Salma Emamdad, M.A., RCC

Registered Clinical Counsellor (#18772)

Who I See

People seek counselling for a variety of reasons and arrive with different stories. For some, they feel defined by a trauma that happened many years ago while others arrive newly wounded by a great loss and in a state of shock and confusion.

Many of the adults I see describe a lack of meaning and purpose in their lives. They feel lonely, anxious, and isolated, including in their relationships.

With youth, I often hear themes that include negative views of themselves. They struggle with relationships, their mood, issues related to identity, or a lack of direction.

The couples I work with often describe a profound sense of disconnection. They are stuck in a negative pattern of communication. One partner tends to become angry and critical when they experience their partner as emotionally unavailable. This partner often feels unimportant, abandoned, and like their partner doesn’t care. The other partner tends to respond with either an angry defense or they shut down and withdraw; inside, they feel like nothing they do will ever be enough. Behind these surface reactions, the deeper hurt and fear often go unseen. Communication becomes strained and neither partner feels emotionally safe or secure in their relationship.

Working from an existential perspective, I understand that a pain-free life is an impossibility; however, we can lessen the impact of the pain we experience and grow from these experiences.

I see perfectionism as a common enemy of a peaceful existence for many of us: It creates a striving for an unattainable standard that takes us out of the present moment and diminishes the accomplishments and joys we might otherwise experience. Often, our therapeutic work will focus on helping you shed expectations and pressures you have internalized so that you can live a life less shackled by these standards.

My work also emphasizes working with multiple parts of the self. I will help you reconnect with parts of you that have been suppressed or unacknowledged, and strengthen resilient aspects of you to aid in healing and living a life that is more authentic to who you are.

With couples, I work to help you get out of stuck patterns of communication by helping you hear the deeper, more tender longings, hurts, and fears behind the reactivity on the surface. By creating new corrective experiences with our partners, we chip away at blocks to connection and rebuild trust, intimacy, and closeness where it’s been lost.

Types of Therapy:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Cognitive Processing Therapy
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing Therapy)
• Emotion-Focused Therapy
• Existential Psychotherapy
• Imago Therapy
• Internal Family Systems Therapy
• Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD
• Solution-Focused Therapy

About Me

I completed my Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology and am registered with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors.

As the daughter of a University Professor of Psychology, I consider counselling to be a family tradition. My mantra is “Life is too short to over-think and worry about hypothetical scenarios that may never happen!”