Feminist, Multicultural, Social Justice Therapy
Dr. Anusha Kassan
Registered Psychologist
“I believe that human connection can be an extremely powerful means of healing and I have a deep respect for people who take a chance and trust the therapeutic process. My love of psychology comes from a longstanding history of supporting the people in my life and I have a natural inclination towards understanding the human condition. I feel extremely privileged that my career path has afforded me the ability to teach and practice psychology as well as conduct research in the area of diversity – Something I am extremely passionate about!
I have a unique orientation to psychology. That is, I believe that the cause of psychological distress lies within our environment and broader society. I also think that everyone has the capacity to make positive changes in their lives. By exploring the aspects of our lives that are not serving us well, we can start to shift how we orient ourselves in the world. In parallel, I believe that adopting a strength-based approach, where we explore what is working well in our lives, can help solidify the changes we are working towards.”
Dr. Anusha Kassan is a second-generation newcomer to Canada who is originally from Montreal. She moved to Calgary with her family five year ago to purse a professorial position at the University of Calgary. She is a registered psychologist in the provinces of Alberta and Quebec. She completed her BA (honours) in Psychology at Concordia University, and subsequently pursued her MA and PhD in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She completed her Pre-Doctoral Internship In Professional Psychology at the University of California, Irvine Counselling Centre.
Dr. Kassan’s clinical interests include anxiety, depression, grief, mindfulness, relationship difficulties, identity challenges, career orientation, work-related stress, and anger management, to name but a few examples. She provides services, in English and in French, to youth as well as adults. She works primarily from a systemic perspective, where socio-cultural and contextual factors are examined in relationship to mental health and well-being. She also draws on people’s strength and resilience to help them achieve their desired goals.
Over the past 20 years, Anusha has provided clinical services in a variety of settings, such as the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the McGill Psycho-Educational and Counselling Clinic, as well as the University of California, Irvine Counselling Centre. Prior to leaving Montreal, she also worked in private practice. She is excited to join the clinical team at Vivid Psychology and offer her specialized services to a diverse clientele in Calgary. Dr. Kassan’s clients, graduate students, and colleagues describe her as someone who is warm, empathic, collaborative, helpful, and supportive, and someone who maintains a good sense of humour and is easy to be around.