Intentional Living Psychotherapy

Hi, I’m Ruba (she/her), a Registered Psychotherapist and the founder of Intentional Living Psychotherapy.

Many of the clients I work with are people who have spent much of their lives adapting to the needs, expectations, or opinions of others. You may be used to putting other people first, questioning your own judgment, struggling to know what you really want, or feeling disconnected from parts of yourself along the way.

Maybe you’re navigating anxiety, relationship challenges, grief, a major life transition, or questions around identity and purpose. You might find yourself wondering who you are outside of the roles you’ve taken on, feeling stuck between what others expect of you and what feels right for you, or wanting to trust yourself more but not knowing where to begin.

Therapy can be a space to slow down and explore those questions without judgment.

My approach is warm, relational, culturally responsive, and grounded in curiosity. Rather than simply focusing on symptoms, I’m interested in understanding how your experiences, relationships, family dynamics, culture, and environment have shaped the way you relate to yourself and others today. Together, we can explore the patterns that may have once helped you cope or belong but may no longer be serving you.

At Intentional Living Psychotherapy, intentional living means becoming more aware of the forces that have shaped you while developing the confidence to make choices that feel more aligned with your own values, needs, and sense of self.

My work is primarily psychodynamic and relational, and I also draw from several therapeutic approaches depending on what feels most helpful for you, including:

• Psychodynamic Therapy to explore how earlier experiences and relationships may continue to influence your emotions, beliefs, relationships, and patterns today
• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to help deepen emotional awareness, better understand relationship patterns, and build more secure and meaningful connections
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed therapy and parts work to explore the different parts of yourself that may carry fear, self-criticism, responsibility, or conflicting needs
• DBT-informed strategies when practical tools for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, boundaries, or communication would be helpful

I have a particular interest in supporting adults who are working through identity, self-trust, boundaries, people-pleasing, relationship difficulties, anxiety, grief, and significant life transitions. I also understand that these experiences don’t happen in isolation. Family expectations, cultural background, religion, gender roles, immigration experiences, and broader social environments can all influence how we learn to see ourselves and what we believe we’re allowed to want.

My goal isn’t to tell you who you should be or what decisions you should make. Instead, therapy can help you understand yourself more deeply, recognize patterns that may be keeping you stuck, and develop a stronger connection to your own needs, values, voice, and judgment.

You deserve the opportunity to build a life that feels meaningful and genuinely yours, rather than one shaped primarily by obligation, fear, or the expectations of others.

If this sounds like the kind of work you’re looking for, you’re welcome to book a free 30-minute consultation. I offer virtual therapy across Ontario as well as in-person sessions in Kitchener, Ontario.

I look forward to hearing from you.