Hi, my name is Shaden.
I know what it’s like to feel alienated from yourself. For a long time, I made choices driven more by fear or others’ expectations than by what I actually wanted. After a while, it became difficult to tell the difference. Therapy helped me slowly reconnect with parts of myself I had lost touch with along the way.
I have hypermobility spectrum disorder, which has meant chronic pain, recurring injuries, and a long process of learning what my body needs. Being dismissed and misdiagnosed within the healthcare system has made me especially attentive to the complexity of our bodies and the importance of learning to listen to them.
I’m Palestinian and grew up in the Arab world. I spent some time in Europe before moving to Canada, and have since lived in Quebec, British Columbia, and now Ontario. I speak Arabic, French, and Italian. Moving around has given me a complicated relationship with the idea of home.
I’ve always enjoyed stories: reading them and writing them. I keep a dream journal and make good use of my Criterion subscription. I love the mountains, collecting rocks, and I eat a piece of chocolate almost every day.
ISSUES I WORK WITH: ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, COMPLEX TRAUMA, GRIEF, RELATIONSHIP DIFFICULTIES, FAMILY-OF-ORIGIN ISSUES, ATTACHMENT WOUNDS, SHAME, EMOTIONAL OVERWHELM, FEELING STUCK, LIFE TRANSITIONS, CREATIVE BLOCKS, NIGHTMARES, DREAMWORK, IDENTITY & BELONGING, CULTURAL & FAMILY EXPECTATIONS, MEANING & PURPOSE, EXISTENTIAL CRISES, SPIRITUAL EMERGENCIES
ISSUES I WORK WITH: ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, COMPLEX TRAUMA, GRIEF, RELATIONSHIP DIFFICULTIES, FAMILY-OF-ORIGIN ISSUES, ATTACHMENT WOUNDS, SHAME, EMOTIONAL OVERWHELM, FEELING STUCK, LIFE TRANSITIONS, CREATIVE BLOCKS, NIGHTMARES, DREAMWORK, IDENTITY & BELONGING, CULTURAL & FAMILY EXPECTATIONS, MEANING & PURPOSE, EXISTENTIAL CRISES, SPIRITUAL EMERGENCIES
licensure
Registered Psychotherapist, Qualifying (#19658) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)
Credentials
education
Graduate Certificate: Contemporary Analytical Psychology and Neo-Jungian Studies, Pacifica Graduate Institute (in progress)
Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University
Bachelor of Arts, McGill University
Credentials
advanced training
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) — Level 2 (in progress)
AEDP Institute
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) — Level 1
AEDP Institute
Working with Defense and Anxiety in AEDP
AEDP Institute
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy Immersion
PESI
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Trauma
Psychwire
Trauma-Informed Motivational Interviewing
PESI
In addition to formal training, I engage in clinical supervision. This means I meet with seasoned psychotherapists weekly for case consultations and skill-building. I work with supervisors trained in various modalities, including AEDP, somatic experiencing, expressive arts therapies, psychoanalysis, IFS, & Jungian/depth oriented psychology. Although I am not formally trained in all these modalities, they influence how I think and work. I also engage in my own therapy as part of my ongoing development.
My Values
INTEGRITY
I take this work seriously. I’m honest about what I know, clear about what I don’t, and I am committed to showing up with care, attention, and respect for the process.
CURIOUSITY
I don’t make assumptions. I ask, listen, and try to understand what matters and why, without judgment.
CONNECTION
I believe that healing happens in relationship with ourselves, others, the Earth, and time. I try to stay present to what’s unfolding, and let the work move at the pace it needs.
SERVICE
I view therapy as sacred work. I approach it with commitment, humility, and a sense of responsibility.
“I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more than that. So are we all.”
— James Baldwin