I.
Schema therapy as a primary framework
This isn't an occasional technique. Ghazal pursued advanced schema therapy training in Germany and uses it as the foundation of her clinical work.
Schema Therapy · Brampton
Schema Therapy in Brampton
You keep ending up in the same painful cycles: in relationships, at work, with yourself. Schema therapy gets to the root of those patterns, including the ones built around always putting family first. Online sessions for people in Brampton and across Ontario.
Ghazal is currently booking by waitlist (3–4 weeks).
Ghazal Sheikhtaheri
Founder & Clinical Director
RP (Qualifying) · CRPO #21300
Sound Familiar?
Signs Schema Therapy could help
- You keep ending up in the same painful relationship dynamics: different person, same hurt, same pattern.
- You have a harsh inner critic that tells you you're not good enough, no matter what you achieve.
- You feel emotionally disconnected from your partner, your friends, or even yourself.
- You sacrifice your own needs to keep others happy, then feel resentful or invisible.
- You intellectually know your life is "fine", but something deeper feels fundamentally wrong.
These patterns aren't random, and they aren't your fault. Schema therapy can help you understand where they come from and begin to change them.
Book with GhazalAbout the Approach
What is Schema Therapy?
Schema therapy addresses the deep emotional patterns (called "schemas") formed in childhood that continue to shape your relationships, self-image, and reactions to stress. It goes beyond surface-level symptoms to work with the root causes, combining cognitive, emotional, and experiential techniques.
Schema therapy is especially relevant for:
- Recurring relationship difficulties
- Chronic self-criticism and low self-worth
- People-pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries
- Emotional avoidance or numbness
- Patterns that haven't responded to other therapy
Curious whether schema therapy could help with what you're experiencing?
Book with GhazalYour Therapist
Trained, regulated, and experienced
Training
Advanced Schema Therapy Training
CASMH Health Institute, Germany. Ghazal pursued advanced, specialized training in schema therapy at one of Europe's recognized centres, bringing a depth of expertise to her work with clients in Ontario.
Education
Dual Master's Degrees
MSc Clinical Psychology (Kharazmi University, Iran) and MA Counselling & Psychotherapy (Yorkville University, Canada). A clinical foundation built across two countries and training systems.
Registration
CRPO Registered
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Practicing under active clinical supervision, the standard path for all new CRPO registrants.
Experience
10+ Years Clinical Experience
Over a decade of work with individuals and couples across diverse backgrounds. Ghazal brings experience with trauma, relationship patterns, self-worth, and the unique pressures of immigration and cultural identity.
Why NoorMinds
Why choose NoorMinds for Schema Therapy
II.
Root-cause focus
Rather than managing symptoms, schema therapy addresses the underlying patterns, creating the possibility of deep, lasting change.
III.
Bilingual sessions
Available in English and Farsi (فارسی). Emotional work is most effective in the language your feelings live in.
IV.
Warm, structured approach
Schema therapy is both compassionate and systematic, balancing emotional depth with clear therapeutic direction.
A free consultation is the easiest way to see if this is the right fit.
Book with GhazalHow It Works
How to Start Schema Therapy
I.
Free consultation
15 minutes to discuss what you're experiencing and whether schema therapy might be a good fit.
II.
Assessment & pattern mapping
In early sessions, we identify your core schemas and the coping strategies you've developed around them.
III.
Ongoing therapy
Weekly 60-minute sessions combining cognitive restructuring, experiential exercises, and compassionate re-parenting techniques.
What to Expect
What Schema Therapy Looks Like in Practice
In the early phase, we work together to map out the core patterns, or schemas, that are shaping your life. This might include patterns like abandonment, emotional deprivation, self-sacrifice, or defectiveness. Most people recognise their patterns quickly once they have a framework for them.
From there, sessions move into deeper emotional work: understanding where these patterns formed, what needs went unmet, and how your coping strategies developed. Schema therapy uses a combination of cognitive techniques, chair work, imagery, and guided reflection to work with these patterns at both a thinking and feeling level.
Over time, the goal is to develop what schema therapists call the "Healthy Adult" mode: a stronger internal voice that can meet your own needs, set boundaries, and respond to old triggers differently.
Related reading: Why We Keep Repeating the Same Relationship Patterns · When Crisis Activates Our Inner Schemas
Pricing
Simple, transparent pricing
$180Individual Session
$225Couples · 60 min
$350Couples · 90 min
Free15-Min Consultation
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
Questions
Schema Therapy FAQ
What's the difference between schema therapy and CBT?
