I’m Asma (uhss-ma), a CRPO Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario, with a master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto. But more importantly, I’m a real person who believes therapy works best when it feels human, grounded, and honest.

I’m an immigrant settler on Turtle Island, currently living on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. I carry this context with care and responsibility. My lived experience  of migration, belonging, and navigating systems not built with everyone in mind deeply shapes how I show up in my work.

Being an immigrant has influenced how I understand pain, resilience, and identity. It’s also at the root of my commitment to social justice and to working alongside racialized and marginalized communities. I don’t see distress as something that lives only inside a person — it often reflects the systems and relationships we’re moving through. 

Clinically, I’ve worked with adults navigating childhood and adult trauma in both individual and group settings. My experience includes work at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Women’s College Hospital, the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, and Naseeha Youth Helpline. I also work extensively with undergraduate and graduate students, and I understand the unique pressures, transitions, and identity questions that can come with that stage of life.

My areas of focus include trauma, relationships and intergenerational patterns, identity and self-esteem, anxiety, stress and burnout, and questions around culture, spirituality, and meaning. I approach this work with curiosity, honesty, and respect for each person’s pace and lived reality..

At the core of my work is a simple belief: when we live within systems that disconnect us from ourselves and one another, it’s natural to feel fragmented. Therapy, for me, is about gently reconnecting — helping you come back into relationship with yourself in a way that feels grounded, compassionate, and whole. I see this process as a kind of homecoming.

Working with me isn’t about fixing you or rushing toward answers. It’s about creating space for honesty, curiosity, growth, and yes, sometimes laughter. Therapy can hold both the heavy and the light, and we’ll move at a pace that feels respectful of where you are.

Our work together is one important part of your overall wellbeing, but it’s not the whole picture. I don’t see myself as an expert standing above you. Rather, I see my role as walking alongside you, listening closely, asking thoughtful questions, and offering care as you navigate what’s been weighing on you. Over time, the hope is that the sense of safety we build together becomes something you carry within yourself, long after our sessions end. That’s the point: not dependency, but trust in your own capacity.

I work with an intersectional lens, which means we’ll pay attention not only to what’s happening internally, but also to how culture, family, identity, and larger systems shape your experiences and your relationship with yourself. Your struggles don’t exist in a vacuum, and neither does your healing.

For the jargon nerds, my therapy approach is collaborative, non-judgmental, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed. The relationship we build is central — a place where you can reconnect with your inner wisdom and begin to trust it again. Depending on your needs and goals, I may draw from approaches like Internal Family Systems, Narrative Therapy, Feminist Therapy, Liberation Psychology, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and Interpersonal Therapy. We’ll adapt as we go.

I offer therapy in English, Arabic, and French (with English comprehension required). Faith-based therapy is available for clients who identify as Muslim, if that’s something you’d like woven into our work.

You’re always welcome to share your accessibility needs and your preferred pronouns when reaching out. This is a space where you don’t have to explain yourself before we even begin.