I.
EFT-informed approach
Emotionally Focused Therapy is the gold standard for couples work, backed by decades of research showing lasting improvement in relationship satisfaction and secure attachment.
Online across Ontario · English & فارسی
Couples Therapy in Pickering
Build a relationship that feels safe again. A new house, a new baby, a longer trip to work: when everything changes at once, two people can lose each other in the logistics. Online couples therapy for Pickering couples, using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Schema Therapy, in English or Farsi.
Ghazal SheikhtaheriGhazal
Founder & Clinical Director
RP (Qualifying) · CRPO #21300
Waitlist · 3–4 weeks
Both partners are welcome on the free 15-minute call, or just one. Tina and Roya are booking now; Ghazal is booking by waitlist (3–4 weeks).
Sound Familiar?
Do any of these feel familiar?
- You keep having the same argument over and over: different topic, same hurt, same shutdown.
- Since the move, the renovation or the baby, you have become an efficient team and a lonely couple.
- One of you pursues while the other withdraws, and neither of you knows how to stop the cycle.
- Trust has been damaged by betrayal, dishonesty, or simply years of unspoken resentment.
- It feels like one partner is doing all the emotional work, and the other doesn't see the problem.
- Cultural or family expectations add an invisible layer of pressure that outsiders don't understand.
The Approach
What couples therapy looks like at NoorMinds
Couples therapy here is built on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the most researched and evidence-based approach for couples. EFT helps you and your partner identify the negative interaction cycles that keep you stuck, and creates new patterns of emotional connection and safety between you.
Ghazal also integrates Schema Therapy into couples work, which helps each partner understand the deep emotional patterns formed in childhood, and how those patterns get triggered in the relationship. When you understand why your partner's behaviour hits so hard, and why your reactions feel so automatic, real change becomes possible.
Why NoorMinds
Four reasons couples choose this practice
II.
Deeper pattern work
Schema Therapy helps each partner understand the childhood wounds driving their reactions, so you stop blaming each other and start understanding what's really happening.
III.
Culturally sensitive
As an Iranian immigrant herself, Ghazal understands how cultural background shapes relationship expectations: family involvement, gender roles, and the weight of unspoken rules.
IV.
Bilingual sessions
Available in English and Farsi (فارسی). Both partners don't need to speak Farsi. Sessions adapt to whatever language mix works for your relationship.
Pricing
Simple, transparent pricing
Free15-min consultation
$225Couples · 60 min
$350Couples · 90 min
Insurance receipts provided. Many extended health plans cover psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist. Ghazal holds the Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) designation, so please confirm your plan covers it. Full fees & insurance details
90-Minute Extended Session · $350
By popular demand. The extended format gives couples more room to slow down, move through difficult conversations without feeling rushed, and explore the deeper patterns shaping the relationship. Many couples choose the 90-minute format for their first session, when there's the most ground to cover.
Separate receipts can be issued for each partner where plans allow.
Questions
Common questions
What is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)?
EFT is the most researched couples therapy approach in the world. It helps partners identify the negative cycles keeping them stuck, like pursue-withdraw or attack-attack patterns, and guides them toward new ways of responding that create emotional safety and secure attachment. Research shows 70-75% of couples move from distress to recovery with EFT.
Does online couples therapy actually work?
Yes. Research shows online couples therapy is as effective as in-person sessions. Many couples find virtual sessions more convenient and less stressful: you're in your own space, there's no commute, and scheduling becomes easier. All you need is a private room and a stable internet connection.
My partner is reluctant. Should I wait until they're ready?
It's common for one partner to be more ready than the other. A free 15-minute consultation can help. Sometimes hearing what therapy actually involves makes it less intimidating. If your partner isn't ready yet, individual therapy can also help you understand your own patterns and shift the dynamic from your side.
How long does couples therapy take?
It depends on the depth of the issues. Some couples notice meaningful shifts within 8-12 sessions. More complex situations, like healing after betrayal or long-standing disconnection, may take longer. We'll discuss realistic expectations during your consultation.
Do both partners need to speak Farsi?
No. Ghazal, Tina and Roya all work in English and Farsi. Sessions can be conducted in English, Farsi, or a mix of both, whatever works for your relationship. If one partner speaks Farsi and the other doesn't, sessions adapt naturally.
What's the difference between couples therapy and individual therapy?
Individual therapy focuses on your personal patterns and wellbeing. Couples therapy focuses on the relationship itself: the dynamic between you, the cycles you get caught in, and how to create a more secure bond together. Some people benefit from both simultaneously.
