Naaz Kassam-Bhatia, MSW, RSW.
Education/Certifications
Vancouver Couple and Family Institute
Emotional Focus Therapy (EFT) Certificate (2011)
BC School of Professional Psychology
Advanced Certificate in EMDR (Level 1 & 2) (2004 & 2006)
University of Calgary
Bachelors of Social Work (2000)
Masters in Clinical Social Work (2003)
Who am I?
My name is Naaz and I was raised in a small town by my grandmother in Moshi. Moshi is the hometown of the Kilamanjaro Mountain in East Africa. Life was simple and close to nature. I left home in my early adulthood to pursue a career in nursing in England as my passion was making a difference in the lives of others. During my time there I got married and had 2 children with whom I immigrated to Canada in the 1980s. After exploring nursing and owning my own business, I decided to go back to my roots of helping others and made a career change. I got both my Bachelor of Social Work and Masters in Clinical Social Work from the University of Calgary and have an advanced certificate in EMDR therapy. I am a member of the EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) and the Psychotherapy Network. I started my career as a clinician at the YWCA Family Violence Prevention Centre providing individual and group therapy in the area of domestic violence. I also provided trauma therapy through EMDR to victims of violence and supervised and trained staff in the shelter. During that period, my role included contact with probation and child welfare services and working with other service providers in the larger community. I made a decision during that time to pursue a career in private practice and have been a trusted service provider to children’s services for the last 10 years promoting healthier communities and ensuring the rights of victims are protected. I provide risk and parenting capacity assessments and have been qualified as an expert witness in the Calgary Court System in the areas of domestic violence, trauma and children’s issues. Over the last 20 years, I have serviced ~750 families including adults and children and have helped them positively transform their lives.
I have worked with Morneau Shepell, Compsych, Homewood Health and Optum Canada EAP providers.
In addition, I was volunteering to provide consultations and clinical services to refugees and other faith based communities. Also, I was on an expert panel for the HomeFront initiative which addresses Honor Based Violence.
Languages spoken
I speak English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Kutchi and Swahili.