Counselling for Perfectionism, Performance Anxiety & Imposter Syndrome

for Women, Queer Folks, Neurodivergent People & Adult Children of Immigrants (18-55)

in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta

Everything you do feels important – and you’ve done it well.

You’re skilled, ambitious, dependable. You set a high bar – for yourself and what you give to others. And you’ve often met it.

Yet beneath the accomplishments, there’s a thread of tension:

  • Burnout hidden behind excellence

  • Anxiety masked by productivity

  • Fear of failure buried under achievement

  • Emotional exhaustion hidden behind perfection

If you find yourself stuck between success and self-doubt, this space is for you.

 

The Emotional Landscape of Perfectionism

Perfectionism isn’t just about desire for excellence – it’s often about proving you’re enough:

  • Impostor syndrome that won’t quiet down

  • Burnout from doing “more than enough” every day

  • Guilt over rest, play, or even imperfection

  • Anxiety or paralysis when decisions feel too permanent

  • Tension between cultural or familial expectations and your own vision of success

You may carry not only your own efforts, but the hopes, immigration narratives and expectations of family or community. And yet, your emotional experience frequently remains invisible.

Perfectionism & Intersectional Identity

If you’re neurodivergent, queer, a 1st or 2nd generation immigrant, or part of multiple marginalized identities, perfectionism can show up through:

  • Masking or over-functioning to fit in or belong

  • Pressure to prove your worth in spaces that feel “unmade for you”

  • Navigating languages, cultures and expectations while maintaining your excellence

  • Feeling you must be twice as productive for half the access

  • Emotional labour of representation – not only for yourself, but for your whole community

This isn’t simply about quirks or high standards – it’s about doing everything right in a world that never valued your way of being.

What Therapy Can Offer

Counselling is a space to unlearn perfectionism’s strategies — and start rebuilding a version of you rooted in rest, values and sustainable care.

Together, we can explore:

  • How to shift from performance-based worth to embodied belonging

  • Practices for regulating anxiety and nervous system overwhelm

  • Tools for self-compassion, realistic productivity and healthy boundary-setting

  • How to reconnect to creativity and pleasure, without guilt

  • Breaking cycles of overwork, without losing your sense of purpose

  • Navigating rest, imperfection and “not doing it perfectly” – with kindness

This is not therapy to “stop being perfect” – it’s therapy to discover who you are beneath perfectionism.

You Already Matter

Excellence can feel like a mask. And rest can feel like a betrayal.

But recovery isn’t about “earning rest” or “dropping ambition.” It’s about reclaiming safety – to be human, to be imperfect and to be enough, even when the world demands more.

You are worthy of care. You are allowed to slow down. You are complete and enough – exactly as you are.

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.