Board of Directors
OSRP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE  NATASHA TULETTA-BOWMANRP
I joined the board because I noticed that it is made up of members who 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: mail@psychotherapyontario.org
|
HAMMAM FARAHRP
Treasurer
Co-Chair, Advocacy Committee
Chair, Finance 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: treasurer@psychotherapyontario.org
Contact Hammam: advocacy@psychotherapyontario.org
OSRP BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ALETHIA CADORE
RP
Co-Chair, EDI Committee
Chair, Protect Subcommittee
Click here to read Alethia's full profile.
Contact Alethia: edi@psychotherapyontario.org
DIVIYA LEWIS
RP
Diviya Lewis is a Registered Psychotherapist and IFS Certified Therapist in Ontario and BC, Canada. She is a Clinical Supervisor and an Approved IFS Clinical Consultant. She staffs various IFS trainings (including IFS for couples, neuroscience, addictive processes), and is passionate about supporting BIPoC communities mental health.
She was first drawn to the OSRP because of their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion embedded in their mission and values, and hoped to find like-minded professionals to connect with amidst navigating a private practice, exacerbated by a global pandemic. She joined the Board to give back to a community that is at a turning point, and to offer skills and support to foster community engagement while advocating for therapists in a field that is changing rapidly.
She creates resources to support awareness and healing, including the podcast Brown Girls Don't Do Therapy, and guided meditations (available for free on Insight Timer). She is committed to her own ancestral healing practice, meditation practice, practical animism, energy healing, e.g. reiki, and believes in the importance of holistic health. In her free time, she loves Crossfit, hiking, cycling, dance, and cuddling with her rescue dog, Tigerlily.Click here to read Diviya's full profile.
TAYSIR MOONIM
RP
Taysir has worked across healthcare, corporate and community mental health sectors in Canada and India. As former head staff psychologist at a 2,500-person hospital, she anchored psychotherapy services & DEI, city outreach, advocacy & awareness campaigns, community partnerships and individual & group interventions for the hospital. She designed and led psychological health and safety initiatives, supported trauma-informed culture change, and strengthened collaboration across clinical, administrative, and leadership teams. She was a key committee member & trained internal committees addressing employee grievances, sexual harassment, 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion, and wellness for medical residents and nursing staff.
In a corporate executive role to a 16,000 member organization, she has co-developed and delivered management and leadership training with a focus on enhanced group dynamics & personal & professional values aligned development, and contributed to enterprise-level projects involving learning management systems and institutional resource libraries.
Taysir has been an astute, strong, and trusted representative of the organizations she has served, cultivating purposeful, lasting and meaningful partnerships with internal & external teams, community organizations, and key stakeholders in the field.
She is honoured to serve on the OSRP Board and is committed to strengthening a more transparent, collaborative, inclusive, connected and sustainable professional community for over 1,300 members across Ontario.
She is deeply invested in and actively listening to the needs and concerns of current members while growing the membership by strengthening OSRP’s advocacy, value and supports for current and future psychotherapists across the province.Click here to read Taysir's full profile.
GWEN SHANDROSKI
RP
I have been working as a health care professional for almost 40 years.
Initially, I became interested in what happens to the human body when communication is impeded. This curiosity launched my career as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Then I began to explore the psychological issues involved in communication. I discovered the use of art to facilitate internal expression and communication. This led to my second career as a Psychotherapist and Expressive Arts Therapist combined with my clinical work as a Speech Pathologist.
I am deeply interested in interpersonal communication. I completed my studies at the Toronto Institute of Human Relations where the focus was on knowledge of self as a pre-requisite to developing effective skills as a psychotherapist. My work now centers on supervision of students, psychotherapy with youth and children, families and adults.
I was a member (and former president) of the OSRP board 15 years ago. I choose to let my name stand to be on the OSRP board for 2025. I look forward to meeting and working with the next generation of psychotherapists and discovering the links and connections we can make to enhance our profession.
Click here to read Gwen's full profile.
SHIRA SMITH-BLOOMFIELD
RP
The Board of the OSRP is the heart of this organization, of which I am honoured to now be part. It plays a crucial role in advocating for psychotherapists, with the potential to positively impact mental health across Ontario. As a Board member, I’m committed to supporting the mission of the OSRP and advancing the best interests of both our members and the public.I came to this profession as a second career, graduating with an MACP in 2022. My practice focuses on clients who feel overwhelmed, burned out, or anxious — often parents and often dealing with physical pain. I work with individuals who identify as Highly Sensitive People, as described by Elaine Aron, helping them make sense of their experiences and struggle to contextualize their lived experience within the world they encounter. My approach to treating chronic pain and discomfort is grounded in neuroplasticity and evidence-based pain research, including my training in Pain Reprocessing Therapy. I aim to help clients find the delicate and teeteringly unsatisfying balance between caring for self and navigating a world that doesn’t always accommodate differences.
