Virtual Psychotherapy in Vaughan & Across Ontario
You hold it together on the outside.
Inside, you've lost touch with yourself.
It doesn't have to stay this way.
A Thoughtful Approach to Therapy
What's Underneath
The same reaction, the same shutdown, the same argument at the same point. Therapy slows that down so you can see what's driving it.
More Than Insight
Knowing why you do something doesn't always change it. So I also pay attention to what happens in the moment, in your body and in how you respond.
A Space to Be Honest
Most people rarely get an hour that's only about them. Here you can say what you haven't said out loud yet, including the parts you think you shouldn't feel.
Paced to You
No single approach fits everyone. Sessions follow what you bring, at a pace that feels manageable rather than one that pushes.
Hi, I'm Irina
Irina Carayannis, MACP · Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
This isn’t a quick fix, and chances are you’re not looking for one.
You’ve probably already tried to manage this. Maybe you’ve read the books, downloaded the app, learned the breathing exercises, or tried to think your way through it. Some of it probably helped, for a while. But the same patterns keep coming back, and part of you is tired of working around them.
That’s often when people arrive here. Not in crisis, necessarily, but ready to slow down and understand what’s underneath, instead of holding everything together one more time.
Because managing something isn’t the same as understanding it.
The patterns that are hardest to change are usually the ones that once helped you feel safe, stay connected, or get through something difficult. They don’t soften just because we decide we’re ready to move on. They start to shift when they’re seen, understood, and met with care.
That’s the work I do.
How I Help
Therapy with me is warm and collaborative, and it moves at your pace. It’s a space where you can let your guard down and say the things you don’t usually say out loud. Together, we make sense of what’s been shaping your life, so you can feel more grounded and kinder to yourself.
I draw on both practical and deeper approaches. Practical tools help you feel steadier in the present. Deeper work turns gently toward what lives beneath the surface, toward the patterns and experiences that shaped how you learned to cope. We move between the two, depending on what you need.
Healing isn’t a straight line, and it isn’t about becoming someone new. More often, it’s about slowly finding your way back to yourself. Your story is your own. My role is to meet it with care, curiosity, and respect for where you’ve been.
If this sounds like what you’ve been looking for, the first step is a free consultation. We’ll talk about what’s going on and whether we’re the right fit.
Psychotherapy Services
As a psychotherapist, my role is to provide a warm, supportive, and collaborative space where you can feel seen, understood, and accepted as you are. From that foundation, meaningful change becomes possible.
Anxiety, Overwhelm & Burnout
Your mind keeps going long after the day is over. Rest stops doing what it used to, and therapy becomes a place to slow that down and look at what's keeping it running.
Relationship Patterns, Boundaries & Self-Worth
You say yes when you want to say no, and carry the cost quietly. Here we look at where that started, and what it's been protecting you from.
Trauma, Nervous System & Life Transitions
You feel on edge even when nothing appears to be wrong. That's often the body still responding to something older than today, and it can begin to settle.
Helpful Resources
When Saying No Feels Unsafe
Sometimes saying no doesn’t just feel uncomfortable. It can feel unsafe. Understanding why can be the beginning of changing the pattern.
When Coping Stops Working
Explore why coping strategies like overthinking, staying busy, people-pleasing, or shutting down can stop helping over time, and how therapy can support your nervous system in finding a steadier way forward.
The Parent Behind the Child
Explore the often-unseen emotional strain of raising a neurodivergent child, including exhaustion, grief, guilt, and the importance of having a space where the parent can also feel supported.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if therapy is right for me?
You do not have to be in crisis to begin. Many people come to therapy simply because something has started to feel unsustainable. They are exhausted, anxious, stuck in patterns that keep repeating, or quietly tired of holding everything together while looking fine on the outside.
Often there is no single big reason. Just a growing sense that the way you have been managing is costing you more than it used to. Therapy can be a place to understand your patterns, your relationships, and the ways you learned to cope along the way.
I have never been to therapy before. What should I expect?
It is normal for the first time to feel unfamiliar, especially if you are used to handling things on your own.
Our work together is not about judgment or being fixed. It is a collaborative space where we look, gently, at what is happening underneath the anxiety or overwhelm you have been carrying. You do not need the right words or a tidy explanation. We begin exactly where you are.
What do you help with?
I work with anxiety, overwhelm, trauma, burnout, and the patterns that often sit underneath them, including perfectionism, people-pleasing, self-criticism, and emotional disconnection.
I also support clients through relationship difficulties, identity and life transitions, postpartum and caregiving stress, focus and emotional regulation, and difficulties with eating.
I have particular care for parents of neurodivergent children, and for the emotional work of supporting a child while trying not to lose yourself in the process.
What is your approach to therapy?
My work is relational and depth-oriented, and it is informed by an understanding of how trauma affects the body and the nervous system.
Therapy with me is not only about managing symptoms. Together we look at what sits underneath them: the emotional patterns, the nervous system responses, and the protective strategies that once made sense and may no longer serve the person you have become.
I understand my patterns. So why do I still feel stuck?
This is one of the most common things I hear, and one of the most important.
Understanding something and being free of it are not the same. Many of our patterns do not live only in our thinking. They live in the body and the nervous system. So even when part of you understands clearly, another part can still react on reflex, tensing, overthinking, shutting down, or bracing for something that is not happening now.
Lasting change tends to come less from more insight, and more from a different relationship with yourself, one your body can feel and not only your mind.
What are sessions like?
Warm, grounded, and collaborative. You will not be analyzed or pressured to change quickly.
Sessions are a chance to slow down, speak honestly, and understand yourself more deeply, so that change, when it comes, feels real and sustainable rather than forced.
Do you work with people who seem "fine" on the outside?
Often, yes. Many of the people I work with are capable, responsible, and self-aware, the ones others lean on, while privately carrying anxiety, burnout, or a quiet sense of disconnection. From the outside, no one would guess how much they are holding.
Do you work with parents and caregivers?
Yes. I support parents through burnout, identity shifts, postpartum challenges, and caregiving stress, including the particular complexity of raising neurodivergent children while staying connected to themselves.
Do you work with people from different cultural backgrounds?
Yes. Culture, immigration, family roles, and the experience of moving between different worlds shape so much of how we experience belonging, self-worth, and emotional safety. There is room for all of that here.
Do you offer virtual sessions?
Yes. Therapy is available virtually across Ontario, so you can access support from your own space.
Do you offer a free consultation?
I do. It’s a free 15-minute call where we can talk briefly about what’s bringing you in, answer any questions, and get a feel for whether we’re a good fit.
Do you offer in-person services?
Currently, all InnerField Psychotherapy sessions are virtual, offered through the secure Jane platform. The platform is encrypted to protect your privacy. Together we will find a way to set up sessions that feels private, safe, and comfortable for you.
Is therapy covered by insurance, and do you offer direct billing?
Many extended health plans cover psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying). Coverage varies by plan, so check with your insurer before your first session.
I do not offer direct billing. You can pay by e-transfer or credit card, and you will receive a receipt with my registration number to submit to your insurer for reimbursement.
What is your cancellation policy?
I ask for at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule a session. Cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice are charged the full session fee.