Hafsa Alvi

I understand how difficult it can be to share your own experiences. It takes courage to commit to therapy. We will work together to create an environment where you feel safe, heard, and respected. Every journey is unique. We are experts in our own stories. As we work together, we will examine how your early life experiences, attachments, family, culture, society, and systems have shaped your worldview, how you relate to yourself and others, and how you deal with adversity. In my work, I use a holistic, trauma-informed, anti-oppressive approach. As a therapist, I believe healing and therapy are based on a holistic understanding of the whole person - your physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.

 

When I was two years old, my family moved to Canada from Pakistan. I am the youngest of four siblings and the only daughter. When I was growing up, I had a deep desire to meet the expectations of a 'perfect' South Asian girl, while also trying to fit into Canadian culture. There were times when I was unsure of my own identity. As a child, I associated the feeling of fitting in with being worthy of receiving affection. In the process of wanting to please everyone, I became an expert procrastinator, a people-pleaser, and a perfectionist. As a result, I embarked on a journey of healing, peace, love, and happiness. It is very important to me to work alongside ethnic and minority communities to remove stigmas surrounding mental health and healing.

 

When I'm not in working, you'll find me curled up in my blanket watching my favourite sitcom with a warm cup of chai.

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Areas of Focus:

Anxiety

Social Anxiety

Depression

Grief

Attachment

Parenting

Boundaries

Self-esteem

Work/school stress

Immigration and settlement-related stress/trauma
 

Treatments Offered:

Narrative therapy

Cognitive Behavioural therapy

Dialectical Behaviour Informed Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy

Mindfulness practice

 

Qualification, Training and Membership:

Masters of Social Work (specialization in Mental Health) - University of Toronto

Bachelor of Social Work - Toronto Metropolitan University

Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers

Ontario Association of Social Workers

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Publications:

George, P., Medhekar, A., Chaze, F., Osborne, B., van Heer, M., & Alavi, H. (2022). In search of interdisciplinary, holistic and culturally informed services: The case of racialized immigrant women experiencing domestic violence in Ontario. Family Court Review, 60(3), 530– 545.

 

Medhekar, A., George, P., Osborne, B., Chaze, F. & Alavi, H. (2020). Expert paper on the impact of family violence in ethnocultural communities: The potential impact on the identification and response to family violence by family law lawyers. Department of Justice, Government of Canada.