Healing From a Narcissistic or Emotionally Abusive Relationship — Therapy in Vancouver

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.

Book a Free, Confidential Consultation in Vancouver

No cost to you if you’re covered by ICBC, FNHA, CVAP, VAC, or RCMP — and we direct-bill to most extended health plans. Many clients pay nothing out of pocket. Just ask and we’ll confirm your coverage before you book.

What to expect on your first call: it’s completely confidential, there’s no pressure, and you decide the pace. This is simply a chance to talk and see if it feels right.

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: [email protected]
Location: Suite 1300, 1500 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC (downtown)

And no — your problem doesn’t need to be a crisis to belong here. Most of the people Samuel sees are simply tired, stuck, or quietly carrying something heavy.

Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available.

Frequently Asked Questions — Healing from a Narcissistic or Emotionally Abusive Relationship

Is it really abuse if they never hit me?

Yes — emotional and psychological abuse is real abuse. Chronic control, manipulation, gaslighting, and being made to feel ‘too sensitive’ for having normal needs can be as damaging as physical harm, and often harder to name because there are no marks. You do not need visible injuries for your experience to count or for therapy to be the right step.

Can therapy help if I’m still in the relationship?

Absolutely. Many clients start therapy while still deciding what they want. The goal is not to push you toward any decision — it is to help you think clearly, rebuild your confidence, and feel safe, whatever path you choose. Where safety is at risk, Samuel will say so plainly and help you plan for it.

How do I know if I’m the problem?

If you are asking that question, it is often a sign you have been made to doubt yourself. Healthy relationships have two people who both sometimes get it wrong; abusive ones have one person who is always wrong. Therapy gives you a grounded, outside perspective so you can see your situation clearly rather than through constant second-guessing.

Do you offer sessions in Farsi?

Yes. Samuel provides trauma-informed therapy in both English and Farsi, with an understanding of the cultural context many Iranian-Canadian clients navigate — family pressure to keep the marriage, آبرو, and the fear of being talked about in a small community. Discretion about who is attending is treated as part of confidentiality. جلسات به فارسی برگزار می‌شود.

Is my first consultation really free and confidential?

Yes. Your first 20-minute phone consultation is free, private, and no-pressure — with Samuel himself, no receptionist. Nothing is shared with anyone, and you are never obligated to continue. Call or WhatsApp 604-721-0604, or text a single line and he will call you back.

What is narcissistic abuse, and how is it different from a bad relationship?

Narcissistic or coercive abuse is a pattern, not an incident: idealisation followed by devaluation, control of money, time or friends, rewriting of events so you doubt your memory, punishment by silence or rage, and blame that always lands on you. Ordinary bad relationships have conflict; abusive ones have a direction — one person’s reality steadily replaces the other’s. Samuel wrote about recognising the pattern in Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Counselling in Vancouver.

What is gaslighting?

Gaslighting is the repeated denial or rewriting of things that happened — ‘that never happened’, ‘you’re imagining it’, ‘you’re crazy’ — until you stop trusting your own perception. Its damage is that it outlasts the relationship: people arrive in therapy still checking whether their memories are allowed. Rebuilding that trust in yourself is one of the first tasks of the work.

Why do I still miss them or want to go back?

Because the relationship trained your nervous system on intermittent reward — warmth after cruelty, apology after rage — which produces one of the strongest attachments there is. Missing them is not a sign the relationship was good or that you are weak; it is a predictable response that fades as your system recalibrates. Therapy speeds that up.

Is this covered by extended health, ICBC or CVAP?

Registered Clinical Counsellor sessions are covered by most extended health plans in BC. If the relationship involved a reported crime, the Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP) may fund counselling. Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available. Samuel confirms your specific coverage on the free call. See CVAP counselling in Vancouver.

How do I start, and what if I’m not sure this applies to me?

Start with the free 20-minute call — you do not need to have decided anything, or even to be sure the word ‘abuse’ fits. Say what has been happening in a sentence or two; Samuel will listen without labelling and tell you honestly whether this kind of work would help. Call or WhatsApp 604-721-0604, or text a line and he will call you back within a day.

Further Reading

Related services: IFS therapy, Gottman Method couples therapy, and trauma therapy in Vancouver.