Therapy for Childhood Emotional Neglect in Ontario

Armin Ovaisy-Moakhar, RP (Qualifying)

CRPO #18315 · MA, Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University · BSc, York University · English and Farsi (فارسی)

Armin is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with an MA in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. He works with adults who manage a lot on the outside but feel anxious, self-critical, disconnected, or stuck in recurring relationship patterns. His approach is relational and trauma-informed, and he works at a pace guided by your goals and feedback. He draws on EMDR, Brainspotting, and parts-informed approaches. Sessions are online across Ontario in English or Farsi.

Armin has completed additional training in trauma, EMDR, Brainspotting, parts-informed approaches (IFS), somatic approaches, and Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples.

Clinical supervisor: Maryna Svitasheva, PhD, RP (CRPO #002978).

Meet Armin →

Childhood emotional neglect is less about what happened than about what was missing. You may have been fed, clothed and cared for, and still have grown up in a home where feelings were not noticed, named or welcomed.

Because nothing obvious happened, it can be hard to take seriously. You might describe your childhood as fine, and still have felt alone with what you were feeling.

If emotional safety, attunement, or consistency was missing, it can affect how grounded you feel in yourself or how secure you feel in relationships. This can show up as anxiety, self-doubt, perfectionism, emotional numbness, or difficulty trusting others.

Looking at this is not about blaming your parents or yourself. Many parents did what they could with what they had, sometimes while carrying a great deal themselves.

Nobody can promise what therapy will change for you, or how long it will take. The work moves slowly, step by step, at a pace you can manage.

• ✻It is hard to find words for what you feel, or words come out flat and far away.
• ✻You learned to stay strong and keep quiet, and now that silence feels heavy.
• ✻You feel emotionally numb, disconnected from your own feelings, going through the motions without really being present.
• ✻You feel like a burden when you need something, so you try not to need much.
• ✻Your childhood looked fine from the outside, and you still feel that something was missing.

None of this means you are broken. These patterns usually started as ways of getting through something hard.

Armin’s approach is relational and trauma-informed, and he works at a pace guided by your goals and feedback. He draws on EMDR, Brainspotting, and parts-informed approaches.

For Armin, meaningful psychological change extends beyond intellectual insight. It involves developing a different relationship with ourselves and our experiences: cultivating greater awareness of our emotional and physiological responses, exploring deeply rooted patterns, and opening new possibilities for how we experience ourselves and connect with others.

You don’t need to know which approach you want, and you don’t have to say everything at once. That is what the free consultation is for.

It may fit if

• ✻You have a sense that something was missing growing up, even if you can’t name it.
• ✻You would like to understand your reactions, not just manage them.
• ✻You are an adult, or a couple, living anywhere in Ontario, and can find a private space for online sessions.

Something else may fit better if

• ✻You are in crisis right now, or you are not safe where you are. Please start with 988 or 911, listed below.
• ✻You are living with ongoing violence or danger. Safety in the present usually comes first. You can say this privately in the free consultation.
• ✻You need medical, psychiatric or in-person care, or more support than a weekly online session can give. A doctor or local services may need to come first, or alongside therapy.
• ✻You are under 18. Armin works with adults and couples.
• ✻You mainly want practical skills to manage anxiety day to day. Skills-based work with Roya Dadollahi Sarab, RP, who brings more than 10 years of experience with ACT, DBT and CBT, may fit better.
• ✻You want to meet in person. All sessions at NoorMinds are online.

The free consultation

A calm 15-minute conversation, by video or phone, in Farsi or English. You share a little about what brings you, ask how Armin works, and decide whether it feels like a fit. No pressure, no obligation.

Early sessions

You talk about what is happening now, what you want to be different, and how you steady yourself when things get hard. You decide how much of your story to share, and when.

Closing each session

Each session leaves time to come back to the room and settle before you go back to your day.

Format and pace

Weekly 60-minute individual sessions, $180, or couples sessions at $225 for 60 minutes and $350 for 90 minutes. By secure video, in Farsi, English or a mix of both. There is no set number of sessions and no minimum commitment.

Confidential from your family and community

Sessions are confidential under the standards of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Nothing is shared with your family or your community. Confidentiality has limits required by law, the same for every therapist, and these are explained at the start of therapy.

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