Shereen Ishag, RP (Qualifying)

I am Shereen, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and the founder of Essence Psychotherapy and Counselling. I work with individuals, couples, families, and teens (age 12 and up), virtually across Ontario. I offer sessions in English and Arabic.

I became a therapist because I believe that most people are not struggling because something is wrong with them, they are struggling because something deeply hurt them, or because no one ever gave them the tools to navigate it. My job is to help you find those tools, rebuild what has been lost, and move forward in a way that actually feels like you.

My Passion

I am passionate about the moment in therapy when someone finally feels understood not managed, not assessed, but genuinely seen. That moment is where real change begins.

I have a particular passion for working with couples who have lost their way, professionals who are quietly exhausted behind a composed image, new parents and mothers navigating the emotional complexity of building a family, and Arabic-speaking clients who have never had a therapist who speaks their language and understands their world. If any of that sounds like you, I want you to know there is a place for you here.

My Experience and Qualifications

I hold a Master of Psychospiritual Studies and a Master of Theological Studies from the University of Toronto, a Certificate in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy, and I am currently completing my PhD. I am registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO #19127) and am a member of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC).

My clinical training includes an intensive placement at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), where I provided psychotherapy and spiritual care to inpatients with complex mental health presentations. I also provide pro bono psychotherapy at the Community Counselling Centre of London, and I completed Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) training through the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICCFT) in 2025, practising under ongoing clinical supervision.

Before becoming a therapist, I spent 15 years in corporate management. I know what it feels like to perform competence while carrying something heavy underneath, and that experience makes me a very different kind of therapist for professionals, executives, and high-achievers.

About My Approach

I practise from an integrative, trauma-informed foundation. That means I do not use a one-size-fits-all method, I draw from a range of evidence-informed approaches and adapt to what you actually need. My primary modalities include:

• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT/EFCT) for individuals and couples, understanding the conflict and figuring out what is really happening.

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed therapy: understanding the different parts of you that carry pain, protection, and possibility.

• Solution-Focused Therapy: practical, forward-moving support when you know something needs to change.

• CBT, DBT, and ACT-informed skills: concrete tools for anxiety, emotional regulation, and shifting unhelpful patterns.

• Psychospiritual therapy: for clients who want to bring questions of meaning, faith, and identity into the room.

I work with anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, burnout, grief and loss, ADHD, relationship difficulties, life transitions, prenatal and postpartum mental health, and the particular challenges that come with immigration, cultural identity, and navigating two worlds at once.

Picture this: you close your laptop, open a quiet app on your phone or laptop and for 60 minutes, nothing is required of you except to show up just as you are.

We might start by checking in on what has happened since we last spoke. We might go deeper into something that has been sitting with you. We might work through a specific tool together, or simply hold space for something that has never had space before. Sessions are never rigid, they follow you, not a script.

What stays consistent is the quality of attention. You will always feel heard before you feel challenged. You will always be invited, never pushed. And you will leave each session with something, even if it is just the relief of having said the thing out loud.

Benefits of Counselling With Shereen

Here is what clients typically experience through our work together:

• Relief from anxiety: learning to interrupt the worry cycle and build a calmer, more grounded relationship with uncertainty.

• Stronger, more connected relationships: understanding the patterns that keep you and your partner stuck, and finding a new way to reach each other.

• Recovery from burnout: rebuilding energy, limits, and a sense of self that does not depend entirely on your productivity.

• Healing from trauma: processing difficult experiences at a pace your nervous system can hold, without having to relive everything.

• Clarity through life transitions: making sense of who you are becoming, not just who you were.

• Better communication: expressing what you actually need in ways that invite connection rather than conflict.

• A stronger sense of self: understanding your patterns, your values, and what a life that actually fits you could look like.

What People Report After Working With Me

While every person's experience is unique, here is what clients often share after our work together:

• "I finally feel like I am heard"

• "I did not expect to feel this way."

• "I have more tools now. I know what to do when things get hard."

• "My relationship feels different. We are actually talking now."

Please note these reflect general themes from client feedback and are not verbatim testimonials. Individual results vary, and therapy outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

Ready to Take the First Step?

You do not need to be in crisis to deserve support. You do not need to have the right words. You just need to be willing to show up and I will meet you exactly where you are.

I offer a free 20-minute consultation so you can get a sense of the work and whether we are a good fit before committing. There is no pressure and no obligation.

Something in you knows it is time. I am here when you are ready.

Virtual sessions: Across Ontario (English and Arabic)

Website: www.essence-therapy.ca  |  Phone: (289) 813-2750