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 · Thornhill
Schema Therapy in Thornhill
Old patterns can shape a life the way an old village still shapes a modern street. If you keep ending up in the same painful cycles, in relationships, at work, with yourself, schema therapy gets to the root. Online sessions for people in Thornhill 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 sounds a lot like the family's expectations, and 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 keep everyone happy, family, community, colleagues, and then feel resentful or invisible.
- From the outside your life looks settled and respectable. Inside, 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 a pattern your family has carried for a long time?
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 and available in Thornhill and across Ontario; you join from home, whichever side of Yonge that is.
Do you offer sessions in Farsi?
Yes. Sessions are available in Farsi (فارسی), English, or both.
My family has lived in Thornhill for decades and everyone knows us. Is it strange to want therapy outside that?
Not at all. Many people value a space where no one knows the family history in advance, so they can describe it in their own words. Sessions with Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), CRPO #21300, are online, and confidentiality follows CRPO standards, including the legal limits Ghazal explains at the start of therapy. Schema therapy then looks at the patterns you carry, not at anyone's reputation.
Can schema therapy help with patterns passed down from parents who immigrated?
Yes. Schema therapy traces present-day patterns back to the needs and messages of childhood, which can include messages shaped by a family's migration, and works on how they play out now. Ghazal, herself an immigrant from Iran, works with these themes in English or Farsi, online for people in Thornhill and across Ontario.
Next Step
Ready to understand your patterns?
A 15-minute call, private and online, to talk about what you're experiencing. 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:
Thornhill
Schema therapy and the patterns that outlast us
Walk along Yonge Street near Centre and John Streets and you can still see the village Thornhill once was. The community dates to 1794, and its historic core is protected as the Thornhill Heritage Conservation District, one of Ontario's earliest, designated by Markham and Vaughan in the 1980s and covering roughly 138 properties on the Markham side and 82 on the Vaughan side. The village itself was dissolved in 1971, when York Region was created and its land divided between Vaughan and Markham, but the old layout still shapes the modern street.
Schemas work in a similar way. They are emotional templates laid down early in life, beliefs like 'my needs come second', 'I must not disappoint anyone' or 'people leave', and long after the circumstances that built them are gone they go on shaping how we love, work and rest. You can renovate the rooms of a life many times over and still find the old floor plan underneath.
In Thornhill, many of those templates travelled with families who came from somewhere else, sometimes a generation or two ago. Migration hands down resilience and also rules: be careful, be grateful, don't make trouble, succeed for everyone who gave something up. Where people know each other's families, schemas such as approval-seeking, subjugation or emotional inhibition can go unnoticed for years, because from the outside they look like good manners.
For some people the old floor plan is a parent's anxiety carried from a place where caution kept a family safe. For others it is a family business that decided who you would be before anyone asked, or a sibling role, the responsible one, the peacemaker, that followed you into every relationship since.
In practice that might mean noticing why a mild comment from an aunt can spoil a week, or why you still ask permission for decisions that are yours to make. Sessions map which schema is active and which coping mode takes over, then use imagery, chair work and cognitive techniques to reach the younger part of you that learned the rule in the first place.
With Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), the aim is not to tear down what you inherited but to see its outline clearly, keep what serves you and build something more your own. Sessions are online, in English or Farsi, for people in Thornhill and anywhere in Ontario.
Local support in Thornhill
Independent York Region services with no connection to NoorMinds, useful to know about next to therapy or between sessions.
- CMHA York Region & South Simcoe: clinical therapy, youth services and peer support across York Region.
- Catholic Community Services of York Region: counselling in person, by phone or virtually, for people of every background and faith.
- YSSN Community Crisis Response Service: 24/7 crisis support by phone, text or chat for York Region and South Simcoe.
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