Jonathon Zarb Therapy
Psychotherapy for Individuals, Couples, Families & Youth Across Ontario
Support is available for those who are:
⯈ Personally considering or are approved for MAiD
You may be navigating decision-making, timelines, values, and the emotional weight of what lies ahead.
⯈ Supporting someone you love through the MAiD process
You may be balancing caregiving, anticipatory grief, conversations, and your own internal responses while trying to remain steady for someone else.
​​​​Support when decisions carry weight and responsibility runs deep for you, or someone you love
Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) often comes after long periods of illness, caregiving, and uncertainty. Whether you are personally considering or approved for MAiD, or you are walking alongside someone you love through this process, the experience can feel layered, shaped not only by what lies ahead, but by everything that has already been carried.
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Some people feel clear about their values and intentions while still feeling the emotional weight of what the decision means. Others may not be making the decision themselves, yet carry the responsibility of supporting it, coordinating next steps, or preparing for what comes. Support here is not about changing choices or directing emotions. It offers steadiness alongside you while also helping you navigate the practical steps, conversations, and processes involved at each stage of the journey.
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Practical Experience That Reduces the Need to Explain
I bring direct experience and specialized training supporting individuals and loved ones through every step of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) journey, both in acute healthcare settings and in private practice. This work has included close and, at times, deeply personal proximity to the emotional, relational, and procedural realities of MAiD, allowing for a grounded understanding of the decision-making process and the sustained impact of serious medical circumstances on individuals and families.
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This work has provided a grounded understanding of how decision-making, medical systems, and family dynamics intersect under sustained stress. Many people find relief in not needing to explain the broader context or justify the complexity of what they are carrying. Sessions can focus more quickly on what feels most pressing, offering support that is steady, informed, and responsive to the realities of this experience.
Common Feelings & Reasons to Seek Support
MAiD-related strain can show up differently depending on your role in the journey.
⯈ For individuals considering or approved for MAiD
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Carrying the weight of difficult decision-making
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Reconciling personal values, beliefs, or spiritual convictions
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Managing timelines, paperwork, and medical steps while emotionally stretched
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Thinking ahead to the day itself and what it will mean
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Wanting to remain clear and steady while feeling the emotional impact underneath
⯈ For loved ones and supporters
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Balancing caregiving, coordination, and emotional presence
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Navigating sensitive conversations within the family system
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Holding your own anticipatory grief while trying to stay composed
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Feeling responsible for details, logistics, or being “strong” for others
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Worrying about how the day will unfold and how to support in that moment
While the roles differ, many shared responses emerge.
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As the day approaches, fear or anxiety may increase, even when the decision itself feels clear. Thoughts often circle around timing, what the day will be like, how emotions might surface, and how others will cope. These responses are common and understandable. Anticipatory anxiety does not signal doubt — it reflects the nervous system responding to an emotionally significant event.
For some, the emotional impact is strongest before the process begins. For others, it becomes more noticeable after, when activity slows and external support decreases. There is no single way this experience unfolds, and no requirement to have the right words to seek support.
What’s Often Going On Beneath the Surface
Behind the visible decisions and logistics, MAiD often creates sustained pressure on the nervous system.
⯈ For individuals considering or approved for MAiD
Long periods of illness, uncertainty, and responsibility can keep the body in a heightened state of alertness. Even when decisions feel aligned with personal values, the body may remain braced for what lies ahead.
As timelines narrow and the day approaches, there can be a mix of clarity, vulnerability, calm, and fear - sometimes all at once.
⯈ For loved ones and supporters
​Supporting someone through MAiD can also create sustained internal strain. Balancing caregiving, emotional presence, and practical coordination often means setting aside personal reactions in order to remain steady.
The nervous system may stay on alert - tracking details, anticipating needs, and preparing for moments that feel emotionally significant.
Therapy For Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)
Steady support through difficult decisions and navigating complex processes at every stage
Across both roles, emotional swings, fatigue, difficulty settling, or feeling both grounded and overwhelmed are common responses. These reactions are not signs of doubt or weakness. They reflect adaptive efforts to manage prolonged stress, limited control, and the emotional weight of what matters most.
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Support offers space to understand these patterns with steadiness and compassion, rather than self-criticism.
