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In celebration of Heart Health Month this coming February, we’re excited to introduce GoodLife’s new 30-minute, on-demand wellness seminar topic: Heart Healthy Habits for Longevity and Healthspan.

Available in English and French, these 30-minute seminars offer practical tips empowering individuals to adopt heart-healthy habits that can positively impact not just lifespan, but overall healthspan, starting at any age.

Purchase by January 31, 2025 to access the recordings from February 1–28, 2025.

It’s not too late to support your January goal setting with our current on-demand seminar: Stronger Mind, Stronger Body: Setting Goals for Physical and Mental Well-being. These 30-minute seminars are available in English and French, supporting goal setting to promote optimal well-being. Viewing will be available until January 31, 2025.

January: Stronger Mind, Stronger Body: Setting Goals for Physical and Mental Well-Being with Nathalie Lacombe

February: Heart Healthy Habits for Longevity and Healthspan with Nathalie Lacombe

March: Brain Foods and Stress Solutions With Lisa Tsakos and Sara Tarek

Click here to view the January Workplace Wellness On-Demand Flyer.

Click here to view the February Workplace Wellness On-Demand Flyer.

Click here to view the March Workplace Wellness On-Demand Flyer.

Contact GoodLife for more details and to make a purchase now.

Yours in good health,

Workplace Wellness

GoodLife Fitness

Our committees are welcoming new members and would love to hear from you. We are seeking volunteers to provide diverse and varied perspectives to our association.

All members are welcome to join a committee that fits with their interests. Your voice is important. Join the OSRP Community!

All committee meetings are virtual, so you can volunteer from the comfort of your home/workspace, wherever you live!

Click here to read our committee descriptions

Complete and submit the following form to start the volunteering process.

Click here to volunteer for a committee

You will be contacted by the Committee chair to discuss next steps. Please allow up to 30 days for a response.

Volunteering on a committee is a member benefit. Volunteers must maintain a current membership with OSRP while volunteering.

Dear OSRP Community,

Thank you for embracing the Member Spotlight feature with me over the past year. When I joined the board and started chairing the Connect Committee, my goal was to highlight the incredible diversity within our membership and create opportunities for connection.

The Connect Committee serves as OSRP's communications arm. Our role goes beyond sharing news and updates; we aim to foster a sense of belonging across our wonderfully diverse community. OSRP is made up of members with unique identities, psychotherapy approaches, and life experience. I truly believe our differences enrich us, and by leaning into them, we can find deeper connection and understanding.

This belief inspired the Member Spotlight. I wanted the monthly newsletter to not only share information but also give us a chance to know one another better. Behind every member is a beautiful human with something unique to contribute to our collective.

This month, I'm writing this piece in lieu of a Member Spotlight. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to start the year by sharing the intention and vision behind this feature:

• Each month, we get to learn about a member - what led them to this profession, the populations they serve, their approach to psychotherapy, and what inspires them.
• Member Spotlight is a personal introduction to one of our valued members and does not necessarily represent the views of the OSRP as an organization.
• Participation is voluntary and we welcome every member.

Each conversation has been an incredible learning and growth opportunity for me. I hope it offers you the same gift — a chance to see the world through someone else’s eyes and/or to feel kinship with a member you may have otherwise not known.

If you'd like to be featured in the Member Spotlight, please fill out the form below. We'd love to hear from you!

With love,

Mahshad Aryafar

OSRP members, apply to be a Member Spotlight!

Bell Let's Talk Day 2025 to Prioritize Youth Mental Health as Young Canadians Face Growing Crisis

A new comprehensive national report was released on October 10, 2024 by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) which shows there is a growing mental health crisis among young Canadians. Bell announced it will prioritize youth mental health on Bell Let's Talk Day and will launch a text-to-donate campaign with 100% of the funds raised going to six youth mental health providers: Integrated Youth Services, Jack.org, Kids Help Phone, National Association of Friendship Centres, Strongest Families Institute and Youth In Mind Foundation.

On Bell Let's Talk Day, Canadians can give $5 by text with Bell matching all donations up to a total of $1 million, as part of Bell's $10 million mental health commitment in 2025.

Bell has created a toolkit  that includes stickers, posters and activities to share with your family, friends and colleagues to help start the conversation and show your support.

Click here to download the toolkit

If you are in a crisis, please go to your nearest emergency department or call the appropriate crisis line that meets your needs. Here are some suggestions:

Mental Health Crisis Line: 1-888-893-8333

Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (text: 45645)

Distress Centres of Greater Toronto: 1-416-408-4357

Women’s Health in Women’s Hands: 1-416-593-7655

LAMP Community Health Centre: 1-416-252-6471

TAIBU Community Health Centre: 1-416-644-3536

Youth Line for LGBTQ+ youth 26 and under: 1-800-268-9688

Gerstein Crisis Centre, Toronto: 1-416-929-5200

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8. Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Mia Omara, our final Spotlight member of the year — and what a beautiful conversation it was.

Mia came to psychotherapy as a second career after working as an editor in medical publishing. Her path into this field began in 2019, when she graduated from Yorkville University. Mia’s approach is both trauma-informed and deeply human, drawing on somatic, attachment-based, EMDR, CBT, and person-centred modalities.

