Moving to a new country asks more of you than the people around you usually see. There is the paperwork, the job, the language, the weather. Underneath all of that there is the harder work of building a life here without losing who you were before you came.Therapy is a place to put that second part into words. At 101 Psychotherapy in Vaughan, you can do that in English, Farsi, Dari or Tajik, in person or by secure video anywhere in Ontario.
- Registered Psychotherapist
- Provider through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)
- Sessions in English, Farsi, Dari and Tajik
- In person in Vaughan, or online across Ontario
Meet Your Therapist
Pary Roshany, Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO #12989)
Pary Roshany holds a Master of Arts in Counselling and Psychotherapy from Yorkville University. She works with teens, adults and older adults, and with individuals, couples and families. Her approach draws on CBT, DBT, ACT, IFS, EFT and culturally sensitive practice.
Pary works with immigrants and refugees, and offers full sessions in English, Farsi, Dari and Tajik. She is a provider through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP). She welcomes clients of all backgrounds.
View Pary's ProfileWhat Immigrants and Refugees Carry Into Therapy
What people bring to therapy depends a lot on how they left. Someone who chose to move and someone who had to run are not living the same story, even if they end up on the same street in Vaughan. This is not a list of symptoms. These are the things that come up most often, and any one of them is reason enough to book.
Acculturation Stress
Acculturation stress is the strain of living in two cultures at once. It shows up in small ways: knowing the words but not the joke, reading a room correctly and still feeling outside it, doing well everywhere and feeling at ease nowhere. It is tiring, and it is hard to explain to people who have not done it. That is part of why it often goes unspoken for years.
Language Barriers
A second language costs energy even when you speak it well. There is a gap between what you mean and what you can say quickly. In therapy that gap matters more than almost anywhere else, because the work is made of words. Some things only exist in the language they happened in. Grief especially tends to stay in your first language.
What You Carried With You
Some people leave a country. Some people escape one. If what happened before you arrived still comes back, in your sleep, in a loud noise, in a queue at the pharmacy, that is not weakness. It does not have to be permanent. It can be worked on directly.
Money and Work
Qualifications do not always transfer. People who managed teams at home end up driving or stacking shelves here. The distance between what you trained for and what you are allowed to do is not only about money. It is about who you are, and it wears people down quietly.
Family Far Away
Distance does not reduce obligation. There are people you love in another time zone, decisions being made without you, a parent getting older on a video call. Meanwhile the family here needs you present. Being pulled in two directions at once is exhausting.
Getting Care At All
Working out how healthcare works here is a job on top of your job. Who to call, what is covered, whether asking will cost you something. Many people put off their own care for years simply because the system is unfamiliar and guessing wrong feels expensive.
Discrimination and Racism
Being treated as a category instead of a person leaves a mark, whether it arrives as an insult or as a room going quiet. It is not oversensitivity, and you do not need proof before it is allowed to have affected you.
101 Psychotherapy – Always caring, always here
Living Between Two Cultures
Immigration does not have an end date. There is no day on which a person becomes finished. Years later, people are still working out which parts of themselves to keep, which to adapt, and what they owe the people who made the move possible.
Honouring Where You Come From
You should not have to choose between belonging here and staying loyal to the people who raised you. Culturally sensitive therapy starts from the idea that your background is context, not a problem to solve. Your traditions, your faith if you have one, and your family’s expectations can all be in the room without being treated as symptoms.
Patterns That Came With You
Families carry things across borders that nobody packed. Silence about certain subjects. A particular way of handling fear. Habits that made sense where they were formed and cause trouble where you live now. Intergenerational trauma is not about blame. It is about what gets passed down, and what gets passed down can be looked at.
Building a Life That Is Yours
A lot of this work is permission. Permission to want something your parents did not sacrifice for. Permission to grieve a country you chose to leave. Permission to be glad you came and sad you came in the same week.
Therapy in Your Own Language
Some sessions go better in the language the memory is stored in. Pary Roshany is a Farsi speaking therapist in Vaughan. She offers therapy in:
- English
- Farsi (فارسی)
- Dari (دری)
- Tajik (тоҷикӣ)
These are full sessions, not a translated version of a session. If you would rather start in English and move into Farsi, Dari, or Tajik when the subject gets close, that is normal and welcome. Most people do not use one language for everything.
What to Expect
The first conversation is just a conversation. Say as much or as little as you want to. Your whole history is not due on day one. After that, a lot depends on the fit. If Pary is not right for what you are carrying, she will tell you and help you find who is. If she is, you meet weekly or every second week, at the office or over video. It carries on for as long as it is useful and no longer.
Sessions in Vaughan, or Online Anywhere in Ontario
We're here to support individuals and families across Vaughan, including Concord, Woodbridge, and Maple, and in nearby communities such as Aurora, Brampton, Markham, Mississauga, Milton, Oakville, Oshawa, and Richmond Hill, as well as Thornhill. We also welcome clients from across Toronto, including North York, Midtown, and Uptown Toronto. If you can't make it to our office, we offer virtual appointments across Ontario.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a permanent resident or citizen to see a therapist?
No. Your immigration status has no bearing on whether you can book.
Can I have therapy in Farsi?
Yes. Pary Roshany works in Farsi, Dari and Tajik as fluently as in English, either at the Vaughan office or over secure video.
What is the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)?
The IFHP is a federal program. It gives limited, temporary health coverage, including mental health care, to refugees, protected persons and some other groups in Canada. It is for people who do not have provincial, territorial or private coverage. Pary Roshany is a provider through the program. If you are covered, bring your IFHP details to your first appointment and we will go through them with you. Eligibility is set by the Government of Canada, and you can check whether you qualify on Canada.ca.
I feel guilty for wanting a different life than my parents wanted for me. Is that common?
Very. It is one of the most frequent things that comes up in this work, and it is not a sign of ingratitude. Wanting your own life and loving the people who gave things up for you are not in competition, even though they can feel like it.
Can we meet online?
Yes. Online sessions are available anywhere in Ontario, which matters if you are far from Vaughan, working shifts, or without a car.
Book Your First Appointment Today
Most people wait longer than they needed to. When you are ready, you can talk this through in English, Farsi, Dari or Tajik, at our Vaughan office or by video from anywhere in the province. Leave your details below and we will put you in touch with Pary, or phone (905) 597-2521.
