Compassion Focused Therapists in Nepean, ON
Cierra DoCouto
Registered Psychotherapist
Helping adults in Burlington, Ontario navigate anxiety, self-esteem challenges, relationship concerns, and attachment patterns. Offering in-person and virtual psychotherapy that is collaborative, evidence-informed, and tailored to support personal growth, emotional well-being, and resilience.
Caitlin Kemmett
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
I’m Caitlin, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) offering individual and couples therapy in Ottawa and virtually across Ontario. I support adults facing anxiety, burnout, ADHD, relationship challenges, and life transitions. My warm, collaborative approach blends CBT, ACT, and the Gottman Method to help you feel grounded, connected, and confident moving forward.
Varshini Skantharajah
Registered Psychotherapist
First Step Men's Therapy
Registered Psychotherapist
Disconnected. Isolated. Angry. Stuck. Many men we work with feel this way. You may be struggling with anxiety, depression, anger, shame, trauma, addiction, or relationship difficulties while trying to hold everything together alone. At First Step Men’s Therapy, we help men better understand themselves, build healthier coping strategies, and reconnect with the life they want to live.
Martha Li
Registered Psychotherapist
I am a Registered Psychotherapist based in Oakville, Ontario. I help you feel understood and supported as we explore what's weighing on you. Together, we uncover patterns, build coping strategies, and nurture the skills you need to thrive. My goal is to create a safe space where you can grow, heal, and feel more connected.
Julia Finetti
Registered Clinical Counsellor & Couples Therapist
Julia Finetti (MA, CCC, RCC) is a compassionate therapist specializing in relationships, life transitions, and emotional healing. She creates a warm, grounded space where clients finally feel at ease. With a practical, insight-driven approach, Julia helps people set boundaries, break old patterns, and reconnect with themselves - delivering real, lasting change.
Ummehani Rehmani
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Dr. Seuss This quote has stayed with me since childhood. It reminds me that everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and supported—no matter their age, background, or story. Hi, I’m Ummi (short for Ummehani), and I work with individuals, children, and couples navigating the complex emotions that come with change, identity, and disconnection. I bring ove…
Meredith Bailey
Registered Psychotherapist
I believe that as a therapist, it is a privilege to be invited into another person’s life & one I never take lightly. Reaching out for support may feel overwhelming, & the task of finding the right person for you can be daunting. I want to assure you this is a safe space, & my primary objective is YOU finding the right person for YOU. Your confidence in that decision is extremely important to me.
Lisa O’Donovan
Registered Psychotherapist
I offer Psychodynamic, trauma-informed therapy for adults and couples in-person in Burlington and virtually. I support clients navigating complex trauma, relationship difficulties, addiction and recovery, family dysfunction, and life transitions helping to uncover and understand emotional and relational patterns, process experiences, build greater self-awareness in a safe, compassionate space.
Maya Awad
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), ADHD-SP, HBSc (she, her)
Accepting NEW clients - Are you feeling overwhelmed or like you’re carrying a lot on your own? Feel like you're doing everything you’re “supposed to do,” but something still doesn’t feel right? Have a desire to better understand your thoughts, emotions, or patterns, work on building confidence or self-esteem, or find support for your relationship?
Rachelle Trudel, RP / PA, CCC - *Psychothérapeute bilingue*
Registered Psychotherapist / Psychothérapeute autorisée
Welcome! I support my clients in addressing the effects of their childhood wounds on their lives in order to improve their self-esteem and relationships. I use my knowledge in CBT, SFBT, attachment theory and mindfulness to support my clients in a collaborative, pragmatic, goal-oriented, compassionate and trauma-informed way. I look forward to meeting you!
Mara Behan
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
I help couples and individuals find growth, healing, and stronger connections. Using evidence-based and individualized approaches, I support those struggling with women's health concerns (e.g., pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause), relationship concerns (e.g., resentment, infidelity), and life transitions (e.g., separation/divorce, parenting). I offer a free 15-minute consultation!
Carolyn Holmes
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Offering affordable virtual sessions for infertility, ADHD, PMDD, grief/loss, stress, anxiety, and depression. Trained in DBT, CBT, humanistic/client led, solution focused, narrative therapy approaches. A warm, open counsellor to help with immediate availability.
Lylla Goheen
Registered Psychotherapist RP (Qualifying), Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC)
Do you and your partner speak different languages? Whether it’s the silence of a "roommate phase," sexual dysfunction, or the weight of chronic illness, you don't have to navigate it alone. I provide inclusive Sex Therapy, Gottman Couples Counselling, and Chronic Pain support in Etobicoke & Toronto. My practice is judgment-free and not "one-size-fits-all." Let's start your new era.
