Counselling around the Impacts of Immigration on Identity, Relationships & Life Choices

for Adult Children of Immigrants who are Women, Queer, Neurodivergent or Chronically Ill (18-55)

in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta

You are carrying so much…

You’re navigating your own healing and self-discovery – while holding generations of expectations, silence and survival.

You are breaking patterns, softening shame, and building a life that may look nothing like what your family imagined for you.

And sometimes, that feels empowering.
But sometimes, it feels lonely, heavy and complicated.

 

You Don’t Have to Choose Between Your People and Your Truth

As an adult child of immigrants – especially if you're queer, neurodivergent, chronically ill, in an intercultural or interfaith relationship, or living outside of your family’s expectations – you may feel like you’re constantly shape-shifting.

You might be:

  • Trying to honour your roots while building a different life

  • Feeling pulled between family loyalty and personal freedom

  • Avoiding conflict or emotional conversations to maintain peace

  • Carrying guilt for not fulfilling certain cultural, religious or gendered roles

  • Exhausted by explaining your identity, your partnership choices or your boundaries – again and again

  • Grieving the parts of your truth that may never be fully seen or affirmed by your family

You are not selfish for wanting something different.
You are not wrong for needing space to breathe, to question, and to cultivate a life that feels authentic to you.

Therapy Can Be a Place to Lay It All Down

In therapy, you don’t need to choose between your culture and your healing.
You don’t need to explain why it’s complicated.
You can bring all of it: the pride, the pressure, the grief, the guilt, the longing, the anger and the love!

Together, we can explore:

  • Identity development, when you were raised to prioritize others

  • Boundaries with family that honour your safety and values

  • Cultural and intergenerational trauma – and how it shows up in your body

  • Shame, secrecy, and the fear of being misunderstood or rejected

  • Navigating interracial, interfaith or interethnic partnerships

  • Being queer or neurodivergent in a family that may not have language or acceptance for it

  • Reclaiming rest, choice, joy and gentleness – without needing permission

You deserve a space that doesn’t ask you to simplify who you are.

You Are Allowed to Be the First

You may be:

  • The first to choose a non-traditional path

  • The first to name trauma, set a boundary, or come out

  • The first to say “I don’t want to live like this anymore”

  • The first to choose a partner your family doesn’t understand or accept

  • The first to seek therapy

Being the first can feel like betrayal – but it is often the beginning of something sacred.

You are not broken for feeling conflicted.  You are not weak for needing support.
You are human.  You are growing.  You are allowed to be whole.

Let’s Work Together

If you’re looking for a therapist who understands the intersections of immigration, cultural identity, relational stress, neurodivergence and the complexities of chosen love — you’re in the right place.

I offer warm, culturally responsive, trauma-informed therapy to help you reconnect with your own truth and move toward a life that feels rooted, not torn.

You don’t have to carry it all alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I provide counselling to women, queer folks, neurodivergent people, and adult children of immigrants between the ages of 18 to 55. If you see yourself reflected in these lived experiences, you're warmly welcome here.

  • I’m a Registered Social Worker (RSW) in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Alberta, and can provide virtual counselling to residents of those provinces.

  • My fee for individual counselling is $180/hr.

    This rate allows me to continuously offer $100 discounted spots to make therapy more accessible for students and folks who are unemployed or precariously employed.

  • I’m a white-passing, Middle Eastern / Southwest Asian, bisexual, cisgender, neurodivergent woman and a first-generation immigrant and settler who came to Canada as a refugee during childhood. I've personally lived through trauma, immigration and displacement, mental illness, divorce, chronic illness and chronic pain – all of that informs how I show up in my work.

  • At its core, my approach is:

    • Trauma-Informed

    • Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive (ARAO)

    • Intersectionally Feminist

    • Neurodivergent-Affirming

    • Queer-Affirming

    • Sex Positive

    • Harm-Reduction-Based

    • Strengths-Based

    That means I honour the ways people’s identities, lived experiences, and cultural contexts shape their needs, relationships and healing process. I centre your strengths, capacity, and values – and work towards change that is realistic, sustainable and grounded in your actual life.

  • It means I don’t follow a one-size-fits-all model. I draw from various therapeutic modalities, schools of thought, and practical strategies – adapting them intuitively based on who you are and what you bring into each session.

  • Yes – I speak, understand, and read Farsi fluently. My sessions are primarily in English, but I can offer language flexibility for Farsi-speaking clients.

  • You get to decide what frequency works best for you. Most of my clients meet with me every 2 to 6 weeks. That gives you space to reflect, process and integrate what we talk about without feeling like therapy is “one more chore.”
    In times of burnout, crisis or transition, we might meet weekly for 1–2 months, if that feels supportive for you.

  • That’s completely okay. You set the pace. I won’t push you to talk about anything you’re not ready to explore. You’ll always have choice and control in our sessions.

  • You can count on me to:

    • Be fully engaged, honest and compassionate

    • Share new perspectives and practical tools

    • Offer relevant books, articles, podcasts, videos and other resources

    • Encourage reflection and sustainable action

    • Bring warmth, humour and balance to our sessions

  • You can book a free 15-minute phone consult to see if we’re a good fit. I’d be honoured to support you on your journey toward healing, clarity, and self-trust.