Dr. Zahra Khalesi, C.Psych.
(Supervised Practice)

Dr. Zahra Khalesi is a Clinical Psychologist in Supervised Practice, who is currently in the process of completing her registration with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario. Her area of specialization is adult mental health, where she has focused on using evidence-based interventions to collaboratively tailor treatment plans for each of the individuals with whom she works so that they can best meet their goals. She is fluent in English and Arabic and is able to provide psychotherapy in both languages.

Dr. Khalesi believes that individuals are the experts of their own experiences and so begins treatment by fully trying to understand how their prior circumstances, culture, significant life events, and individual differences contribute to their experience of their presenting problems. Dr. Khalesi’s interest in cultural differences stems both from her research and personal experiences. She is passionate about how culture impacts the individual’s perceptions and life, and draws from her own cultural experiences while living in the U.A.E to develop a holistic framework. She works diligently to create a conceptual framework that aims to foster each individual’s strengths while simultaneously introducing concrete tools to help improve the individual’s well-being and progress towards their goals. She believes that the therapeutic process ought to be collaborative, intentional, and flexible to the person’s needs.

Dr. Khalesi works with individuals presenting with a wide range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis and serious mental illness, insomnia, and relationship difficulties and general life stressors. Her approach is integrative, drawing from multiple evidence-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and mindfulness-based interventions.

Dr. Khalesi completed her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at McMaster University in Hamilton. She has been providing psychological services since 2017, and has worked and trained in a variety of clinical settings including: the Complex Care and Recovery Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH); the Mood and Anxiety Ambulatory Services at CAMH; the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH); the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at SJHH; and the Central Neuropsychology Service at SJHH.

Dr. Khalesi has been involved in psychological research for over a decade, and she is committed to providing evidence-based treatment that is informed by current research. Dr. Khalesi‘s own research has closely examined how individual differences in temperament, particularly shyness, influence the quality of life of adults with schizophrenia. She has presented her research at both national and international psychology conferences. She has also been involved in the development and evaluation of treatment protocols for mindfulness based treatments and integrative neurocognitive therapy for individuals with psychosis.