CBT focuses on changing thoughts and behaviours in the present. Schema therapy goes deeper. It addresses the childhood origins of your patterns and uses emotional and experiential techniques alongside cognitive ones. Many clients find schema therapy reaches places that CBT alone didn't.
How long does schema therapy take?
It depends on the complexity of your patterns. Some clients see meaningful shifts in 3-6 months. Deeper, more entrenched patterns may take longer. We'll discuss realistic expectations during your consultation.
Is schema therapy right for me?
If you notice recurring patterns in relationships, struggle with self-worth, or feel stuck despite previous therapy, schema therapy may be an excellent fit. A free consultation can help us determine this together.
Are sessions online?
Yes. All sessions are virtual, so you can join from anywhere in Brampton, from Heart Lake to Sandalwood, or from elsewhere in Ontario.
Do you offer sessions in Farsi?
Yes. Sessions are available in Farsi (فارسی), English, or both.
I'm the eldest child in a Brampton family and have always been the responsible one. Why do I feel so resentful?
Resentment is often a sign that a self-sacrifice or subjugation schema has been running for a long time: your needs have come last so consistently that part of you is protesting. Schema therapy helps you trace where the pattern started, honour why it made sense, and find ways to keep caring for your family without disappearing. Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), CRPO #21300, offers schema therapy online in English and Farsi.
I still live with my parents in Brampton. Can I do schema therapy online without being overheard?
Usually, with some planning. A bedroom with the door closed, headphones with a microphone, a fan or white-noise app outside the door, or a parked car in the driveway can all work. Morning and evening times are available, which may line up with a quieter house. If privacy is truly hard, mention it in the free consultation so Ghazal can help you plan, because feeling free to speak matters in this kind of work.
My family in Brampton is close, and talking to a therapist about them feels disloyal. Should I still start?
Talking about your family in therapy isn't the same as blaming them. Schema therapy looks at patterns with compassion for everyone involved, including parents who were doing what they could under pressure. Sessions are confidential, and the aim is usually to stay close to your family while carrying less guilt and resentment, not to pull away. Ghazal works in English or Farsi.
Next Step
Ready to understand your patterns?
A 15-minute call from home in Brampton to talk through what keeps repeating. No commitment, no pressure.
Book with GhazalOr 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.
Schema Therapy Across Ontario
NoorMinds provides virtual schema therapy to residents throughout Ontario. Select your city to learn more:
Brampton
Schema therapy for Brampton adults
Brampton is a young city. Its median age is lower than Ontario's, and immigrants make up about half of the population, so many of its young adults grew up in immigrant households. If you are one of them, you may have been the one who translated at the bank, filled in forms for your parents, looked after younger siblings and carried the family's hopes into every exam.
Schema therapy calls the patterns that grow out of a childhood like that schemas. Three can come up when duty to family is strongly valued: self-sacrifice, where meeting everyone else's needs feels like the only acceptable choice; subjugation, where your own wishes go quiet to keep the peace; and failure, the fear that you will never justify what your parents gave up. None of these is a cultural flaw. Each once helped a family keep going.
Shared homes can add another. When there is no room of your own to be upset in, you learn to keep a calm face and put feelings away for later, and later rarely comes. Schema therapy calls this emotional inhibition. It can look like being the steady one everyone relies on while feeling numb inside, or like anger that arrives all at once after months of silence.
Schemas also shape how you love. Someone raised to put everyone else first may be drawn to partners who take a great deal and give back little, or may feel uneasy, even guilty, the moment a partner offers care. Noticing that pattern is often the first step toward relationships that feel mutual.
The work is not about stepping back from your family. It is about noticing when an old rule, rather than a real need, is making the decision: saying yes to the third favour of the week, cancelling your own plans again, or feeling guilty for resting on a day off. Imagery, chair work and cognitive techniques help a steadier, healthier adult side of you make those calls instead.
Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), CRPO #21300, trained in advanced schema therapy at the CASMH Health Institute in Germany and builds her clinical work around it. As an Iranian immigrant, she knows the weight of family duty from the inside. Sessions are online, in English or Farsi, which keeps them within reach for people in Brampton working shifts or sharing a busy home.
Local support in Brampton
Community mental health in Brampton also runs through the independent organizations below, which have no connection to NoorMinds and can be useful alongside or between sessions.
- CMHA Peel Dufferin: community mental health and addiction programs across Peel and Dufferin.
- William Osler Health System: hospital mental health and addiction services, including at Brampton Civic Hospital.
- WellFort Community Health Services: community health centres in Brampton offering primary care and health programs.
- Distress Centres of Greater Toronto: a 24/7 helpline for emotional support, with lines serving Peel.
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