The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

Registered Psychotherapist & Canadian Certified Counsellor 🇨🇦

Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here. My name is Zainab Khimji (she/her)—pronounced Zay-nub, though most people call me Zay. I am a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) licensed with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), licence number #10440, and a Canadian Certified Counsellor (C.C.C.) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), licence number #10008082.

I provide online psychotherapy and counselling across multiple Canadian provinces, including Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia 🇨🇦. If you live outside these regions and are unsure about licensure, you are welcome to confirm by emailing zkhimji@thepsychotherapyspot.ca.

Trauma-Informed, Culturally Responsive Psychotherapy in Canada

My practice is grounded in a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and culturally informed approach to therapy. I integrate multiple evidence-based therapeutic modalities to support clients in reaching meaningful, sustainable change. I honor diversity in all its forms and am deeply committed to protecting each client’s autonomy, dignity, safety, and lived experience.

Therapy is not one-size-fits-all. Every client I work with receives a personalized, collaborative treatment approach, shaped by their goals, history, and nervous system. I believe lasting healing occurs in spaces grounded in empathy, compassion, and psychological safety.

Bicultural Perspective & Lived Experience

I identify as bicultural—my mother has Portuguese heritage, and my father was a Muslim man. This allows me to naturally understand both individualistic Western cultures and collectivist cultural systems such as East Indian, Asian, and similar communities. As a first-generation Canadian and someone on the cusp of Generation X and Millennial, I bring a balanced, inclusive perspective into my work with families, adults, and couples across diverse backgrounds.

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Areas of Specialization & Client Populations

I support adults through many life transitions, including:

• Divorce and separation

• Aging and retirement

• Leaving the family home

• First-year university adjustment

• Career changes and relocation

I also work extensively with clients seeking to strengthen:

• Self-esteem and identity

• Boundary setting

• Emotional regulation

• Perfectionism and procrastination

• Relationship patterns and attachment wounds

I specialize in working with adults who:

• Identify as autistic or neurodivergent

• Live with adult ADHD

• Are diagnosed with or experience traits of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

• Live with high-functioning anxiety or codependency

Common concerns I treat include:

• Panic attacks

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

• Social anxiety and social phobia

• Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD)

• Emotional dysregulation and emotional flashbacks

• Family and relationship conflict

• Marital distress

• Depression and low self-worth

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Education & Advanced Clinical Training

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree, Honours Degree, and a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology. In addition to my university education, I completed advanced clinical training through the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Philadelphia, USA 🇺🇸.

This allows me to offer structured, evidence-based CBT for:

• Anxiety disorders

• Social anxiety and social phobia

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Depression

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Therapeutic Modalities Used in My Practice

My work is integrative and adapted to your individual needs. Modalities include:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• Psychodynamic Therapy with a focus on early attachment theory

• Person-Centered Therapy

• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

• Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

• Narrative Therapy

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Parts Work

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

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Begin Online Therapy in Canada

If you feel ready to begin your healing journey and create lasting change in your life, I would be honored to support you. You deserve care that is gentle, ethical, and deeply attuned to who you are.

Please click the link below to book a consultation or reach out by email. Let’s take the next step together.

With warmth,

Zay 💛