Hi, I’m Shadi
(they/them)
Canadian Certified Counsellor
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Addictions
Neurodivergence
Racialized and Colonial Violence
Narcissistic and Emotional Abuse
Relational-Developmental and Complex Trauma
Neurodivergence, Chronic Illness, and Disability
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Individuals over 18 across Canada
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$200 per 50 minute session
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 12pm - 5pm PT
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DBT, EMDR, Creative Interventions, Feminist Therapy, IFS, Somatic Therapy, Response-Based Practice
You can expect a therapy session with me to feel like…
…a place where you can let it all hang out. I bring my authentic self to our sessions, and I welcome you to, too! I'm here to both support and challenge you, and I believe there is a place for joy and humour in therapy.
Some phrases you may hear me use in sessions:
“Good noticing!”
“Living well is restistance.”
“Rest is restistance.”
“That’s late stage capitalism for ya!”
“Joy is restistance.”
“Oooh… Let’s get curious about that.”
I define my role as…
…someone who seeks to understand you deeply. I may have some specialized knowledge, but you're the expert in your own life. We should be coming to the table as equals, collaborating on your healing path.
I enjoy clients who…
...are musicians, artists or other creatives; other professional helpers or helpers-in-training; folks who are generally curious about themselves and the world
You’ll enjoy working with me if you’re…
…believe laughter is healing; if you appreciate a laid back approach; if you're nerdy about biology and interested in how our nervous systems work.
I know what it's like to be othered, and to face systemic and structural barriers at every turn. I share a lot of identities and experiences with the folks I serve, which means we can rage, grieve and vision together. I also understand what it's like to have ups and downs in capacity for any reason, and I extend the same grace to my clients.
I became a social worker after 20+ years as a professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies, listening to students name their experiences of sexual violence, racism, homo/transphobia, and other assorted horrors of living in this world. I got tired of the gap between knowing why something happens — I could cite you the literature — and actually being able to support someone through what it means to carry it. Therapy lets me bring together my love of critical thinking, social justice, humour, and the messy, beautiful complexity of being human, minus the fifty-minute lecture format and all the marking.
I love being a therapist because I get a front-row seat as people unlearn what they've been told about who they're supposed to be and reconnect with what actually feels true. I'm inspired daily by people's resilience, complexity, creativity, and sheer stubborn willingness to keep showing up in a world that's not making it easy. I love the mix of deep conversation, unexpected insight, and humour — and nothing beats the moment someone realizes they've got more agency and possibility than they thought.
I'm a good therapist because I'm willing to go where the real stuff is — the messy contradictions, the uncomfortable questions, the grief, the anger, the longing, and the moments of unexpected possibility. I bring curiosity, compassion, humour, creativity, and a helpful dose of irreverence to the work, because humans are complicated and, honestly, so is life. I think therapy works best when we question the boxes we've inherited and make more room to be fully ourselves.
My identities and lived experiences shape how I understand both suffering and possibility. I know what it's like to move through systems that privilege some bodies, identities, and ways of being over others, and I also know the power of resistance, community, and rewriting the stories we inherit. That, combined with my background in intersectional feminist, decolonial, and queer theories, social justice teaching and activism, and Wicca as a lived spiritual practice, means I bring a deep knowledge of power, oppression, resilience, and collective care into the room — and you will never have to convince me your experiences are real. I'm here to listen, get curious, challenge the harmful stories you've been handed, and support you in building a life that feels more like your own.
I am inspired by…
…really wanting to do right by my clients. If there's a better way to help them than what I already know, then I wanna know the new thing! This doesn't just apply to counselling, but also social justice, or just generally how to be a better human in the world.