About Ruba Chihabi, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Therapy for finding your voice without losing your connections
Many of the adults I work with became skilled at being dependable, reading the room, or making life easier for other people long before they learned to ask what they needed. In therapy, we can look at how these ways of coping became necessary, where they still shape your choices, and what changes when your own experience is allowed to matter too.
I don’t assume that growth means separating from family, culture, faith, or community. We can consider what you value, what no longer fits, and the places where you want more freedom to decide for yourself.


- Professional title
- Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
- CRPO registration
- No. 19051
- Languages
- English and Arabic
My story
How I got here
Growing up across cultures shaped the way I understand identity and belonging. I learned that it is possible to feel deeply connected to where you come from while also questioning some of the beliefs, roles, or expectations you grew up with. You can feel grateful for the life you have built and still grieve what changed, what was lost, or what you had to leave behind. These experiences continue to influence how I think about identity, relationships, family, culture, and the many ways people try to find a sense of home within themselves.
Therapy was not the career I originally imagined for myself. Before becoming a therapist, I spent nearly ten years working in finance and government services. During that time, I also volunteered with refugee communities in Canada and internationally. In very different settings, I kept seeing how much it mattered for people to feel heard, respected, and supported, especially during periods of change or uncertainty.
Over time, I became drawn to work that allowed for deeper conversations and more meaningful connection. I wanted to create a space where people could speak honestly about their experiences without feeling judged, rushed, or expected to have everything figured out. That path led me to complete a Master of Arts in Theology, specializing in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy, at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Today, I work with thoughtful, caring, and capable people who may seem composed to others while privately feeling anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure of who they are becoming. My approach is warm, collaborative, curious, and involved. I listen carefully, ask questions that help us look beneath the surface, and share what I notice as we begin to understand the patterns shaping your life. We will move at a pace that feels manageable. You don’t need to arrive with a clear explanation, a perfectly organized story, or certainty about where to begin.
Therapy philosophy
What guides the way I work
Therapy is not only about explaining what happened or collecting strategies. The relationship we build matters too. I pay attention to what helps you speak honestly, what becomes difficult to say, and what familiar expectations or responses may begin to appear in our work together.
Pace and trust
Pace and trust
I pay attention to pace. We can slow down, pause, or decide that something needs more time before we stay with it.
You do not have to disclose more than you are ready to discuss, and we can talk about what makes a subject difficult to approach.
Being understood in context
Being understood in context
I listen for the meaning an experience has in your life, not only the symptom it resembles.
Family, culture, faith, identity, migration, and relationship history can shape what feels possible, risky, or important. These are part of the work rather than background details.
The relationship we build
The relationship we build
How you experience trust, disagreement, care, vulnerability, or misunderstanding in therapy may offer useful information about other relationships.
I welcome conversations about what is helping, what feels unclear, and what you wish were different in our work.
Working together
Working together
I bring psychological knowledge, careful observation, and questions. You bring the lived experience of being you, along with your history, values, and understanding of what matters.
I may offer an interpretation or gently question a familiar conclusion, but I will not treat my view as the final word.
Understanding before judging
Understanding before judging
A response that seems confusing in isolation may make more sense when we understand what it helped you avoid, preserve, or manage.
Understanding why a pattern developed does not erase its impact. It gives us a more useful place from which to decide what needs to change.
More than a diagnosis
More than a diagnosis
We can consider the relationships, communities, beliefs, responsibilities, and histories that shape the choices available to you.
A diagnosis may describe part of your experience, but it will not become the only way we understand you.
Ways of working
Approaches I may draw from
I do not use one model in the same way with every client. I draw from several approaches while keeping the work grounded in what you are trying to understand and what feels useful in the room.
Psychodynamic therapyHow earlier relationships still shape the present
We may look at how earlier relationships shaped what you came to expect from closeness, conflict, care, or disappointment, and how those expectations continue to influence your responses now.
Emotionally Focused TherapyMaking sense of emotion
When an emotion arrives quickly or feels hard to name, we can slow the moment down enough to understand what happened just before it, what the emotion may be protecting, and what is harder to express underneath it.
Internal Family Systems-informed workUnderstanding conflicting responses within you
You may notice different responses taking the lead at different times: one that keeps you productive, one that avoids conflict, one that criticizes before anyone else can, or one that wants to withdraw. We can approach these responses with curiosity rather than treating any one of them as the whole of you.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy-informed workSupport for intense moments
At times, insight is not enough in the moment. We may practise ways to pause during intense emotion, get through a difficult situation without making it worse, or communicate a need more directly.
Emotionally Focused Couples TherapyUnderstanding the cycle between partners
In couples work, I help both partners notice the cycle that takes over during conflict: what each person does to protect the relationship or themselves, how that response affects the other, and what is harder to say underneath it.
These are not separate packages you need to choose between. I use them selectively, depending on what we are working on and what fits you.
Selected training and professional development
I continue to pursue training that supports both deeper exploratory work and practical clinical care.
View training and professional development12 courses
Addiction Medicine and Psychosocial Interventions
University of Toronto
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
University of Toronto
Fostering Equitable Practices II
Sheridan College
Fostering Equitable Practices I
Sheridan College
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Level 2
Martin Luther University College
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Level 1
Martin Luther University College
Grief Therapy
Martin Luther University College
Family Therapy Overview
Martin Luther University College
Cognitive & Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
Martin Luther University College
Clinical Intervention and Support for Suicidal Clients & Their Circle of Care
Buddhist Discourses on Care
Martin Luther University College
Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1
The Gottman Institute
Beginning therapy
A conversation before you decide
A free 30-minute consultation gives us a chance to talk briefly about what is bringing you to therapy, what you are hoping for, and whether my approach feels like a reasonable fit. You are also welcome to ask practical questions about scheduling, format, fees, or the therapy process.
