Therapy for Perfectionism and Self-Criticism 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 →

Perfectionism is often less about high standards than about what a mistake seems to say about you. Self-criticism is the voice that keeps watch, so that the mistake never happens.

From the outside it can look like doing well. On the inside it can feel like never being finished, and never quite being enough.

With Armin, persistent self-criticism and the anxiety that travels with it are explored through how early relationships and patterns of adaptation shaped the way you see yourself.

Nobody can promise what therapy will change for you, or how long it will take. That is something you and your therapist look at honestly, together, as you go.

• ✻Your inner critic is loud, and it rarely takes a day off.
• ✻You may manage a lot on the outside while feeling anxious, self-critical, or disconnected.
• ✻You finish something and can only see what is wrong with it.
• ✻Rest feels like something you have to earn.
• ✻Praise slides off, and criticism stays with you for days.

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.

One way in is parts work. Internal Family Systems sees the mind as a kind of inner family. Some parts work hard to keep you functioning and safe: the inner critic, the planner, the people-pleaser.

In IFS, the aim is not to get rid of any part. It is to get to know them with curiosity instead of judgment: what each one is afraid of, what it is protecting, and what it needs.

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

• ✻Self-criticism, shame or inner conflict take up a lot of space in your life.
• ✻You would like to understand your reactions, not just manage them.
• ✻Talk therapy alone hasn’t brought the change you hoped for, and you are curious about a different angle.
• ✻You are an adult 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, by secure video, in English, Farsi or a mix of both. You will need a private space, a stable internet connection, and ideally headphones. There is no set number of sessions and no minimum commitment.

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