I’m Dr Caroline Doramajian, a licensed clinical psychologist. My path to mental health care started many years ago when I was working as an engineer in the aerospace industry. It took several more years before I was able to quit my day job and fully dedicate myself to my calling as a psychologist.
I work with people who are willing to take a deep dive to work on themselves. I’m someone tenacious in general, especially about helping my clients reach the goals they set for themselves, regardless of how complicated they believe their problems to be.
I use scientifically supported interventions and customize my overall approach to a person’s unique life, personality, circumstances, worries, and wishes.
It takes courage to share your private life and struggles. My first step toward helping you will be to get to know you and the problems you’re facing within a non-judgmental, caring, and confidential space.
My hope is that we’ll be able to build a strong relationship of trust so that you let me really get to know you as whole person, and not just the set of symptoms that walks into my office.
I’ll aim for you to be able to answer questions like:
- What do I want?
- What is getting in my way?
- What exactly do I need to change?
- Where do I start?
Answering these questions is necessary for you to take the steps you need to take to becoming your healthiest self.
During this process, you will learn how to give a louder voice to your strengths (everyone has them!), while also learning how to identify and let go of unhealthy patterns that you’ve gotten used to doing over your lifetime.
Essential Ingredients for a successful therapy with me
| Trust | Trust is key for you to want to share your life with me. You will be welcomed into a compassionate and non-judgmental space where you can start dealing with the more worrisome parts of yourself and your life. |
| Willing and ready to change | For psychotherapy to work, you must be the one in the driver’s seat. Therapy can help with that readiness and motivation to change unhealthy parts of yourself, yet there must be some spark on your end to want to take a deep look at yourself… And not just the stressful situations and people in your life. |
| Doing “the work” | The type of “work” I mean here goes beyond self-awareness. I’m talking about concrete and challenging behaviour changes that get you unstuck and lead to sustained wellness. These sorts of changes cause an increase in discomfort/anxiety, so they require courage and a curious and adventurous spirit. |
| Internal problem* | The problems that you choose to work on in therapy need to be problems within yourself. This is true even though the stressful situations around you are partly triggering your symptoms. |
| Physical Safety | Therapy is not appropriate if you are in a situation with domestic violence or if you are in a mental state where your physical well-being is imminently in danger (ex: active suicidal plan and not just suicidal thinking). In such cases, emergency or crisis services are needed. When physical safety is established, then mental health work can progress. |
* Examples of internal problems
- anxiety that interferes with your sleep and social life
- depression that saps away your energy and motivation
- procrastination to avoid stress
- not being assertive enough
- unmanaged aggression that gets you to yell a lot
- indecisive about ending an unhealthy relationship
- questioning your life decisions
- challenges during life transitions
- searching for a sense of purpose
- flashbacks of traumatic events
- intrusive thoughts that scare you and trigger compulsions that take over your life
- shyness that makes you isolate yourself
Clinical Experience
I currently work exclusively in private practice as a licensed clinical psychologist with the Quebec Ordre of Psychologists. I’ve been providing psychological services since 2008 and have worked and trained in several state-of-the-art clinics and hospital settings throughout Montreal:
- Royal Victoria Hospital | Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy Service:
- Montreal General Hospital | Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit:
- Jewish General Hospital | Youth Service Clinic
- Jewish General Hospital | Adult In-Patient Psychiatry Service
- Concordia University | Applied Psychology Centre
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Psychology
- Concordia University, 2010 – 2014
- Vanier Scholar, Top research award in Canada
- Master of Arts (M.A.), Clinical Psychology
- Concordia University, 2008 – 2010
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Psychology
- Concordia University, 2004 – 2007
- Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.), Mechanical Engineering
- McGill University, 1993 – 1997