Yasmeen Ibrahim

PhD, C. Psych. (Supervised Practice)

Yasmeen Ibrahim has completed all requirements for her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University, including her pre-doctoral residency at the London Health Sciences Centre. She is a psychologist in supervised practice with the College of Psychologists and Behavioural Analysts of Ontario. Yasmeen provides both psychodiagnostic assessments and therapy to adolescents and adults, as well as parent coaching.

Yasmeen has experience conducting psychoeducational and psychodiagnostic assessments for a range of disorders including anxiety and mood disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Learning Disorders, and Language Disorder using evidence-based assessment tools and measures. She has honed her skills over the years by assessing complex presentations where comorbid diagnoses were warranted, and cultural and contextual factors were vital.

In terms of individual therapy, Yasmeen primarily works with individuals who are experiencing OCD, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, perfectionism, depression, emotion-regulation difficulties, irritability, low self-esteem, low mood, trauma, and heightened stress levels.

Yasmeen focuses a great deal of her clinical practice at Forward Thinking working with individuals with OCD. Over the years, Yasmeen has worked with individuals with a range of OCD concerns, including obsessions and compulsions related to harm, morality, ‘just-right feelings’, contamination,  hoarding, sameness/ symmetry, and checking behaviours. Yasmeen has also facilitated OCD parent skills groups and individual parent coaching for caregivers of children and youth with OCD.

With regards to parent coaching, Yasmeen also supports parents in navigating a range of parenting issues, including fostering stronger relationships with their children and supporting their loved ones in overcoming mental health difficulties, regulating their emotions, and/ or reducing disruptive behaviours.

Yasmeen believes there is good and potential in everyone, but it takes the right circumstances, support, and empathy for that to shine through. In her everyday work with clients, she aspires to be the empathic person who makes them feel safe, heard, and valued. She guides clients through their quest towards healing and helps empower them to thrive, reach their potential, and lead a fulfilling life.

Yasmeen collaboratively works with individuals to develop a personalized treatment plan that builds on their strengths, meets their preferences, and is tailored to help them reach their goals. She uses evidence-based therapies to ensure clients receive high-quality, effective treatments. She primarily utilizes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), including specialized forms of CBT for OCD (e.g., Exposure and Response Prevention – E/RP, and Inference-based CBT/I-CBT) and incorporates skills from modalities such as Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Emotion-Focused Skills Training (EFST) to personalize treatment and meet the unique needs of every person she works with. She also practices measurement-based care, where she utilizes brief measures to evaluate her client’s satisfaction with the therapeutic alliance and monitor their progress. This provides a safe space for her clients to share their preferences and needs, allowing her to modify her style and session content accordingly to ensure that their needs and preferences are continuously met.

Further, Yasmeen received graduate training in effective teaching strategies, which shape her clinical practice. When beneficial, she often supplements evidence-based protocols with videos, visuals, and interactive activities to enhance engagement and the retention and usage of taught strategies, leading to more favorable outcomes. Building upon her training in effective teaching strategies, Yasmeen’s research focused on the development and evaluation of an evidence-informed wellness program that integrates the behavior change wheel framework with evidence-based learning strategies to raise awareness of the physical and mental health benefits of exposure to and connecting with nature and encourage behavior change.

Yasmeen’s training includes working with children, adolescents, and adults, and providing parent coaching at a number of hospitals and community mental health agencies, including the IWK Health Centre, Community Mental Health and Addictions Clinic (CMHA), London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), and the Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI). Her extensive training has provided her with valuable insights and rich experiences in treating a wide range of mental health difficulties.

Importantly, Yasmeen values practicing with cultural humility. She has completed graduate courses on diversity considerations, attended the “Towards Culturally Responsive CBT” conference, as well as several workshops and webinars on supporting diverse clients and making cultural adaptations to assessments and interventions. She is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and compassionate atmosphere to all clients.

Outside of her professional life, Yasmeen enjoys spending time with family and friends and going on nature walks.