CLAUDELLE ABDO, REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST

No toxic positivity. No therapy clichés. Just real conversations that make space for something new.

RELATIONAL AND ATTACHMENT-BASED COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS AND COUPLES IN OTTAWA, ON, AND VIRTUALLY ACROSS ONTARIO

Therapy can suck sometimes… but in the best ways.

It’s sort of like a good, deep tissue massage: there’s a lot of wincing, tenderness and untangling of knots, but the relief after can feel so. good. Therapy with me means no hiding from tears, snot and laughter.

I'm here to journey along with you as we cultivate self-awareness, connection to self and others, and self-acceptance, in the unruly mess we call the human condition.

Our Work Together:

Sometimes, life changes in ways that leave you feeling like you've lost your footing. You may find yourself questioning who you are, what you want, or why everything suddenly feels so unfamiliar. Anxiety. Withdrawal. Endless what-if thinking. Perhaps you’re grieving the death of someone you love and are wondering how to rebuild a life that feels meaningful again. Maybe anger swirls inside you while other parts of yourself have learned to stay silent. Or maybe something simply feels off, but it’s difficult to put into words.

You’re exhausted in a way that sleep can’t fix. The weight you’re carrying feels invisible to everyone else, yet it’s with you every day. You keep pushing through, but nothing feels settled. You may have noticed that the past continues to follow you, showing up in ways that feel unpredictable, inconvenient, or impossible to understand. You do everything you’re supposed to do, yet the list of expectations only keeps growing. Guilt may have become such a familiar companion that you can’t imagine life without it.

Or maybe every conversation feels like a performance. You carefully monitor everything you say, hoping to sound smart enough, interesting enough, or just not awkward. Long after you’ve left, you find yourself replaying each interaction in your mind, wishing you had said something differently. More than anything, you long for genuine connection, yet you feel disconnected from yourself and from others.

Many of us experience these struggles in isolation, quietly carrying them while assuming everyone else has it all figured out. Seeking support and a place to explore your internal world isn’t easy. It takes courage to slow down, turn inward, and begin exploring parts of yourself that have been asking for your attention. These experiences are not signs that something is wrong with you, they’re signals that something within you deserves care, compassion, and understanding.

Healing doesn't happen in isolation. More often, it begins when your experiences no longer have to be carried alone. Together, we'll explore the roots of what you're experiencing with curiosity and compassion, helping you move beyond simply coping and toward a life that feels more authentic, connected, and fully your own. You don't have to do this alone.

More About Me

Undoing Aloneness

Areas of Focus

Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety and depression can naturally leave you feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, and stuck, making it harder to engage in the life you want to live or connect with the people who matter most. Together, we'll slowly understand underlying patterns and explore some meaningful perspectives while developing practical skills, greater self-compassion, and a deeper understanding of the parts of you that feel conflicted or lost.

Shame and Guilt

These emotions can feel daunting, isolating and all-consuming, often shaping the way we see ourselves and others. Together, we’ll create a compassionate, non-judgemental space to build insight, express the unsaid, and experience the unknown relationally. Through this process, self-criticism can begin to soften, making room for greater self-acceptance and a deeper sense of groundedness.

Kink, Polyamory, and Ethical Non-Monogamy

Diverse relationship structures can offer unique opportunities for intimacy, connection, and community, while also bringing challenges around communication, jealousy, and boundaries. Together, we’ll explore these experiences with curiosity and compassion, helping you cultivate relationships that feel secure, authentic, and aligned with your needs and values.

Feeling Lost, Anger and Self-Esteem Issues

These experiences can make it incredibly difficult to trust yourself, feel grounded, and know what direction you want to move toward. Together, we’ll build insight, self-awareness, and practical skills through meaning making and emotion exploration, helping you understand where these experiences come from and cultivate a more compassionate, secure sense of self.

Grief and Loss

Grief can impact every single part of life, bringing up unpredictable waves of sadness, resentment, confusion, numbness, and anger. It can also surface some emotions that seem conflicting or difficult to make sense of. Together, we’ll process this loss at the pace that feels right for you, honour what matters most, and gently explore how to carry this experience forward in a meaningful way.

Couple Infidelity and Communication Challenges

These experiences can deeply impact trust, safety, and connection within a relationship, often leaving partners feeling hurt, confused, or emotionally distant. In couples therapy, we’ll create space to understand the rupture, foster honest communication, and explore pathways toward repair, clarity, and renewed emotional intimacy through deeper listening, empathy, and understanding.

Meaning-Making, Value Exploration and Increasing Self Awareness

Clarifying what matters and understanding why we think, feel, and act as we do can deepen our connection to ourselves, others, and the world around us. Together, we’ll explore past and present experiences to help you live more intentionally, align with your values, and create a deeper understanding of the meaning you make from your experiences.

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Gender and Sexual Identity (2SLGBTQIA+)

This is an affirming space to explore your gender, sexuality, identity, expression and relationships of all kinds. Whether you’re questioning or simply seeking support, together we’ll cultivate compassion, gender and/or sexual freedom, and authenticity.

Anxiety and Depression

Shame and Guilt

Kink, Polyamory, and Ethical Non-Monogamy

Feeling Lost, Anger and Self-Esteem Issues

Grief and Loss

Couple Infidelity and Communication Challenges

Meaning-Making, Value Exploration and Increasing Self Awareness

Contact Me

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about scheduling or moving forward.

If you are interested in a free 15-minute consultation, please fill out this form or email me directly at:

abdo.psychotherapy@gmail.com

15-minute consultations can be a helpful way to feel more sure of a good fit, if you simply want to feel out the vibe, or if you have further questions about my practice.