About Me
Photo by Sarah Bodri
I’m Roza Nozari — a therapist and social worker based in Toronto. I’m an Iranian-Canadian queer woman who was born in Toronto to refugee parents. Because of my experiences as the child of immigrants, I developed significant interest in the experiences of first and second generation immigrants, diasporic grief and disconnection / reconnection to home/culture/lineage.
My journey to therapy began fourteen years ago when I started volunteering for community-based organizations and spaces supporting survivors of gender-based violence. Since then, I have completed a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University (MSW) and have worked in both community-based organizations and private practice.
I walk with seven years of post-MSW experience in counselling/therapy and feel deeply honoured to do this work. I specialize in working with those who belong to queer and trans communities and BIPOC communities.
Outside of therapy, I’m a writer and a visual artist. I have a great love of dogs and newly, plants!
What role does embodiment or somatics play in dyadic forms of relationship therapy?
How can art provide a safe playground for healing developmental wounds, such as perfectionism, difficulty with self-trust or wounds related to rejection and humiliation?
How might decolonizing attachment theory allow us to deepen into the grief and anger that so often emerges in relational work. What practices emerge from this place, allowing us to widen our capacity to attend to the grief and anger? (ie., intergenerational grief, diasporic grief, grief from developmental wounds, grief related to land and climate devastation, etc.)
Some questions that are currently occupying my mind in practice are:
What I’ve studied so far:
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I am currently certified after completion of TIST Level 1, 2 and 3. As described by Janina Fisher, the developer of the TIST model, TIST “is a trauma-informed parts approach to therapy. In TIST, we work with the ‘living legacy of trauma:’ the emotional and somatic memories held by young parts of the self and experienced as here-and-now reality by our clients.” I was trained by Janina Fisher, herself.
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Completion of Sensorimotor for Trauma Themes (Level 1) in 2021. SP is a body-oriented therapy that uses physical interventions to support healing the impacts of trauma. Level One is focused on addressing acute trauma, rather than developmental or long-term, chronic trauma.
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I am currently completing Somatic Attachment Therapy.
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I have a certificate in Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies. I was trained by the developer, Linda Thai. This approach offers somatic strategies for navigating nervous system activation and dysregulation. This can be supportive to those dealing with anxiety, emotional overwhelm and flooding.
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I am currently completing this certificate, led by Kai Cheng Thom. This is a 25-hour training that offers a body-centred approach to conflict resolution. This approach integrates Kai Cheng’s Loving Justice Model.
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The Gottman Method is a skills-based approach to couples therapy.
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This is a body and movement oriented approach to trauma work. I was in trained in Level One by the developer, Jane Clapp, in 2019.
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Completion of Introduction to Dialectical Behavioural Therapy at Wilfrid Laurier University.
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28-hour training program on Transformative Mediation - theory and practice. Completed in 2018.