Mizan Graham

Starting therapy can feel like a big decision, especially if you’re not entirely sure what you want help with yet. You may simply know that you’ve been more anxious lately, harder on yourself than you’d like to be, or caught in thoughts and worries that are taking up too much space. Maybe life looks relatively fine from the outside, but internally you’re feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or ready for something to change.

I’m Mizan, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) completing my Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University. I offer affordable therapy to teens 12+, young adults, adults, and couples who are looking for a supportive place to work through what’s happening in their lives.

Some of the concerns I work with include anxiety, depression, stress, perfectionism, self-confidence, negative thinking, relationship difficulties, and major life transitions. I’m especially interested in supporting young adults who are trying to find their footing while managing school, work, relationships, family expectations, independence, and all of the uncertainty that can come with figuring out what adulthood is supposed to look like for you.

While I’m completing my training as a psychotherapist, I bring many years of experience working closely with people. My career has included education, post-secondary student support, and financial services, where much of my work involved helping people navigate stressful decisions, changing circumstances, personal challenges, and periods of uncertainty. I’ve learned that people don’t always need someone to immediately give them an answer. Sometimes they need someone who will listen carefully, ask the right questions, and help them make sense of what they already know but may be having difficulty seeing clearly.

I also understand therapy from the other side of the relationship. My own experiences with therapy, both personally and as a parent supporting my children, have influenced the kind of therapist I hope to be. I know that opening up to someone new can feel uncomfortable and that credentials alone don’t create trust. Feeling comfortable with the person sitting across from you matters. I try to bring warmth, humour, curiosity, and a down-to-earth presence into the therapy room so that our conversations can feel human rather than clinical.

I’m particularly drawn to working with people who put a lot of pressure on themselves. You might second-guess decisions, replay conversations afterward, compare yourself to others, worry about disappointing people, or feel as though you should be doing more no matter how much you already accomplish. Rather than simply trying to stop these thoughts, I’m interested in helping you understand where that pressure comes from, how it has shaped the way you see yourself, and what you might want to do differently.

I also work with couples who care about their relationship but have found themselves stuck. Maybe conversations turn into arguments more quickly than you intend, the same issues keep resurfacing, or both of you are trying to be understood without feeling like the other person really hears you. Couples therapy can give us space to slow those interactions down, understand the patterns underneath them, and explore different ways of communicating and responding to one another.

There isn’t one therapy approach that works for every person. My work is collaborative and integrative, and I may draw from Person-Centred Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, CBT, Compassion-Focused Therapy, and strengths-based approaches depending on what makes sense for you. I want therapy to be something we do together, rather than something that is done to you.

Most importantly, you don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you want to say or what needs to change. Part of therapy can be figuring that out. We can begin with what’s happening in your life right now and take it from there.