If you’re walking on eggshells, constantly second-guessing yourself, or being told your memories are wrong — you’re not imagining it, and you don’t have to figure it out alone. Therapy here is confidential, grounded, and available in English or Farsi.
If you are with a partner who leaves you constantly second-guessing yourself, walking on eggshells, or feeling like you are “too sensitive” for having needs, you are not imagining it — and you are not alone. Dr. Samuel offers trauma-informed therapy in Vancouver, in English and Farsi, for people recovering from relationships marked by chronic control, manipulation, and emotional abuse.
Does This Sound Like Your Relationship?
You apologize constantly, even when you are not sure what you did. Your reality gets rewritten — you remember things one way and are told you are crazy or lying. Criticism, silent treatment, or charm are used to keep you off balance. Your confidence, friendships, and sense of self have quietly shrunk. Good moments keep you hoping, but the pattern always returns. This cycle has names — gaslighting, coercive control, emotional abuse — and the exhaustion you feel is a normal response to it.
A Note on Labels
You do not need a formal diagnosis of your partner to deserve help. The focus of therapy is not on labelling them, but on what is happening to you — the anxiety, self-doubt, and loss of self that come from being treated this way — and on helping you recover your clarity, your boundaries, and your footing.
How Therapy Helps
Rebuilding reality — Naming what happened and trusting your own perceptions again after gaslighting. Healing the nervous system — Coercive relationships keep the body in survival mode; trauma-informed work and, where appropriate, EMDR and neurofeedback help it settle. Boundaries that hold — Learning to set and keep limits without guilt. Reconnecting with yourself — Recovering the confidence, relationships, and identity that were eroded. Whether you are deciding whether to stay, preparing to leave, or rebuilding afterward, therapy meets you where you are.
Cultural Context for Iranian-Canadian Clients
Shame, family pressure, and concern for آبرو can make it especially hard to name abuse or seek help. Dr. Samuel works in Farsi and English and understands these pressures — including the fear of judgment, the weight of “keeping the family together,” and the isolation that can come with migration. You can talk this through in your own language, without judgment.
If You Are in Immediate Danger
Therapy is for recovery and clarity — it is not a crisis service. If you are in physical danger, call 911. In British Columbia, VictimLink BC offers free, confidential, multilingual support 24/7 at 1-800-563-0808. You deserve to be safe.
See also: Couples & Family Therapy | Trauma Therapy Vancouver | Farsi Therapist Vancouver
Book a Free, Confidential Consultation in Vancouver
Start with a free 20-minute consultation. There is no pressure and no judgment — just a chance to talk about what you are going through and what support could look like.
Call or text: (604) 721-0604
Email: info@drsamuel.ca
Location: Suite 1300, 1500 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC (downtown)
Further Reading
Related services: IFS therapy, Gottman Method couples therapy, and trauma therapy in Vancouver.