Yasmeen Ibrahim, Doctoral Clinician

Hi! I’m Yasmeen, a doctoral clinician (currently in the process of applying for registration as a psychologist with the CPBAO and under the supervision of Dr. Chang). I provide psychodiagnostic assessments and therapy to children and adolescents 8-17 years old as well as parent coaching. 

I work with children and adolescents struggling with OCD, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, perfectionism, depression, emotion-regulation difficulties, low self-esteem, low mood, trauma, and heightened stress levels. With regards to parent coaching, I support parents in navigating a range of parenting issues, including fostering stronger relationships with their children and supporting their loved ones in overcoming mental health difficulties, regulating their emotions, and/ or reducing disruptive behaviours.

What will our work together look like?

I believe there is good and potential in everyone, but it takes the right circumstances, support, and empathy for that to shine through. In my everyday work with clients, I aspire to be the empathic person that makes them feel safe, heard, and valued. I want to guide you through your quest towards healing and empower you to thrive, reach your potential, and live a fulfilling life.

I work collaboratively with clients to develop a personalized treatment plan that builds on their strengths, meets their preferences, and is tailored to help them reach their goals. The primary therapeutic modality I use in individual therapy is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), including specialized forms of CBT for OCD (e.g., Exposure and Response Prevent – E/RP), and I incorporate skills from modalities such as Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) to personalize treatment and meet the unique needs of every client. I also practice measurement-based care where I utilize brief measures to evaluate my client’s satisfaction with the therapeutic alliance and monitor their progress. This provides a safe space for my clients to share their preferences and needs, and allows me to modify my style or session content accordingly to ensure that their needs and preferences are continuously met. 

In my work over the years, I was impressed by the powerful impact parent-work has on nurturing and strengthening parent-child relationships and facilitating behaviour and emotion-regulation in children and adolescents. As such, I involve parents whenever possible to enhance the therapeutic outcomes. When providing parent coaching, I use EEFT, Parent Management Strategies and skills from Proactive and Collaborative Solutions (CPS) to provide a comprehensive, customized approach to address my clients’ specific needs. 

I have also received graduate training in effective teaching strategies which shapes my clinical practice. I often supplement evidence-based protocols with videos, visuals, and interactive activities which enhance engagement and the retention and usage of taught strategies, leading to more favorable outcomes.

I look forward to supporting you and your loved ones on your journey! 

What’s my experience?

I have received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University and have worked with children and their parents at a number of hospitals and community mental health agencies, including the IWK Health Centre, Community Mental Health and Addictions Clinic (CMHA), London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), and the Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI). 

I value practicing with cultural humility. I have completed a graduate course on diversity considerations and attended the “Towards Culturally Responsive CBT” conference as well as several webinars on supporting diverse clients and making cultural adaptations to assessments and interventions. 

I am always eager to expand my skillset and am continuously attending workshops and training on different topics to better support my clients. 

Outside of my work with OWPC, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and going on nature walks. 

While every family is unique, some common concerns of those that I work with include:

• OCD

• Anxiety

•  Excessive worry

• Low self esteem

• Perfectionistic traits

• Emotion dysregulation 

• Low mood

• Depression

• Parenting challenges 

• Trauma

• Psychodiagnostic Assessments (i.e., diagnosing mental health conditions)

Client Focus: Children and Adolescents (ages 8 - 17), Parent work

Types of Therapy Provided: CBT, E/RP, EEFT (and incorporating skills from ACT, DBT, and CPS when applicable).