We just moved to Seaton and had a baby, and we're arguing more than ever. Is couples therapy worth starting at this stage?
Couples therapy does not have to wait for a crisis. Starting during a big transition gives the two of you a chance to change how you handle stress together while the pressure is still new, before patterns set in. Sessions are online, so you can meet from home during a nap or after bedtime. Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), CRPO #21300, Tina Abadi, RP, and Roya Dadollahi Sarab, RP, offer couples therapy in either language, English or Farsi; a free 15-minute consultation is a simple first step.
Are there lower-cost counselling options in Durham we could use alongside or instead of private therapy?
Yes. Durham Region has community counselling services, including the Region's own family counselling service and non-profit agencies such as Catholic Family Services of Durham; several appear in the Local support list on this page, and none is connected to NoorMinds. Fees and availability are set by each organization, so check with them directly. At NoorMinds, a couples session is $225 for 60 minutes or $350 for 90 minutes, the 15-minute consultation is free, and insurance receipts are provided.
We moved to Pickering from Toronto and left our friends behind. Can that affect our relationship?
It can. After a move away from friends and family, partners often start relying on each other for all their social and emotional needs, which puts a lot of weight on one relationship at a time when you are also adjusting to a new house, new routines and perhaps a longer commute. Couples therapy can help you notice that pressure, talk about what each of you is missing, and support each other in building a life here. Sessions are online, in English or Farsi.
Next Step
Ready to reconnect?
Book a free 15-minute consultation whenever you can find a quiet quarter of an hour, together or on your own. No commitment, no pressure.
Or call (647) 699-5142 · WhatsApp · Email
Calls and messages aren’t monitored for emergencies. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide Crisis Helpline, available 24/7.
NoorMinds offers online couples therapy to partners in Pickering, from the new north end of the city to the lakeshore, and to couples across Durham Region and the rest of Ontario. Culturally sensitive, evidence-based care in English and Farsi.
Couples Therapy Across Ontario
NoorMinds provides virtual couples therapy to partners throughout Ontario. Select your city to learn more:
Pickering
Couples therapy for Pickering, from Seaton to the lake
In north Pickering, whole new neighbourhoods are taking shape in Seaton, a planned community of about 7,000 acres, roughly half of it set aside as green space, planned for about 61,000 residents. New streets fill with moving trucks, half-finished parks and young families. Couples moving into a new-build neighbourhood are often doing several big things at once: taking on a mortgage, starting or growing a family, learning a longer route to work and building a social life from scratch in a place where nobody knows them yet.
The arrival of a child is a well-known pressure point for couples, and a move or a new commute on top of it multiplies the strain. The pattern tends to look the same from house to house. Sleep disappears. Conversations shrink to logistics: who is doing daycare pickup, whether the builder called back, what is for dinner. One partner feels alone with the baby, the other feels alone with the pressure of providing, and small comments start landing as criticism. Neither person is doing anything wrong. Both are depleted, and the cycle between them takes over.
Emotionally Focused Therapy helps you see that cycle clearly and step out of it together: to hear the fear or loneliness under the frustration and respond to that instead of the tone. Schema Therapy adds the older layer, such as why feeling unappreciated hits one of you so hard, or why the other goes quiet at the first sign of conflict. Those reactions usually trace back to the families you each grew up in, and new parents can find themselves re-running exactly those family scripts without meaning to. The article on why the first year after a baby is so hard on a marriage describes this in more detail.
None of this is limited to Seaton. Couples in older Pickering neighbourhoods closer to the lake face their own versions: teenagers who need driving everywhere, aging parents who need more help, two demanding jobs and a mortgage that was renewed at a higher rate. Whatever the stage, it helps to start before resentment hardens. Some couples begin with a 90-minute session to give the first conversation room to breathe, then meet weekly or every other week.
Online sessions fit this season of life. You can meet from home during a nap or after bedtime without arranging a sitter or driving anywhere. Sessions are with Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), Tina Abadi, RP, or Roya Dadollahi Sarab, RP, and can be held in English, Farsi or a blend of the two, wherever in Pickering or the rest of Ontario you live.
Local support in Pickering
These organizations are independent of NoorMinds and have no affiliation with the practice; Pickering couples may find them useful alongside or between sessions.
- Catholic Family Services of Durham: a non-profit agency offering counselling for individuals, couples and families in Durham.
- Family Services Durham (Region of Durham): the Region of Durham's own individual, couple and family counselling service.
- Carea Community Health Centre: a community health centre with sites in Pickering and across Durham; its services include counselling for couples and families.
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