Board of Directors
OSRP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE |
NATASHA TULETTA-BOWMAN
RP (Qualifying)
PhDs, SMIM, MBA, BA, NYLC, CCPS
Certified Solution Focused Brief Therapist
Board Chair
Chair, Advocacy Committee
Chair, PRPA Sub-committee
Chair, EDI Committee
Chair, OSRP-CRPO Committee
Chair, Wellness Committee
I joined the board because I noticed that it is made up of members that are passionate about the call of duty. Also, I discovered that, from the inception of the organization, there have been positive changes. That said, there is still much to do, which requires the help of everyone, especially psychotherapists. I know that I am motivated and possess diverse skills and global knowledge that can be of great use to this wonderful organization. I greatly admire that the organization is made up of leaders that have the best interest of all psychotherapists in Canada at heart. Additionally, I believe that I can best serve the organization as an active member of the board of directors.
I bring with me over 20 years of professional experience within diverse fields, and I have held senior active leadership positions. I have had the privilege to sit on local and global boards. With that said, I am zealous about the advancement of mental health locally and internationally. I am committed to continuing to work towards eradicating the stigma associated with obtaining professional mental health services. Also, I comprehend the urgency for more to be done globally, especially in Canada, to safeguard the field of psychotherapy. Such urgency also brings greater attention to the fact that psychotherapy, like its counterpart, psychology, has its own unique platform and is not second best to any approach.
Click here to read Natasha's full profile.
Contact Natasha: president@psychotherapyontario.org
Contact Natasha: advocacy@psychotherapyontario.org
Contact Natasha: edi@psychotherapyontario.org
DAN SILESHI
RP
Board Acting Vice-Chair
Chair, Nomination Committee
Click here to read Dan's full profile.
Contact Dan: vice-chair@psychotherapyontario.org
Contact Dan: nomination@psychotherapyontario.org
KIMBERLY CATO
RP
Board Past-Chair
Kimberly Cato is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of True Roots Counselling Services where she provides trauma responsive and asset-based services through an anti-racism, anti-oppression, social justice, and somatic abolitionism lens. As an empathic and intuitive Black woman who navigates the world from a wheelchair, Ms. Cato, with intersectional insight, offers therapy, community building, and corporate consultation for those within her sphere of influence.
Ms. Cato is intentionally engaged in dismantling racism by decolonizing therapy through Afrocentric modalities and culturally adapted therapeutic practices that build multi-racial communities that thrive. She is committed to eradicating racism by facilitating healing circles designed to identify and address racial trauma, thereby empowering people to fully manifest their Ancestral Excellence.
Kimberly Cato is excited about her position as OSRP’s Board of Directors Chair and the process of embedding EDI principles in every aspect of the Society. In June of 2023, the EDI Committee launched the Race-Based Data Collection Initiative to establish a baseline understanding of who makes up the membership and who is missing from decision making tables within the Association. The resulting data aids in creating a space in which race and other forms of marginalization are not barriers to entry into the field of psychotherapy, resulting in an OSRP that can accurately represent the diversity of the community seeking therapy in Ontario.
Click here to read Kimberly's full profile.
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MICHAEL DIOTTEOSRP BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MAHSHAD ARYAFAR
RP
Chair: Connect Committee
I am an integrative psychotherapist and integral professional coach™, in private practice since 2011. I draw from a variety of modalities such as psychodynamic, trauma-informed, developmental theories, complex systems, and cultural identity theories to name a few. Most of all, I am inherently curious about life, exploring this thing called being human and the universal qualities we share. I bring an intentional focus on what connects us, rather than on what creates division. My own immigration experience has brought special attention to what it means to cultivate a cohesive cultural identity and sense of self when the host culture and original culture are at odds. In my practice I support individuals and groups to locate their sense of cohesion and inner compass, honouring the multiplicity that makes them who they are with the unique gifts they bring to the world.
In my personal time I nourish myself by cycling, spending time in nature, drawing, dancing, traveling, reading, and spending quality time with loved ones. I am creative and playful by nature and bring those qualities to everything I engage in, including my work.
My wish is that by joining the OSRP board I can be of service in supporting our members feel part of a larger whole, a place where their beautiful complexity is welcomed and celebrated.
Click here to read Mahshad's full profile.
Contact Mahshad: connect@psychotherapyontario.org
ALETHIA CADORE
RP
Co-Chair, EDI Committee
Chair, Protect Subcommittee
Click here to read Alethia's full profile.
Contact Alethia: edi@psychotherapyontario.org
HAMMAM FARAHRP
Co-Chair, Advocacy Committee
I am a Palestinian Canadian whose life was greatly impacted by the experience of childhood immigration and political developments in the Middle East. In my spare time, I fight injustice and inequality as a human rights activist and community organizer. I have also worked with immigrants and refugees, providing settlement services and group counselling sessions. My passion for psychotherapy stems from my conviction that a better world is possible.
As hard as change was for me in my own life transitions, it would be change that would drive me forward; the desire to understand myself and improve, to do the work that would be necessary to become the person I am today.
I hope to bring my passion for change to the OSRP as we continue to grow and inspire.
Click here to read Hammam's full profile.
