Culturally sensitive online psychotherapy for Hamiltonians navigating life between two worlds, whether you arrived last year or twenty years ago. Sessions in English and Farsi, in Hamilton and across Ontario.
Roya is booking now. Ghazal is booking by waitlist (3–4 weeks).
Hamilton's immigration story runs in layers. In the 2021 Census, 25.9% of residents, about 145,500 people, were immigrants, compared with 30.0% across Ontario. The largest groups of immigrants overall were born in the United Kingdom, India and Italy; the most recent arrivals have come mainly from India, Syria and the Philippines. Old and new communities share the same streets, and about one Hamiltonian in eight mostly speaks a language other than English or French at home. Being an immigrant here can still feel isolating. Rents for a vacant two-bedroom rose about 12% in a single year between 2022 and 2023, work may not match your training, and the energy it takes to establish yourself leaves little room for the emotional side of settling in.
Ghazal immigrated to Canada from Iran and has worked with immigrants and refugees from all over the world: the Middle East, South Asia, East Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and beyond. She doesn't just understand the theory. She knows the loneliness of starting over, the grief of distance, and the quiet courage it takes to build a new life.
Therapy that respects your cultural background, family values, and the complexity of navigating two worlds, without pathologizing your experience.
Sessions in English and Farsi (فارسی), or a mix of both. Express yourself in whichever language feels right.
Schema therapy, CBT, and emotion-focused techniques, grounded in research and tailored to your unique story.
Talk about what brought you here, ask questions, and see if it feels right. No pressure.
Together, we'll identify what's weighing on you most and build a path forward using proven therapeutic approaches.
60-minute online sessions from anywhere in Ontario. Consistent, confidential, flexible.
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.
Free 15-minute consultation available. Receipts provided after each session for submission to your extended health insurance plan.
Book a free 15-minute consultation, in English or Farsi, wherever you are in Hamilton. No commitment, no pressure.
Or call (647) 699-5142 · WhatsApp · Email
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NoorMinds provides virtual therapy for immigrants to residents throughout Ontario. Select your city to learn more:
Hamilton has a well-developed settlement network. The Immigrants Working Centre offers settlement counselling and employment support in many languages, YMCA Immigrant Services runs orientation, language assessment and English conversation groups, Wesley provides settlement services, and the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council keeps a directory of services for newcomers. These organizations do essential work on the practical side of a move: status, housing, jobs, school registration, language.
Therapy is for the side that does not fit on an intake form. The grief for parents who are ageing without you. The strange loneliness of a city where you now know the bus routes but not yet many people. The shift in a marriage when one partner finds work quickly and the other does not. The tiredness of switching languages all day and never quite sounding like yourself. And the private question, months or years in, of whether this was the right decision, which can feel impossible to say out loud to family who sacrificed to help you come.
For people who came as refugees, or who left in frightening circumstances, settling can also mean carrying fear and loss that have not had anywhere to go. That work needs patience and cultural respect, and it goes at your pace, never faster.
Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), immigrated to Canada from Iran and has worked with immigrants and refugees from many parts of the world. She combines Schema Therapy with attachment- and emotion-focused methods, looking at how the patterns laid down early in life are reawakened by a move: the child who learned to be no trouble becomes the newcomer who never asks for help. Roya Dadollahi Sarab, RP, also works with life transitions and grief. Because sessions are online, they can be booked around a job search, a rota or an English class, in English, Farsi or both.
These are independent organizations, not affiliated with NoorMinds, that newcomers in Hamilton may find useful alongside therapy.
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