Chronic Stress & Burnout Counselling

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

in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta

You’re doing so much – and it’s still doesn’t feel like enough!

You’re thoughtful, caring and competent. You know how to show up, push through, care for others, and keep moving.

But inside, you may feel like you're fraying at the edges – mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually.

This isn’t just feeling “tired”… This is something deeper. It’s the kind of exhaustion that seeps into your bones!

It’s BURNOUT – and you’re not alone in it.

 

What Burnout Looks Like — and Feels Like

Burnout doesn’t always look like collapsing.
Sometimes it looks like smiling while feeling numb.
Or saying “I’m fine” when you’re silently unraveling.

You may be experiencing:

  • Difficulty focusing, remembering or making decisions

  • Emotional numbness or unpredictable overwhelm

  • Feeling disconnected from your body or your values

  • Fatigue that sleep doesn't fix

  • Irritability, impatience or frustration

  • Guilt or shame over not “doing enough”

  • Physical pain, digestive issues or chronic tension

  • Feeling isolated, unseen or emotionally flat

Burnout is real – and it’s not just about overwork. For many of us, it’s also the cost of surviving systems that weren’t built with us in mind.

Burnout Through the Lens of Identity

If you’re a woman, queer, neurodivergent, chronically ill, disabled, racialized or an immigrant – burnout often carries cultural, generational and systemic weight:

  • Masking or code-switching to survive

  • Caring for others while neglecting your own needs

  • Internalized pressure to prove yourself, succeed or be "resilient"

  • Silencing parts of yourself to stay safe or accepted

  • Compassion fatigue from caring deeply in unjust systems

  • Spiritual or ethical exhaustion, especially for activists, educators, therapists, healers and others in caring professions

You may be carrying not only your own fatigue – but that of your ancestors, communities and the roles you’ve taken on to survive.

In Our Work Together

Therapy is a space to pause – to let go, reflect and rebuild without shame.

We can explore:

  • What chronic stress has cost you AND what the stress has been trying to protect in your life

  • How to reconnect to your body, your breath and your needs

  • Tools to regulate your nervous system and expand your capacity

  • Boundaries that honour your energy and relationships

  • Grief, anger or resentment that’s been quietly simmering

  • Ways to reconnect to pleasure, play and possibility

You don’t have to earn rest. You don’t have to prove your pain. You don’t have to do this alone.

You’re Still Here – and That Matters

Even in your exhaustion, you’ve kept going. That’s not weakness — it’s brilliance and survival.

But healing doesn’t have to look like hustle. It can look like:

  • Softness

  • Slowness

  • Saying NO

  • Choosing yourself – even when the world tells you not to

You’re Not Alone

You are worthy of care. You are allowed to rest. You deserve support that understands where you come from and honours where you want to go.

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.