she / her
Aisha Gardezy
I'm a therapist, but I'm also a person who lives in relationships.
I'm a partner, a parent, and part of a blended family made up of different personalities, neurotypes, identities, backgrounds and ways of experiencing the world. My own life has given me a very real appreciation for how beautiful, meaningful—and sometimes incredibly complicated—human relationships can be.
Living and loving across differences has shaped the therapist I am.
So has being a social worker.
Over the years, I've had the privilege of being invited into people's lives during some incredibly vulnerable moments. I've worked alongside women experiencing domestic violence, supported children, youth and families, worked in community settings, and now work within healthcare. I've sat with people through trauma, grief, illness, relationship breakdown, identity changes, parenting challenges, uncertainty, and major life transitions.
All of that has taught me a lot about people.
Perhaps most importantly, it has taught me to be curious.
Human beings are complicated. Our behaviours and relationships don't exist in a vacuum. We are shaped by our attachment experiences, families, cultures, identities, relationships, communities, bodies, nervous systems, and the things that have happened to us along the way.
When we understand that context, the question can begin to shift from "What's wrong with me?" or "What's wrong with my partner?" toward something much more useful:
"What's happening here?"
That's the kind of curiosity I bring into therapy.
Your relationship doesn't have to look like anyone else's
I don't believe there is one "right" way to have a relationship, build a family, experience attraction, communicate, or connect.
I'm interested in understanding your relationship rather than measuring it against someone else's idea of what a relationship is supposed to look like.
I welcome people across sexual orientations and gender identities, neurodivergent individuals and neurodiverse couples, culturally diverse clients, and people in a wide variety of consensual relationship structures.
I approach difference with curiosity and cultural humility rather than assumptions.
And I'm certainly not a perfectly polished therapist who has relationships all figured out. I don't think such a person exists.
I know both personally and professionally that connection takes work. We misunderstand each other. We get defensive. We miss bids for connection. We carry old hurts and attachment experiences into present relationships. We sometimes protect ourselves in ways that accidentally push away the very person we're trying to reach.
But patterns aren't destiny.
We can become curious about them. We can understand them.
We can practice something different.
That's why I believe so strongly in this work.
My Approach
Education & Training
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Master of Social Work (MSW) — Dalhousie University
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Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) — University of Victoria
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Gottman Method Couples Therapy — Levels 1 & 2
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Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — training and study
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Sex Therapy & Sexual Health — ongoing training toward AASECT certification
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Circle of Security Facilitator Certification
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Neufeld Intensive Level I
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Training
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
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Solution-Focused Interventions
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Attachment-Based Approaches
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Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)
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Trauma-Informed Practice & Trauma Training
My training continues to evolve alongside my practice, with a particular focus on couples therapy, attachment, sexuality, intimacy and creating stronger emotional connections.