Katelyn Matias
Registered Psychotherapist
Hi, I’m Katelyn Matias, a Registered Psychotherapist and the Founder of Anchor & Bloom Psychotherapy. My approach to therapy is trauma-informed, relational, and grounded in attachment theory. I believe that our experiences, relationships, and nervous system responses shape how we understand ourselves, navigate emotions, and connect with others.
Allison Mundle
Registered Psychotherapist, Sandalwood Psychotherapy
Online therapy for women in Ontario navigating anxiety, relationships, and emotional overwhelm. You may look like you are holding everything together, while inside you feel anxious, emotionally drained, or disconnected from yourself. Maybe you are used to keeping the peace, carrying too much, or saying yes when something inside you is saying no.
Heather Andrew
Registered Clinical Social Worker MSW RCSW
Heather Andrew is the founder of Aspen Wellness Centre. Heather has been a Mental Health Therapist for over eight years, supporting clients with a variety of needs including complex trauma, ADHD, PTSD, grief, anxiety, depression, family conflict and more. Heather is passionate about providing trauma informed care to her clients and is a fierce advocate for mental health awareness.
Ukasha Malik
Registered Psychotherapist
Ukasha Psychotherapy is a private therapy practice focused on trauma-informed care, self-awareness, and empowerment. It offers a safe, supportive space for clients to work through challenges like anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. The practice emphasizes accessible mental health education, coping tools, and personal growth.
Maya Dousti
Registered Psychotherapist
I am a BIPOC trauma therapist, and I work with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, emotional dysregulation, self-esteem, life transitions, racial/cultural issues, new parenthood, identity, family and interpersonal relationships. I work eclectically, borrowing from several modalities to meet my client's needs.
Emma Hartley
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), BA (she, her)
Are you looking for a therapist that knows what it's like to feel lost or overwhelmed and how to find your footing again? Noticing yourself feeling more anxious, "just tired", and craving a space to slow down and reconnect with a sense of meaning or purpose? Trying to make sense of shifts in mood, questioning careers, exploring relationships, parenting and identity, or a major life transition?
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Frequently Asked Questions About Compassion Focused
What is Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)?
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) is a form of psychotherapy developed by Paul Gilbert that integrates evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, cognitive therapy, and Buddhist psychology. CFT targets what Gilbert identified as a core feature of many people's psychological suffering: intense, chronic shame and self-criticism. It aims to cultivate compassion — for oneself and others — as a means of reducing shame-based suffering, regulating threat-based emotional systems, and activating the soothing-affiliation system associated with warmth, care, and psychological security.
What does CFT treat?
CFT is particularly suited to people with high levels of self-criticism and shame — which are common across depression, anxiety, eating disorders, personality disorders, trauma, and addictions. It was originally developed for people with severe, complex presentations who had not responded adequately to CBT. Research supports its effectiveness for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder. CFT is also used in oncology settings, chronic pain, and with people experiencing psychosis, where self-compassion is an important resource.
What does a CFT session look like?
CFT sessions involve psychoeducation about the evolved nature of our emotional systems (threat, drive, and soothing/affiliation), exploration of how early experiences shaped the person's particular patterns of self-criticism and shame, and practices specifically designed to cultivate the compassionate self — including compassionate imagery (imagining a deeply wise and compassionate figure), compassionate letter writing, and mindfulness practice focused on warmth and care. The emphasis is on experiential rather than purely cognitive work.
Why is self-compassion so important in CFT?
Gilbert's research showed that changing the content of self-critical thoughts (as in CBT) was often insufficient for people with deep shame — because the problem was not just the thoughts but the hostile, contemptuous tone in which they were delivered to oneself. Cultivating a warm, compassionate inner voice — one that responds to one's own pain the way a deeply caring person would — produces psychological change that thought-challenging alone does not. Many people initially find self-compassion very difficult, which is itself part of the therapeutic work.
How long does CFT take?
CFT is typically delivered over 12–20 sessions for focused presentations, but longer-term work is common for complex trauma or personality difficulties. The time needed to establish a compassionate self-relationship and overcome resistance to self-compassion (which is often strong) varies significantly between individuals. CFT can also be integrated into longer-term psychodynamic or CBT work as a specific intervention for shame and self-criticism rather than used as a complete standalone therapy.