By Youdon Tenzin
Maryam discovered the Bridge to Registration and Employment in Mental Health (BREM) program through a stranger’s LinkedIn post. An immigrant from Iran with extensive experience in psychology field, she moved to Canada in 2019 with her parents. She landed in Calgary first and chose to move to Toronto in 2020 by herself as the city’s hustle and opportunities drew her in.
When she came to Canada, she was under the impression that the only way she could get her registration to practice was through a master’s program. She applied to a few programs in Canada but unfortunately, she did not receive an offer of admission.
One day, while surfing on LinkedIn, she came across a woman’s post talking about her positive experience with the BREM program. When she looked through the requirements of the program, she realized that her credentials checked all the boxes. She went to an info session and that convinced her to submit her application. Maryam started her cohort in September 2022 and completed it in August 2023.
“It makes the route that you have to take to become a psychotherapist a lot easier,” says Maryam when asked about what drew her to the program.
Her experience with the program had been one that exceeded her expectations, especially when it came to the tight sense of community and friendship she developed within her cohort.
It amazes me the community I’ve made out of this.”
While she enjoyed relearning about psychotherapy, she sees herself more as a businesswoman. She loves managing businesses, transforming smaller clinics into systematic and flourishing establishments. She used to manage a nature class back in Iran as well. However, she knew that her new country worked in a different way. The placement she went on exposed her to the rules and standards of professionalism in the Canadian workplace, something the BREM program taught her in class as well. Maryam took the lessons she learned and started her own clinic, Roots and Tales.
Maryam currently manages Roots and Tales, a mental health clinic that provides services to both adults and children. She recently also got a farm for the clinic, where it operated outdoor therapy-based programs.
“I really hope that I can get to a point where the parents of my clients can see a psychotherapist as I do. My role can be the safe space that they can come to and just talk without any judgement,” says Maryam.
She believes that a child doesn’t need to have a “big” issue to access therapy. She is happy to see parents bringing their child to therapy just because they think therapy is helpful, not only because their child is having behavioural issues or have become depressed.
Maryam says, “my goal is to broaden therapy beyond just four walls and one room.”
Her dream is to open a centre where she can mix therapy with other activities. She also has a strong belief in the presence of a multidisciplinary team, working alongside occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and teachers.
Roots and Tales is now on the road to become a placement centre for future BREM students.
