Sofian Ayyad

MA, Registered Psychotherapist

I enjoy providing a kind, accepting, and non-judgemental space where you can relax and feel comfortable exploring your thoughts and feelings.

My past experiences help me to appreciate you for who you are, and I would consider it a sincere privilege to have the opportunity to work with you.

My path to becoming a psychotherapist was not a traditional one. I worked for over a decade as a computer engineer for multinational corporations before switching careers to follow my life-long interests in psychology, psychotherapy, and spirituality.

I lived in Europe and the Middle East for various parts of my life before calling Canada home for the last two decades. Having lived in diverse environments helped me develop a great appreciation for various cultures and sensitivity to the specialness of every person I meet. As a result, apart from my formal education and extensive clinical training, I bring a well-rounded set of real-life experiences that I believe will benefit you.

I enjoy working with people from diverse backgrounds, regardless of gender, age, culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender expression. I know that positive change is possible, no matter how difficult and complicated our life situation might be at the moment. If I may paraphrase a famous proverb, each journey begins with a single step, and so it is with healing journeys as well.

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Languages

Arabic	English
Russian	Ukrainian

Psychotherapy Approach

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)	Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Behavioral Activation (BA)	Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)	Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Psychodynamic Therapy	Emotion-Focused Therapy

Psychological Assessment

Diagnostic Assessment for Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA)

Age

Individual therapy for adults

Insurance

Extended Health Insurance

Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCA)

Clinical Supervision

Supervision for CRPO registrants

I hold a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. I am a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, authorized for independent Practice. I am also a member in good standing with the Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals.

I am always working on improving my clinical experience, knowledge, and training to bring you high-quality mental health care.

Conferences, Training, Workshops, and Webinars:

Personalizing Psychotherapy: Assessing & Accommodating Patient Preferences, 3-hour Workshop
July 2024 | Online | John C. Norcross, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist

Psychodynamic Case Presentations, 1-Day Training
July 2024 | Washington, D.C. | April Fallon, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist

Multicultural Therapy & Assessment, 1-Day Training
July 2024 | Washington, D.C. | Anthony Greene, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Meaning-centered Intervention Groups, 2-hour Workshop at CPA 2024 National Convention
June 2024 | Ottawa | Marnin J. Heisel, Ph.D., C.Psych.

Malingering in Psychological Assessments: New Developments, 4-hour workshop
May 2024 | Online | Gerald Young, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), 1-Day Training (part of PSY-710C: Personality Assessment)
January 2024 | Santa Barbara, California | Heather MacDonald, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Psychodynamic Case Formulation, 1-Day Training
January 2024 | Santa Barbara, California | April Fallon, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Existential Issues in Psychotherapy, 1-Day Training
January 2024 | Santa Barbara, California | Amy E. Taylor, Ph.D., C. Psych. & Susan G. Goldberg, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Contemporary Psychoanalytic Seminars, Group Consultations, 2 hours/week.
Sep 2023 - April 2024 | Online | April Fallon, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: 4th Edition (WAIS-IV) administration, 2-Day Training (part of PSY-710B: Cognitive Assessment)
January 2023 | Santa Barbara, California | Nathan Griffith, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 1-Day Training.
January 2023 | Santa Barbara, California | Carmen Pulido, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Suicide Assessment and Intervention, 1-Day Training.
January 2023 | Santa Barbara, California | Kjell Rudestam, Ph.D., C. Psych.

The Self-Led Helper, 2-Day Workshop.
November 2022 | Online | Richard Schwartz, Ph.D.

Unified Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Pain, Fatigue & Somatic Symptom Disorders, 1-Day Workshop.
November 2021 | Online | Sanjay Rao, MD

Classical Adlerian Depth Psychotherapy, Group consultations, 7 hours/month.
Sep-Nov 2021 | Cardinal, Ontario | Edward Murray, C. Psych.

The Farther Reaches of Internal Family Systems (IFS), 2-Day Workshop.
June 2021 | Online | Derek Scott, RSW

Reconsolidation Therapy™: Foundations and Practice, 2.5-Day Workshop.
May 2021 | Online | Daniel Saumier, Ph.D., C. Psych. & Alain Brunet, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO)-Informed Couples Therapist Workshop, 2-Day Workshop.
March 2021 | Online | Liz Phillips, RP

Stepping Stones Internal Family Systems (IFS) Course, 16 Weeks, 3 hours per week.
January-April 2021 | Online | Derek Scott, RSW

Hack Your Mind for Better Health, 1-Day Workshop.
January 2021 | Online | Judson Brewer, MD

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT): Beyond the Basics, 2-Day Workshop.
November 2020 | Online | Sheri Van Dijk, RSW

Treating Complex Trauma with Internal Family Systems (IFS), 2-Day Workshop.
October 2020 | Online | Frank G. Anderson, MD

Systematic Behavioural Activation (BA) Treatment for Depression, 1-Day Workshop.
October 2020 | Online | Sanjay Rao, MD

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Understanding & Treating Clinical Perfectionism, 1-Day Workshop.
May 2020 | Online | Martin Antony, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Clinical Applications of Internal Family Systems (IFS), 2-Day Workshop.
April 2020 | Online | Frank G. Anderson, MD

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Group Consultations, 12-hours.
April 2020-Nov 2019 | Phone-Conference | Philippe Gauvreau, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) - Basic Training - Part 2, 3-Day Training.
March 2020 | Ottawa | Barbara Horne, RP & Philippe Gauvreau, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Resilience in Mental Health Conference.
Nov 2019 | Ottawa | Hosted by OAPA & OPA

Structured Psychotherapies Conference.
November 2019 | Ottawa | STRC, University of Ottawa, Department of Psychiatry

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Unified Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Approach, 2-Day Training.
November 2019 | Ottawa | Sanjay Rao, MD

Trauma & The Struggle to Open Up: Relational Strategies to Effectively Treat Challenging Trauma Clients, 2-Day Workshop.
November 2019 | Ottawa | Robert T. Muller, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) - Basic Training - Part 1, 3.5-Day Training.
October 2019 | Ottawa | Barbara Horne, RP & Philippe Gauvreau, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) - Integrating EMDR into your Clinical Practice, 5-Day Intensive.
May 2019 | Lexington, Kentucky | Carole Lovell, Ph.D., LCSW

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) - Clinical Training for Mental Health Professionals, 5-Day Intensive.
February 2019 | Ottawa | Kafui Sawyer, RP & Mark Vegh, RCC

Introducing the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual-2 (PDM-2), 1-Day Workshop.
May 2018 | Ottawa | Robert Gordon, Ph.D., C. Psych.

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), 2-Day Workshop.
November 2015 | Ottawa | LivingWorks.

Integrating Psychodrama Techniques into Psychotherapy Practice, 1-Day Training.
November 2024 | Cincinnati, Ohio | George Nitzburg, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist

Let's start working together!