Her journey into therapy is a touching one. After the sudden loss of a close family member, Mia had a transformative experience with her own therapist — an experience that sparked her passion for this work and the deep curiosity about human behaviour that still guides her today.

Mia’s practice focuses on neurodiverse young adults and healthcare workers, offering both in-person and virtual sessions. Outside of therapy, Mia is a voracious reader, drawing inspiration from Stoic and Buddhist philosophies. When we spoke, she was excited about attending 2024 PESI ADHD Conference — if you’re curious, here’s the link: PESI ADHD Conference.

Mia is currently accepting new clients, and you can learn more or connect with her here: Mia on Psychology Today.

Thank you, Mia, for sharing your story and your warmth with us. You are truly a gift to this profession!

Warmly,

Mahshad

We’re a community of over 1,000 members, and I’d love to meet and showcase as many of you as possible! If you’d like to be featured, please reach out through the form below—I can’t wait to hear and share your story!

OSRP members, apply to be a Member Spotlight!

OSRP’s office will be closed from 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, until 9 a.m. on Thursday, January 2, 2024, which means we won’t be returning phone calls or emails until January 3 or 4, 2024.

We wish you all the best for a healthy and prosperous new year!

The month of December is filled with various festivals, religious events, national days, and a multitude of celebrations that bring people together for food, fun, and frolicking. This may include Festivus, Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Independence Days for Kenya, Qatar, Bahrain, Libya, Mongolia, Finland, Tanzania, Portugal, and many more.

Though these are just a few significant dates people may celebrate or take time off to take care of themselves, friends or family, there are many different traditions associated with each holiday or significant day. Learning about the significance, stories, and histories of various holidays can help broaden our perspective beyond the holidays we celebrate year after year.

As active, retired, and student psychotherapists, we know that there are many for whom this time of year is uncomfortable, lonely, isolating, or riddled with thoughts of traumatic experiences, grie,f and loss. We are aware of the tumultuous emotional rollercoaster of this season for many. As we continue through this month of December, we may wish to use inclusive language in how we greet each other and not make assumptions about how people are getting through this time. In addition, we might consider providing our clients and loved ones with a crisis line number/website and other culturally responsive community resources to help them  get through this time safely.

We might practise asking open-ended questions of each other first, so we are not making assumptions. For example, “What are you doing over these next few weeks?” This question does not assume someone will be on holiday because they may choose to or must work; it doesn’t assume they will be with family members; and it doesn’t assume they celebrate a specific holiday.

Another open-ended question might be, “How do you spend your time in these winter months?” This example invites discussion without imposing a specific belief, expectation, mood, or pattern of behaviour. Once we’ve learned more about the person we’re talking to, we can then decide how to wish them well.

May all OSRP Members find showers of positivity, pockets of joy, and prosperity in HEALTH, WEALTH, and WISDOM in 2025!!!

Get ready to elevate your learning with SickKids CCMH Learning Institute’s biggest sale of the year! This is your chance to invest in expert-led, evidence-based training at an unbeatable price.

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This was my first chat with a Qualifying member, and I was excited to meet her. Mahzad is warm, caring, and passionate about helping others. She shared her career path, which began with a BA in psychology and sociology. She started working with the autism community by volunteering and eventually found a job in the field. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to pursue psychotherapy and attended Yorkville University.

Mahzad currently holds three roles: a full-time care coordinator position in the autism space with Access OAP, an independent contractor role at a private clinic, and she facilitates a weekly group therapy session for families with loved ones in rehab. She loves her work with the autism population and plans to focus more in that area moving forward.

We also talked about the importance of self-care for therapists. We agreed that, as therapists, taking care of our own well-being is essential to continue providing quality support to our clients. She’s mindful of the need to set boundaries, prioritize rest, and engage in activities that rejuvenate her. Our conversation reinforced how self-care isn’t just about relaxation — it’s about creating sustainable habits that prevent burnout and help therapists stay grounded, resilient, and present for those they serve.

Outside of work, Mahzad enjoys long walks, reading fiction (currently reading The Nightingale), practising yoga, and spending time with her pets. I even got to meet her cat, Pishi, who was sleeping as we chatted on Zoom. Although she identifies as an introvert, she cherishes her social connections as a source of emotional nourishment.

Mahzad can be reached via https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/mahzad-ghahremani-toronto-on/1352712.

Mahzad has been an OSRP member since 2022 and has less than 100 hours to go before becoming a Clinical member. Thank you, Mahzad, for being part of the OSRP.

With love,

Mahshad

We’re a community of over 1,000 members, and I’d love to meet and showcase as many of you as possible! If you’d like to be featured, please reach out through the form below — I can’t wait to hear and share your story!

OSRP members, apply to be a Member Spotlight!

For our final seminar of 2024, we are thrilled to share with you how to make your brand unmissable on December 7 from 12 to 1:30 p.m.

Nadine Daff is the Founder and CMO of Starlit Studio, a Creative Agency that specializes in branding and video for coaches and startups.

Nadine combines branding and marketing as seamlessly as a 2-in-1 shampoo. She has successfully monetized numerous business ideas by applying a consistent formula. Her approach to branding is comprehensive, encompassing design, copywriting, and marketability — each an integral part of your brand's constellation.

We look forward to sharing this experience with you.

Click here to register.