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Registered Psychotherapists (CRPO) · Virtual & phone session across Ontario · Free 15-min consultation · Direct billing for select insurance providers ·
SOUND FAMILIAR?
When your thoughts run in circles
You go over the conversation again. And again. You notice the one thing that didn't go well and let it outweigh the ten that did. You rewrite the text, re-check the work, and lie awake asking what you should have said. Even when you finish something well, a voice is ready to explain why it doesn't really count.
Overthinking and self-criticism often travel together. One keeps you analyzing; the other keeps score. Therapy offers a place to slow both down, understand where they come from, and build a way of thinking about yourself that's more accurate and a lot kinder.
HOW IT CAN SHOW UP
What overthinking & self-criticism can show up
These patterns look a bit different for everyone. Some of these may sound familiar.
Rumination
Replaying past conversations or mistakes, trying to think your way to certainty, getting stuck on "why" questions that never resolve.
Perfectionism
Standards you'd never hold anyone else to, putting things off until they can be perfect, feeling relief rather than satisfaction when something goes well.
The inner critic
A running commentary on what you did wrong or should've done, discounting praise, feeling one mistake away from being found out.
Intrusive thoughts
Unwanted thoughts or images that feel hard to dismiss, and worrying about what they mean about you.
UNDERSTANDING THE PATTERN
Why these patterns are so sticky
Overthinking usually feels useful. It seems like preparation, responsibility, or protection against getting it wrong. Self-criticism can feel useful too, as though being hard on yourself is what keeps you motivated or keeps you from failing. Both often started for understandable reasons.
They tend to lean on common cognitive distortions: all-or-nothing thinking, mind reading, catastrophizing and personalization. Repeated often enough, the brain builds well-worn paths, which is why overthinking can feel ingrained and automatic rather than chosen.
"What's been learned can also be reshaped!"
FROM OUR BLOG · How Your Thoughts Rewire Your Brain
OUR APPROACH
How therapy changes thought
patterns
Insight alone doesn't rewire the brain. Experience and practice do. Therapy combines both, and may draw on:
CBT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Learning to spot distortions as they happen, test them against evidence, and try out more balanced ways of seeing a situaiton.
COMPASSION-FOCUSED
Compassion-focused Therapy
Understanding the inner critic as a pattern that once tried to protect you, and building a supportive voice that still leaves room for growth.
ACT
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Small, planned steps outside the loop, like sending the email after one draft, to see what actually happens.
What the first few sessions involve
1
Your first session
Getting to know you: what's been happening and what you'd like to be different. You share at your own pace.
2
The next few sessions
3
Mapping your patterns together and outlining your goals, usually with one small, practical thing to try each week.
From there
We balance insight and skills, checking in regularly about what's helping and adjusting as we go!
YOUR THERAPISTS
Meet the therapists who work with overthinking
Both of our therapists work with this concern. Read a little about each, or book a free consultation and we'll help you choose.
Salena Javdan
REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERSPIST
Salena works with the inner critic that keeps score: perfectionism, harsh self-talk, and the sense of second guessing every choice. Compassion-focused work with CBT and DBT help you catch distortions as they happen, while building a kinder, steadier inner voice.
CBT · DBT · Attachment-informed · Compassion-focused
Lilian Sakr
REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERSPIST
Lilian helps when overthinking shows up as guilt, insecurity, or shame. Her compassion-focused, strength-based approach helps you notice the loop, what might have caused it, and stepping out of it to build confidence in your own judgement.
CBT · ACT · Mindfulness · Compassion-focused
PRACTICAL DETAILS
Getting started with Atria
Virtual across Ontario
Sessions take place online through Jane, our secure booking and video platform, from anywhere you have privacy in Ontario. Phone sessions are also available.
Fees
Individual sessions are $150 for a 50-minute session. Many extended health plans cover psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist; check you plans for details.
Free 15-min consults.
A short, no-pressure call to talk about what's bringing you in, ask questions, and see whether working together feels like a fit.
Not a crisis service
If you're in crisis, call or text 9-8-8, call 911, or go to your nearest emergency department. See our crisis resources.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Virtual Therapy Across Ontario
Providing virtual therapy and counselling services to clients across Ontario, including Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Richmondhill, Markham, Hamilton, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and surrounding communities.