About Me
Writing about myself is a challenging task - where do I begin, what do I include, and what do I leave out. When something is challenging for me I often give myself a rule that I can follow and use it as a launching pad. The rule that I am choosing to follow when telling you about myself is that I will let you know all that you may need to know to be able to form a therapeutic relationship with me. If this is too much to read - I've bolded the important parts.
Hello!
My name is Rana Khan. I have spent much of my life trying to balance the many contradictions and conflicting ideas that I have been exposed to as a child of Muslim immigrants. From an early age I saw that the life I had at home did not match the life I had outside of my home as well as the influence of the external environment to my own internal environment. This invited me to have questions about belonging, values, identity, expectations, differences, and trying to figure out what it all means.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and Mental Health Studies from the University of Toronto, which exposed me not only to the beautiful world of psychology and brain science, but also the beautiful world of multiculturalism. A lot of my questions began to have answers but now I was confronted with another topic - relationships. Being in an intercultural relationship myself, I began exploring intercultural relationship conflict and wrote my undergraduate thesis on the unique challenges that intercultural couples have.
My path to becoming a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) and a Registered Marriage & Family Therapist (RMFT) was not linear - there were many bumps and challenges along the way. The bumps and challenges exposed me to experiences in family and community mental health, addictions, and pain management. Through it all, I saw one constant - relationships. People's relationship with themselves, with others, and the culture at large was and is in my view the source of conflict - inner conflict or relational conflict. I had to explore this further, and with this passion I got accepted to do a Masters of Science in Couples & Family Therapy at the University of Guelph. The program is an accredited program that is accredited by two major bodies of accreditation - The College of Registered Psychotherapist of Ontario (CRPO) and the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).
Through the extensive program I was exposed to various therapeutic modalities such as dialogic/collaborative therapy, solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy, and emotion-focused couples therapy. To graduate the program, you are required to complete 500-hours of therapy which allowed me to be exposed to a wide range of issues with a wide range of clientele. I quickly learned what I was comfortable with, what I wasn't, what my style was, and what were my growing edges. I also finished a graduate thesis on how immigrant families can communicate about sex.
Since I've graduated, I have worked at community based agencies and private practices - serving clients in Peel-Dufferin, Milton, Guelph, Tottenham, Vaughan, and Toronto. I currently reside in my family home with my wife and child where I've had the honor of putting all my theory finally into practice. In my spare time, I enjoy making people laugh, reading, writing, hiking, watching football, and watching Netflix. And the rest I am just trying to figure it out like the rest of us. To know more about my therapeutic approach - click here.
Thank you for reading!
