No matter what brought you here, the fact that you are looking for support means that some part of you is already reaching toward change. That takes real courage, and I do not take it lightly. My hope is to offer you a warm, steady space where you feel genuinely heard and supported. From there, we can begin to untangle what has been weighing on you and look for a way forward together.

I provide psychotherapy to adolescents (ages 15 and up) and adults. Alongside therapy, I also offer psychodiagnostic assessments, which can help clarify a diagnosis and shape the course of treatment.

Individual Adult Work: In my work with adults, I support people facing a wide range of concerns, including depression and low mood, generalized and social anxiety, panic, health anxiety, OCD, grief and loss, high stress and burnout, low self-esteem and harsh self-criticism, difficulty regulating emotions, anger, loneliness, procrastination and motivation struggles, workplace difficulties, and strained relationships with partners, family, or friends. I also work with life transitions and adjustment issues, such as career changes, moving to a new city or country, separation and divorce, new parenthood, retirement, and adjusting to illness or injury. Many clients also bring existential concerns: questions about meaning and purpose, mortality, freedom and choice, regret, isolation, and how to live in line with what truly matters to them. Whatever the starting point, our work is shaped around what matters most to you.

Adolescent Work: In my work with adolescents, I support teens facing anxiety, OCD, low mood, grief, high stress, and difficulty managing emotions, along with the pressures that so often mark these years. This can include difficulty at school, whether with grades, motivation, procrastination, or exam stress, and the upheaval of transitions such as starting high school, changing schools, or preparing for university and the move away from home. I also help teens navigate friendship troubles, fitting in, bullying, social media pressures, loneliness, conflict with parents, first romantic relationships, and questions of identity and self-worth, including figuring out who they are and who they want to become. I aim to make therapy a place where a young person feels taken seriously and can speak freely, at their own pace.

My core areas of specialization are OCD, anxiety, and mood difficulties. OCD can take many different forms, and I work across its range, from contamination fears and perfectionism to worries about causing accidental harm, unwanted intrusive or sexual thoughts, struggles around intimacy, and the persistent pull of “just right” feelings. For these, I draw on specialized, evidence-based methods such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT). Anxiety is a large part of my practice as well, whether it surfaces as generalized worry, social fear, health anxiety, or panic. I also work a great deal with depression, where so much of the work involves gently loosening the patterns of thought and feeling that keep low mood in place. I have a further interest in existential and meaning-oriented work, exploring how our deeper beliefs about ourselves and the world influence the choices we make and the lives we build.

Our early sessions are mostly about getting oriented. I want to understand what brought you in, and what you’re hoping might feel different. As part of this, I conduct a comprehensive, scientific-based assessment of your difficulties, using evidence-based questionnaires alongside our conversations, to help you gain an understanding of what might be at the root of your struggles with anxiety, depression, or your relationships. That shared understanding becomes the foundation we build a treatment plan on. From there, my approach is integrative, and I draw on whatever fits you and the change you’re hoping for, including Client-Centred Therapy, ERP, I-CBT, Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Existential Psychotherapy. As much as I value these methods, I find the relationship we build together matters even more. I strive to be warm and straightforward, and to stay curious about your experience rather than quick to judge it. Most people find it easier to open up once they sense they aren’t being evaluated, and it’s often in that ease that the harder, more honest conversations become possible. I also begin from the belief that you arrive with real strengths of your own, and much of what we do together is putting them to use as you heal.

I am in the final stretch of my PhD in Clinical Psychology at York University, and I also hold a Master of Arts from the same department. At the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships, I am completing my doctoral residency under the supervision of Dr. Lila Hakim, Dr. Dino Zuccarini, and Dr. Marc Bedard.

Throughout my training, I have completed practica at the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the York University Psychology Clinic, where I provided psychological treatment and psychodiagnostic assessment for adults presenting with OCD, anxiety, and a range of other concerns.

As a doctoral student, I conduct supervised research on primal world beliefs, the broad assumptions we carry about what the world is fundamentally like. I am studying how those beliefs shape our wellbeing, and how they affect our ability to step back from negative thoughts. I have also published peer-reviewed work in the field. A recent example is listed below:

Kian, A., Frances, A. J., & Goldfried, M. R. (2025). What clinicians need to know about Freud’s contribution to therapy consensus. Practice Innovations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000303

I have presented my research at conferences of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) and the Society for Psychotherapy Research, and I have guest lectured in personality psychology at York University. Since 2021, I have served as Editor of The Integrative Therapist, SEPI’s official publication. I have also produced and directed two video series on therapy and the psychology of meaning: Talking Therapy, hosted by Dr. Marvin Goldfried and Dr. Allen Frances, and Awakening from the Meaning Crisis, created by Dr. John Vervaeke. I am a member of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration.

Away from the office, you’ll most often find me with family and friends, reading classic literature, watching films, or out on a long walk.