Dr. Ava is a psychologist in Dubai where she has been in private practice since 2014. She is licensed with the Dubai Health Authority and the College of Psychologists of Ontario, Canada in clinical and counselling psychology. She completed her M.A. and Psy.D. at Adler University in Chicago, Illinois followed by her post-doctoral training in Toronto, Ontario. Her doctoral dissertation was on Islamophobia.
Dr. Ava works with individuals and couples with a range of difficulties. She is a true believer in the power of psychotherapy. She believes experiencing emotional turmoil and suffering is part of life, but as humans we develop behaviors, thoughts and relationships that could make us feel stuck, depressed, isolated, angry or anxious to name a few. She believes through psychotherapy we can identify patterns that are not so useful and develop new ones that help us feel calmer, more connected, and content.
Her clinical areas of interest are anger management, adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, complex cases, grief and loss, obsessive-compulsive disorders, stress related disorders, and trauma.
Her non-clinical areas of interest are acculturation, career concerns, diversity, discrimination, identity issues, life transitions, mindfulness, peak performance, personality, prejudice, resilience, relationship issues, self-compassion, self-esteem, shame, stress management, work-life balance.