Resources
These articles explore emotional and relationship patterns that are often difficult to explain in the moment. They are written to offer language, context, and questions to consider, not to diagnose the reader or replace individualized therapy.
The guides are written by Ruba Chihabi, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), and reflect the relational, psychodynamic, and culturally responsive approach used in the practice.
Latest guide
Culture and identity8 min
Being fluent in more than one language doesn't mean every experience feels equally easy to describe in each one. This guide looks at therapy in Arabic and English, code-switching, emotional distance, and why speaking the same language doesn't automatically mean sharing the same experience.
Read the guideAnxiety and capacity9 min
Time off can reduce activity without changing what's creating the exhaustion. This guide looks at why rest may stop feeling restorative when mental load, chronic stress, responsibility, and the pressure to keep functioning are still there.
Family and relationships10 min
Couples therapy doesn't require a relationship to be on the verge of ending. This guide looks at when repeated conflict, emotional distance, trust concerns, changing roles, or difficult decisions may be worth bringing into couples therapy.
Anxiety and capacity9 min
Anxiety doesn't always interrupt your ability to function. Sometimes it shows up through preparation, perfectionism, responsibility, and the pressure to stay one step ahead. This guide looks at what people mean by high-functioning anxiety and why being capable doesn't always mean things feel easy.
Therapy process7 min
When your attention has been directed toward other people for a long time, “What do I need?” can become a surprisingly difficult question. This guide looks at how self-disconnection develops and why finding yourself isn't the same as dismissing the relationships that shaped you.
Family and relationships6 min
The more one partner asks for engagement, the more the other may retreat. This guide looks beneath the visible argument to the fear, overwhelm, and longing that can keep a pursue-withdraw cycle moving.
Self-trust and boundaries6 min
Resentment isn't proof that a relationship is wrong. It may point to an unspoken agreement, an uneven load, or a limit you haven't felt able to name, without making the whole decision for you.
Culture and identity6 min
Identity change can bring grief, loyalty, relief, and confusion at the same time. This guide considers what happens when an old role no longer fits and a new one is still taking shape.
Culture and identity7 min
Advice about “just saying no” can overlook real questions of responsibility, belonging, safety, and consequence. This guide explores boundaries that take the relationship and its wider context seriously.
Therapy process10 min
A practical guide to credentials, approach, cultural responsiveness, cost, format, consultation questions, and the less measurable experience of whether you can think and speak honestly with a therapist.
Anxiety and capacity6 min
A decision can become difficult when certainty, approval, responsibility, and regret are all tied together. This guide explores why reassurance rarely settles the question for long and how to choose without knowing everything.
Family and relationships6 min
Old family roles can return before you have time to notice. This guide explores why familiar relationships evoke familiar versions of you and how to stay connected to your present-day perspective.
Anxiety and capacity7 min
Dependability can be a value, a role, and a form of protection. This guide considers how it becomes over-responsibility, why rest can feel guilty or unsafe, and what it means to assess capacity honestly.
Self-trust and boundaries7 min
When attention moves quickly toward other people, your own preference may not appear until much later. This guide examines how that outward turn develops and how self-trust can be rebuilt in ordinary decisions.
Self-trust and boundaries7 min
Guilt doesn't always mean that a boundary was wrong. It may reflect care, learned responsibility, fear of conflict, or another person's disappointment. This guide helps you separate those meanings before deciding what comes next.