Sadeq Fallahtafti

I began practising psychotherapy in 2015 with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), an approach central to my training at Shahid Beheshti University. I was drawn to its research foundation, clear structure and practical focus on easing distress. I continue to value those qualities: therapy should attend to what is difficult now and help us notice whether meaningful change is taking place.

Over time, I found that the way I was working did not always offer some clients enough room to explore recurring emotional and relationship difficulties. Alongside practical strategies, I wanted more space to listen to their lived experience, to pause and reflect, and to understand the meanings behind familiar reactions. My own experience of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, which began while I was a psychology student, also shaped this interest.

Schema Therapy became the main framework for my individual work because it brought together the structure I valued with a closer attention to emotional needs, earlier experiences and the therapeutic relationship. It helps us explore patterns that may once have served a purpose but now contribute to distress, and needs that may not have been adequately met. For me, this offers a way to connect an understanding of the past with possibilities for change in the present.

In sessions, we make room for careful listening, silence and reflection, as well as practical exercises when they serve your goals. We develop an understanding together and adjust the depth and pace of the work to your needs and readiness. Progress matters to me: we review what is helping, what remains difficult and what needs to change in our work. Your experience and our ongoing conversation help guide the process.

Alongside clinical practice, I have researched romantic and close relationships since 2016. From 2023 to 2025, I was a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Calgary, studying forgiveness, unforgiveness, and revenge in close relationships.

Questions in my research

• How do people communicate that they have not forgiven a partner?
• What does research tell us about revenge in romantic relationships, and what remains unclear?
• How do beliefs about romantic love and early emotional patterns relate to responses when a partner causes hurt?

These research interests connect with questions that also arise in therapy: how does someone understand a hurtful experience, how do they respond, and what keeps a conflict going? Research informs the questions I ask; we explore what fits your own experience and goals.