Hi, my name is Joselin Zak and I live in Toronto, ON. [feeling unsure what to say next…maybe start with my life story?] My family sought refuge in Canada from Nicaragua back in ‘87 due to the civil war in Nicaragua. I have lived in Toronto ever since. I speak both Spanish and English fluently but English is my go-to language. I live in the North end of Toronto. I have a vacation home that I enjoy spending time in located in Collingwood, ON (people like to go up there to ski and snowboard – both at which I am not good at but vacations and getaways are always nice). My present family context? I am part of a blended family – I was married and then divorced and have re-partnered. My partner and I have been living together for five years and together we have our two boys and our dog. Our two boys are completely different and yet similar which makes for an interesting home. My son is 8 years old and he means the world to me – he is a perfectionist, slightly anxious, a high achiever and a people pleaser but has a heart of gold (as I smile nervously ‘I don’t know where he gets it from?”- me. He gets it from me]. My stepson is 10 years old and also has a heart of gold. Our dog is playful and rambunctious and drives us nuts in the most precious of ways.
I started my career as a Child and Youth Worker (I had completed a CYW diploma in college straight out of high school) and worked in varying jobs as I got myself through further schooling. At this time, I worked as an ABA therapist with young people living with autism. I am very familiar with ABA therapeutic practices. I have worked with young offenders doing rehabilitative work as they are being released, I have worked in community development within the LGBTTQQ2S community and within cancer care. I have worked for an EAP (employee assistant) company. I have worked with young mothers assisting in housing access. I have worked in Home Health Care, helping adult access services from home. During all this time I continued my education, I obtained a BA in Psychology and then an MSW degree at Wilfred Laurier University. (shortly after I got married and four years later, I became separated with a 1 year old and them divorced and now re-partnered – boy! Have I had a busy life!) My current jobs [I take a moment here, now to self reflect on the notion that I seem to always be juggling more then one thing at a time] are a School Social Worker – in this capacity I have three schools in three days (one different school each day). I see young people and their families for counseling, community resource referrals and crisis management and school consult and support. My other job is.. I am a professor at Humber College in the Child and Youth Care Program (both in the degree and diploma program). I teach various courses and have really found a passion in teaching future helping professionals.
I have decided to start this private practice so that I can better help those in need. I have worked so much with individuals struggling with so many different thing but the one main theme that seemed to separate those getting the help they need to those who were not was two fold: accessibility and the relationship they had/have with the counselor.
My work focuses to bridge the accessibility barrier. The goal of Bloom iCounseling is to break barriers for access. I am also relational in nature and understand that the most therapeutic work comes from building a trusting relationship with your counselor.
I struggle with anxiety myself and thus I "get it" so well. I thus incorporate a lot of mindfulness work into my practice. Please feel free to reach out and learn more about how I may be able to help you.
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