Contact Hammam: advocacy@psychotherapyontario.org
MARIA WALLIS
Co-Chair, Advocacy Committee
Maria Wallis is a community capacity builder, an academic/scholar, and a registered social worker trained in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. She has a PhD in Sociology from York University, Canada. She has worked in the immigration and settlement non-profit sector for over 15 years. This work has focused on gender-based violence (GBV), racial trauma and youth-at-risk among other social justice issues. She has also co-facilitated Partner Assault Response Groups for men, and anti-racism and leadership workshops/camps for BIPOC youth with Toronto District School Board and the York District School Board. Maria has worked in the post-secondary sector for over 15 years. She has co-edited 3 academic books that focus on intersectionality and racial justice framed within a social determinants of health perspective. Maria is the eldest of 5 girls in her family, is a South-Asian woman from Karachi, Pakistan who migrated to Canada in the 1970s, and is the mum to adopted daughter, Rose. Princess, the black Labrador and Red, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel round up the family.
Click here to read Maria's full profile.
Contact Maria: advocacy@psychotherapyontario.org
Wellness CommitteeChair: Natasha Tuletta-BowmanCo-Chairs: Carl Daley, Cindy ElkertonThe objective of the Committee is to support the overall health and well-being of our members, in order to thrive professionally. |
Executive CommitteeThe Executive Committee is the nucleus of the OSRP Board of Directors. Members of the Executive Committee include the Chair, Vice-Chair, Past-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary of the OSRP Board, and any Board members and any other members in good standing that the Executive may, from time to time, appoint. The Executive Committee provides a concentrated administrative function for the OSRP Board. Each month, it reviews the past and planned work of the Board. It also receives and discusses any pressing issues that have suddenly emerged from inside or outside the organization. With this information, the Executive Committee sets priorities and plans the agenda for the upcoming Board meeting. It reports to the Board its recommendations concerning any significant action or policy that is not part of another committee’s work to bring forward or to carry out.
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Advocacy CommitteeCo-Chairs: Hammam Farah, Natasha Tuletta-Bowman, Maria WallisThis committee advocates on issues that benefit and impact Registered Psychotherapists as a whole. Click here to watch a video about this committee PRPA Sub-CommitteeChair: Natasha Tuletta-Bowman This is a subcommittee of the Advocacy Committee. Its responsibilities are to liaise with PRPA (Partnership of Registered Psychotherapist Associations) and the GEWG (Government Engagement Working Group). Committee members attend PRPA & GEWG meetings to represent the interests of the OSRP and its members, and inform/advise the Executive and Advocacy Committees about potential areas of focus. PRPA is a collective of Ontario associations joined in discussion regarding advocacy issues as they emerge for Ontario Registered Psychotherapists. The goal of the PRPA is to strengthen the profession of Registered Psychotherapists in Ontario by responding to and advocating for issues pertaining to the practice of psychotherapy.
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Connect CommitteeChair: Mahshad AryafarThe Connect Committee is the communication arm of the OSRP Board. It ensures that our members are kept up to date on all things that benefit them and their practices, including: professional development opportunities and supports, important CRPO updates, relevant events and more. We connect our members directly to each other and foster community through a variety of channels including our listserv, blog and social media, to assist prospective clients in finding a therapist and to help therapists find a warm, safe and professional home. Click here to watch a video about this committee.
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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion CommitteeChair: Natasha Tuletta-BowmanCo-Chair: Alethia CadoreThe Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee understands that multiple approaches and points of view make up the core values of the practice of psychotherapy. It also understands that exclusion and racism are systemic in our culture and have affected our practices in deeply embedded, often unconscious ways. The committee, therefore, aims to ensure that residents of Ontario, including our most marginalized, vulnerable populations, are able to confidently and safely access the highest standards of therapeutic care available. And we intend to make sure that our practitioners receive as much insight and support as they need in order to bring their empowered, full and authentic selves to the conversation. This pioneering initiative of the OSRP holds anti-racism, anti-oppression and social responsibility as its defining ideals. Click here to watch a video about this committee. Click here to watch the recording of our race-based data lunch and learn seminar. BIPoC Bursary & Scholarship Committee Sub-CommitteeChair: TBD This committee reviews applications for OSRP’s BIPoC membership bursaries and CRPO Exam Prep Course scholarships and makes recommendations to the OSRP board based on those reviews. |
Ethics CommitteeChair: TBDThe goal of the Ethics committee is to revise/improve By-Laws including COI, Policy Manual and Code of Ethics. It is also responsible for developing Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Bullying, Anti-Harassment and Pro-Accessibility Policies for the OSRP.Protect Sub-CommitteeChair: Alethia Cadore This sub-committee help RPs, RP(Q)s and Students to protect themselves by identifying common ethical challenges and self-education around practising safely and ethically. It initiates programs including webinars, newsletter articles, etc., that help protect members before an ethical breach happens, from which complaints to the CRPO may arise, and drives discussions in Community groups for RPs. Click here to watch a short video about this sub-committee.
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Finance CommitteeChair: Michael DiotteThis committee prepares the annual budget to present to the OSRP board for approval, reviews and makes recommendations on the financial policies and procedures of OSRP. |
Nomination CommitteeCo-Chairs: Dan SileshiThe Nomination Committee is responsible for assessing the personnel needs of the Board by inviting OSRP members to join the Board.The committee orients new members and provides them with information, guidance and leadership, especially during the Interim Period between AGM and first Board meeting. It also provides oversight and leadership of the AGM. |
OSRP/CRPO CommitteeCo-Chairs: The Executive Committee (Kimberly Cato, Michael Diotte, Dan Sileshi, Natasha Tuletta-Bowman)The purpose of the committee is to create open dialogue and communication between the OSRP and CRPO in regards to member questions, areas of concern or clarification, and so forth. As the governing body for psychotherapists, it is important that we maintain a co-operative relationship with the CRPO through ongoing, open communication, while also ensuring that the needs/concerns of our members are addressed. |