ourselves?

That curiosity eventually led me toward counselling.

I also know therapy from the other side of the room. For several years, I participated in group therapy as a client while also working as a teaching assistant. Being both a learner and a client gave me a deeper appreciation for how vulnerable it can feel to open up to another person, and how meaningful it can be to have a space where you do not have to pretend that everything is okay.

Today, I am completing my second Master’s degree in Psychology and Counselling and continuing to grow into my work as a therapist.

What Home Means to Me

Five years ago, I left Iran and began a new chapter of my life in Canada.

Moving to another country has shaped the way I understand migration, identity, and belonging. Starting over can bring excitement and hope, but it can also bring homesickness, uncertainty, questions about who you are becoming, and moments when you feel caught between different worlds.

For me, belonging is not only about where you live. It is also about the people, relationships, language, memories, and spaces where you feel that you can truly be yourself.

Growing up in Iran and building my life in Canada has also taught me how deeply culture can influence the way we understand family, relationships, responsibility, success, emotions, and even what it means to ask for help.

Sometimes, there are parts of our experiences that are difficult to explain when someone does not share our cultural background. I value creating space for those parts of your story rather than asking you to leave them at the door.

Being able to work with clients in English, Farsi, and Turkish allows me to meet people in the language that feels most natural and comfortable for them.

Me as a Therapist

My foundation is person-centered therapy, which means I want to understand you as a whole person rather than reduce your experience to a diagnosis or a problem that needs to be fixed.

I also draw from CBT and ACT. Depending on what you bring into therapy, we may explore patterns in your thoughts and behaviours, notice how they affect the way you feel, and look at what matters most to you. We may also explore whether some of the ways you have learned to cope are still serving you today.

I have also become increasingly interested in somatic approaches and the relationship between the mind and body. Sometimes we can understand something intellectually, yet our body continues to respond as though the experience is still happening. Paying attention to sensations, emotions, and physical responses can sometimes help us understand ourselves in a different way.

For trauma and anxiety-related challenges, I incorporate trauma informed care and exposure techniques when appropriate, helping you build safety and gradual empowerment at your own pace.

At the same time, I do not believe therapy should feel like following a formula.

Some sessions may involve simply slowing down and giving you space to talk. Other times, you may want help understanding a pattern, making a difficult decision, or finding a different way forward. There may also be moments when I gently challenge something that seems to be keeping you stuck.

I try to meet you where you are, with curiosity, warmth, and without judgment.

You do not have to arrive with the right words or know exactly what you need. We can figure that out together.

A Space for All the Parts of You

Whether you are navigating trauma, phobias, stress, anxiety, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, identity, work life balance, depression, or simply a period of change, you do not have to have everything figured out before starting therapy.

Sometimes what brings us to therapy is not one big event. Sometimes it is the feeling that something has changed, that we are overwhelmed, disconnected from ourselves, or tired of carrying everything on our own.

I believe therapy can be a place to slow down, become curious about your experiences, and better understand the different parts of yourself. Through mindfulness and body mind awareness practices, we can connect with how stress, trauma, or anxiety live in your body, not just in your thoughts.

You are welcome to bring your culture, your relationships, your history, your questions, and the parts of yourself that may not always feel easy to explain.

Ready to Begin?

Perhaps as you journeyed through my words, something quiet stirred within, you felt seen, even from afar. If that feeling lingers in your chest, I want you to know: the courage it takes to reach out is its own kind of beauty.

I offer a free, 30 minute conversation held in gentle space. Not to judge, not to rush. Simply to sit together and see if a path of peace might unfold between us.

We can speak of the days that brought you here, of hopes tucked softly into your heart, and whether here in this space, there might be the sanctuary you seek.

Sometimes, before we see the destination, we find the first step anyway. Sometimes, all it requires is a place where you need not fear being exactly who you are. I am here beside you, ready to build that place together, where none of the pieces of your soul need to hide.

You deserve to be heard. Just as you are.

شروع کنیم؟

شاید تا اینجا خواندن حرف‌هایم، احساس کرده باشید که شاید من کسی هستم که می‌تواند گوش دهد. اگر این حس را دارید، می‌خواهم به شما بگویم: شجاعت شما در همین لحظه بسیار ارزشمند است.

از صمیم قلب دعوت می‌کنم یک جلسه مشاوره رایگان ۳۰ دقیقه‌ای داشته باشیم. نه برای قضاوت شدن، نه برای عجله کردن، بلکه برای اینکه ببینیم آیا می‌توانیم همراه هم مسیری آرام را آغاز کنیم.

می‌توانیم درباره چیزهایی صحبت کنیم که شما را به این نقطه رسانده، درباره آنچه دلتان می‌خواهد، و درباره اینکه آیا فضای امنی که دنبال آن هستید، اینجا وجود دارد یا نه.

گاهی اولین قدم، دانستن مسیر کامل نیست. گاهی فقط پیدا کردن جایی است که در آن نترسید از اینکه دقیقاً همان‌طور باشید که اکنون هستید. من اینجا هستم تا با هم آنجا را بسازیم.

Başlayalım mı?

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