Create a life that feels like your Masterpiece.
Therapy for people living complicated and beautiful lives.
Psychotherapy for Creatives, artists, entrepreneurs, immigrants, and couples in Ottawa and across Ontario.
Let me Introduce Myself
Hi! I'm Esteban
I’ve been supporting people who have survived overwhelming circumstances for most of
my life. I came to Canada as a refugee in 2002. The difference in cultural worlds took many years to integrate into a coherent lifestyle that didn’t feel oppressive or unsafe.
Because of my creative personality, art became a very important part of this process. I rely on creative writing, event production, and dance as my main creative outlets. As a result, I’ve been fortunate enough to lend my talents, experiences, and training to support other creatives in developing and realizing their visions.
I’m a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying; Registration Number – 18304) based in Ottawa, providing virtual therapy locally across Ontario. I specialize in working with people struggling with symptoms of complex trauma, compulsive behaviours, emotional dysregulation, burnout, depression, anxiety, and relational issues. I am uniquely positioned to appreciate the perspectives of artists, entrepreneurs, and other creative people who often feel overwhelmed, disconnected, stuck, or held back by patterns that no longer serve them. My goal is to help you better understand yourself so you can create, relate, and live with greater clarity and intention.
My Approach
I believe meaningful change begins by understanding how your life works before proposing or implementing changes. My approach is person-centered and informed by philosophy and 4E cognitive science, recognizing that our thoughts, emotions, bodies, relationships, and environments are deeply connected. Together, we’ll explore your experience with honesty, curiosity, and courage, helping you build a more authentic relationship with yourself so that lasting change can emerge.
I am trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for individuals, and Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples. I also employ mindfulness meditation with clients as necessary.
What is 4E Cognitive Science?
Embodied – Embedded – Enactive – Extended
4E cognitive science is a way of understanding that your mind doesn’t work separately from the rest of your life. You are not “your brain” or “your nervous system”, but a whole person who participates in life with memories, relationships, goals, perspectives, skills, and commitments. How you think and feel is influenced by your body, your experiences, your relationships, your environment, and the things around you. In therapy, we look at the whole picture: not just your thoughts, but also what you’re feeling, what you’ve been through, and how your world shapes who you are.
Therapy That Meets You Where You Are
Therapy is not one-size-fits-all. That is why I offer free 20-minute consults for all new clients. Every person, relationship, and creative journey is unique, which is why our work together is shaped around your individual experiences, needs, and goals. In these 20-minute consults, we take the time to understand what brought you to seek therapy, learn more about each other, and outline a rough outline for our work together before you decide to book your fist session.
Therapy for Creatives
A space for artists, makers, and creative minds navigating anxiety, burnout, identity, meaning, transitions, or the unique pressures that can come with a creative life. Therapy can make room for both the person and the creative process.
Individual Therapy
A space to slow down, understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and work through anxiety, depression, grief, compulsive patterns, life transitions, or questions about meaning and identity. Your therapy is shaped around where you are and where you want to go.
Couples Therapy
A space to understand the patterns between you, communicate more openly, and navigate conflict, intimacy, boundaries, transitions, and different relationship structures, including polyamorous relationships. The goal isn’t to fit your relationship into a mold, but to help you build one that works for you.
Therapy in Spanish
A veces no solo estás atravesando la vida. Estás aprendiendo a vivir en un nuevo país, una nueva cultura, un idioma diferente y esa extraña sensación de pertenecer a más de un lugar.
La terapia puede ser un espacio para explorar todo lo que viene con eso: tu identidad, el sentido de pertenencia, las relaciones, el duelo, la ansiedad, los cambios y ese caos de construir una vida nueva lejos de casa.
These are some of the areas that I can help you with:
Anxiety
Depression
Relationships
Grief
Meaningless
Burnout
Life Transitions
Overwhelm
Compulsive Behaviors
Complex Trauma
Not sure where to start?
People are not mechanical systems; they are complex dynamical and maturing. Before changing patterns, we understand them. In therapy, we don’t rewrite stories; we learn their significance and adapt them for new chapters.
You don’t have to have it all figured out before reaching out.