Therapy for men, with a male therapist

Most men who book here are functioning perfectly well

They are employed. They show up. The mortgage gets paid and the kids get to where they need to be. Nothing about the situation would look serious enough to describe out loud, which is precisely the part that is difficult — there is no incident to point at, so there is nothing that seems to justify doing anything about it.

That is usually what has been going on for a while before someone searches for this:

• the irritation arrives faster than it used to, and over things that do not deserve it
• you are fine in the room and flat the moment you are alone
• you have explained the problem to yourself many times and it has not moved
• sleep is the first thing to go, and the last thing to come back
• the people closest to you have started managing you rather than talking to you
• you can list what is good about your life and still not feel much about any of it

None of that is a diagnosis and this page cannot give you one. It is a description of what men tend to be carrying when they first make contact, offered so you can decide whether any of it sounds like your week.

Usually the thing that gets noticed first

Anger is often the first thing anyone else comments on, and frequently the reason a man finally books. It is worth saying plainly that anger itself is not the problem to be removed. It is information, and it is generally the most available emotion when the others have been out of use for a long time. The work is less about suppressing it and more about finding out what is underneath it and what it is protecting.

If anger in your household has become frightening for anyone — including you — that changes what should happen first, and it is worth raising in the consultation rather than waiting. There is a separate page on anger management counselling that goes into how that work runs.

Mohamad Shabib

A lot of men specifically want to talk to another man, and are slightly embarrassed to say so. It is a reasonable preference and it does not need justifying.

Mohamad is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), and a Canadian Certified Counsellor. His clinical training includes EMDR, Internal Family Systems Levels 1 and 2, and the Gottman Method for relationship work. Those are trainings he has completed — he does not hold EMDR or IFS certification, which are separate credentials, and this page will not imply otherwise.

In practice that means the work draws on EMDR where something specific is still driving a present-day reaction, Internal Family Systems where the pattern is longstanding and internal, and Gottman-based work where the difficulty is mostly happening between two people. Which of those is useful is a conversation, not something decided before meeting you.

What actually happens, practically

What this is not

This is talking therapy with one therapist, online. It is worth being clear about what falls outside that, so you do not spend a consultation finding out. This is probably not the right place if:

• you need a diagnosis, a completion letter, or a court-ordered programme — none of those are provided here
• you need medication reviewed or prescribed, which is a physician or psychiatrist
• substance use has reached the point of needing medical detox or a higher level of care than outpatient sessions
• you want someone to tell you that you are right and the other person is wrong

If one of those is what you need, saying so in the consultation is useful — it is a shorter conversation and you can be pointed toward the right kind of service instead.

Private, with limits worth knowing

What you say in session is confidential. It is not absolutely confidential, and you should know where the edges are before you start rather than discovering them later.

We are required to disclose in four specific circumstances: where there is reason to believe a child needs protection; where a mandatory report about sexual abuse by a regulated health professional is required; where there is a serious and imminent risk of harm; and where a court order or subpoena compels it. Those obligations exist regardless of who you see, and they will be gone through with you again at the first session so you can ask about them properly.

Outside those situations, what you bring stays in the room — including from your partner, your employer, and your family.

Before you book