Farzaneh Sharifi

North York, ON 437-***-**** ad4e2r@r.postjobfree.com

PROFILE

Registered and bilingual social work professional with 8 years of experience providing direct therapy and community/group development across diverse cultural backgrounds and socio-economic communities. Social justice advocate, leveraging empathetic approach to foster strong rapport and inclusive environments among priority populations, including immigrants, refugees, intellectually disabled, people with mental health issues and other marginalized groups of all ages.

EXPERIENCE

Individual Support Worker II 01/2019 – Present

Community Living Toronto Toronto, ON

Community Living Toronto is a recognized leader in community-based care offering a full range of personalized services and support to over 4,000 people with intellectual disabilities and their families in more than 80 Toronto locations.

Collaborate with team of 12 (including supervisors and social workers) to provide strong community development among mental health patients in social housing, expanding personal caseload from 1 to 6 clients over tenure.

Prepare trainings for colleagues to share insights on each client, including behavioral tendencies and individual needs, to ensure proper documentation and prevent behavioral outbursts during face-to-face onsite visits.

Engage in bimonthly team meetings to share updates on clients, deliver accurate reports of client progress, and implement strategies from psychologists and other professionals to improve client behavior.

Record and review case notes in CRM to align with the team on client needs and devise treatment plans to improve the physical and mental health for clients across all team shifts.

Execute interventions whenever necessary by collaborating with healthcare providers and family members to prevent or manage crisis situations and improve client self-sufficiency with enhanced life & behavioral skills.

Tailor treatment plans to exercise sensitivity to the impact of social, economic, environmental and cultural issues on diverse communities and act as an advocate for diverse clients to receive proper holistic care.

Cultivate trust with client families to understand unique socio-economic and cultural conditions of the community and enhance ability to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and build trust.

Deploy assessment, psychotherapy and psychosocial counseling techniqueswith a specialization in emotional-focused therapy and CBT for anxiety and EFT to more accurately identify issues and deliver more effective interventions.

Observe clients for changes in physical, emotional, mental or behavioral conditions and employ crisis prevention techniques such as assessment, active listening, communication, safety planning and de-escalation to mitigate issues.

Program Facilitator 04/2016 – 11/2019

North York Women Centre (NYWC) Toronto, ON

Founded in 1988, NYWC is a charity-based community of diverse women providing free programs for women’s empowerment, skills development and 1:1 support to advance equality and empower women to effect positive change.

Facilitated psycho-educational support groups 4x per year for groups of 10-15 women from diverse populations, including newcomers, immigrants, refugees and women struggling with mental health issues, to create social bonds.

Leveraged pre- and post-program assessment tools to gauge each individual’s progression and mental state throughout the 9-week program, achieving measured improvement from the majority of participants.

Analyzed curriculum and planned interactive group activities to establish an engaging, supportive, safe and judgment-free environment with high confidentiality, driving an exceptional participant retention rate of 70%+.

Partnered with other staff members to conduct debrief meetings after each program session to evaluate effectiveness and collaborate on improvement methods and adaptable teaching techniques for individual needs.

Established positive relationships with community partners and developed marketing materials to expand programming opportunities and enhance program recruitment efforts, ensuring consistency of quarterly programs.

EDUCATION

Masterof Social Work – Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) Toronto, ON 10/2023

Bachelor of Social Work – York University Toronto, ON 06/2022

Community Support Work Program Diploma – George Brown College Toronto, ON 06/2018

CERTIFICATIONS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Emotional-Focused Therapy (EFT) – ICEEFT01/2024

Family Mediation (80-Hour Practicum)– York University and FMPO 10/2023 – 11/2023

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) – Beck Institute10/2023

CPR – Community Living Toronto 07/2023

VOLUNTEER/PLACEMENT

Student Placement – Mental Health Help Line Counselor – Naseeha Help Line Organization 08/2023

Student Placement– Community Development– Endless Possibilities and Hope Organization 07/2022

Student Placement – North York YMCA Employment and Immigrant Services 2017/2018

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