Where did I learn this? My personal journey has shaped my perspective. Leaving and later reflecting on a religious belief system, along with my undergraduate studies led me to value ethics and integrity in my work. I’m particularly grateful for courses on informal argumentation, ethics, and epistemology that help me understand complex issues. As a mother of four who homeschooled for many years, and through years of volunteer work (including sitting on a local ratepayers’ executive board), I’ve also gained firsthand insight into how idealistic and academic ideas translate into the messy realness of everyday life (spoiler: it’s often as hard as it seems).
Click here to read Shira's full profile.
Wellness CommitteeChair: Natasha Tuletta-BowmanCo-Chair: Carl DaleyThe objective of the Committee is to support the overall health and well-being of our members, in order to thrive professionally.Click here to read the committee's terms of reference. |
Executive CommitteeThe Executive Committee is the nucleus of the OSRP Board of Directors. Members of the Executive Committee include the President, Vice-President, Past President, 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.With the Treasurer, the Executive Committee monitors OSRP financial matters. With the Secretary, the Executive Committee monitors minute keeping and communication among Board members. It is the committee within which the past, current and next OSRP presidents confer to provide joint leadership to the Board and the organization. The Executive Committee as a whole is responsible to maintain, on behalf of the Board, a useful working relationship with the administrative management service provider hired by OSRP, currently Funnel Communications. The Executive Committee is responsible for organizing and executing the Annual General Meeting of the OSRP, which includes a meeting of the Membership Council and a Business Meeting. The Executive Committee meets monthly, usually one week before the monthly Board Meeting. Other meetings may be scheduled as necessary.
|
Advocacy CommitteeChair: Hammam FarahThis committee advocates on issues that benefit and impact Registered Psychotherapists as a whole. The Advocacy Committee aims to stay aware of policies and issues affecting RPs coming from the College, provincial and federal levels of government, the media, membership requests, and related sectors especially mental health, professional training and insurance. The Advocacy Committee determines (“triages”) which issues to pursue based on urgency, relevance, impact on RPs and available committee resources and engages with the respective stakeholders to influence policies for the benefit of the practice of psychotherapy. Advocacy is a huge portfolio and requires many volunteers to cover it fully. That is why the OSRP joined forces with the 12 other psychotherapy associations in Ontario since the early 2000s in order to include our voice with others when we couldn’t possibly cover every issue ourselves. OSRP is both a leader and a joiner in advocating for RPs. Click here to read the committee’s terms of reference. Click here to watch a video about this committee PRPA Sub-CommitteeChair: Natasha Tuletta-Bowman This is a subcommittee of the Advocacy Committee. The purpose of this task force is to liaise with the Partnership of Registered Psychotherapist Associations (PRPA) and the Government Engagement Working Group (GEWG). 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. Click here to read the committee's terms of reference.
|
Connect CommitteeChair: TBDThe 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 read the committee's terms of reference. Click here to watch a video about this committee.
|
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion CommitteeChair: TBDCo-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 read the committee's terms of reference. 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 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. Click here to read the committee's terms of reference. |
Ethics CommitteeChair: TBDThe goal of the Ethics committee is to revise/improve By-laws including conflict of interest, the Policy Manual and the Code of Ethics. It is also responsible for developing Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Bullying, Anti-Harassment and Pro-Accessibility Policies for the OSRP.Click here to read the committee's terms of reference. 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.
|
Finance CommitteeChair: Hammam FarahThis 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 CommitteeChair: TBDThe Nomination Committee is responsible for filling positions on the OSRP Board. The committee is responsible for carrying out all the details concerning elections and, at the request of the Board of Directors, for submitting names to the Board in the event that an office becomes vacant before completion of the term. As a welcoming contact, the Nomination Committee would inform new members of the existing committees and task forces and solicit some input on the new member’s interests and skills. Included in the process would be recording a Member Profile form to be used for follow-up calls when positions are being filled. 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.Click here to read the committee's terms of reference. |
OSRP/CRPO CommitteeChair: TBDThe 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. Click here to read the committee's terms of reference. |