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Outside Factors That May Be Contributing
MAiD unfolds within medical systems, timelines, legal requirements, and family dynamics that shape how the experience is carried. While the decision itself may feel personal, the process is often structured by systems and circumstances beyond anyone’s control.
⯈ For individuals considering or approved for MAiD
Alongside navigating assessments, documentation, and scheduling, there may be quiet concern about the impact of this process on the people you love. Many individuals worry about adding emotional or logistical strain to those already carrying caregiving responsibilities.
Even when the choice feels aligned, there can be sensitivity to how the process affects others.
⯈ For loved ones and supporters
Supporting someone through MAiD often involves managing appointments, communication, coordination, and family dynamics. At the same time, there may be concern about whether the process itself adds pressure to someone who is already physically or emotionally taxed.
Loved ones may try to minimize their own needs in order to protect the person at the centre of the decision.
My Grounded, Solution-Focused Approach
My approach is calm, collaborative, and responsive to where you are in the journey. Sessions are guided by your pace and priorities - whether that involves clarifying decisions, preparing for conversations, navigating next steps in the process, or making space for the emotions that surface along the way.
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When working with individuals and loved ones, part of the work often involves holding and balancing different emotional needs at the same time. It is common for each person to be trying to protect the other. Creating space where both perspectives can be acknowledged, without one overshadowing the other, is an important part of maintaining steadiness.
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Rather than pushing insight or resolution, the focus is on reducing strain and increasing steadiness. This can include thinking through practical considerations, organizing what feels overwhelming, anticipating emotionally significant moments, and building the internal capacity to move through each stage in a way that feels grounded and manageable.
Support adapts as the process evolves. What is needed early in the journey may shift as timelines narrow or after the day itself has passed. The work remains steady, responsive, and aligned with what feels most supportive in the moment.
What Support Can Look Like
Support during MAiD can take different forms depending on where you are in the journey and the role you are holding.
⯈ For individuals considering or approved for MAiD
Support may include clarifying values and intentions, preparing for conversations with loved ones or healthcare providers, and navigating the practical steps of the process.
This can involve thinking through timing, documentation, coordination, and what feels important to communicate before the day itself.
There may also be space to process vulnerability, fear, relief, grief, or spiritual reflection - without pressure to arrive at a particular emotional outcome.
⯈ For loved ones and supporters
Support may involve making sense of anticipatory grief, balancing caregiving responsibilities, and navigating family dynamics. It can also include preparing for emotionally significant conversations, coordinating logistics, and exploring how to remain present while acknowledging your own emotional needs.
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​Some sessions may focus on strengthening communication and steadiness between family members, particularly when emotional needs differ.
Sessions are paced and responsive, with no expectation to move faster or share more than feels manageable. The focus remains on offering steady, relevant support shaped around what matters most at each stage - before, during, and after.
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​​The Intention of Therapy Here
The intention is not to remove emotion or bring the experience to resolution. It is to increase steadiness, clarity, and capacity while navigating decisions, processes, and emotions that matter deeply.
⯈ For individuals considering or approved for MAiD
The intention is to support alignment and steadiness as you move through each stage - offering space to reflect on what feels important, prepare for meaningful conversations, and approach the process with clarity and dignity.
Support is about helping the experience feel contained and less isolating, without questioning or directing your choices.
⯈ For loved ones and supporters
The intention is to provide space for your experience as well - including anticipatory grief, responsibility, and the emotional impact of supporting someone through this process. Being steady for someone else can require a great deal internally.
Therapy offers a place where your needs and responses can be acknowledged and supported with care.
The goal throughout is not to change what is unfolding, but to ensure that whatever this stage holds, it does not have to be carried alone.
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If You’re Feeling Unsure About Starting
Support through the MAiD journey adds steadiness and clarity that evolves through each stage, meeting individuals and loved ones where they are. Whether you are considering what this option may look like for you and your family, beginning to navigate the complexity of the process, approaching the day itself, or carrying the emotional weight afterward, therapy offers a steady place to think, prepare, and process.
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I welcome you to book an appointment, you do not need to know exactly what you need before we begin - we can take the time to navigate this together.
Visit the Therapy FAQ page to see answers to common questions about therapy, sessions, and what to expect