SVETA KOHLI 'AZAD'

Sveta Kohli is an Addictions Counsellor and a Counsellor/Advocate for Assaulted Women and Children. She is an Affiliate Member OACCPP (The Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors, Psychometrists and Psychotherapists.

She is also a Facilitator: 'Talking Immigration: Collectively envisioning just Migration', Train the Trainer on Talking Immigration for Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. As a Facilitator/Trainer she brings information about immigration for community engagement and continues the work of building immigrant capacity by critically assessing immigration policies in Canada. Sveta is committed to social justice and astute about constructive dialogue, action regarding dismantling systems of inequality.

Her core values of praxis are based in diversity, equity and inclusion. Her practice framework is anchored in Existentialist, Humanistic, and Feminist anti-oppression mandate. She provides Individual, Family and Group counselling sessions in private practice under "Trust-self" Counselling Services.As part of Case management she connects you with 'trustworthy' specialists: Lawyers, Health care providers, relevant resources, and support systems necessary in overcoming systemic barriers.

She brings demonstrated understanding and relevant analysis of issues of endemic sexual violence against Women, Trans women and Girl child from a gendered lens and also specific to South Asian culture. She has strong experience in working with immigrant, newcomer women, youth and children in Canadian context. She has In-depth knowledge and experience in international cooperation and global strategies to advance equality for women, knowledge of global citizenship, child rights, and youth and gender issues in international development and within Canadian context. In the past she has worked as a Volunteer Family Counsellor for Settlement Assistance & Family Support Services (SAFSS). On August 11, 2015 she was honoured 'In Recognition of your Being a Strong Advocate for Assaulted Women & Children' at the Women Abuse workshop by Settlement Assistance And Family Support Services (SAFSS)

Sveta is also a professional Interior Designer, Fashion Designer, a Stylist and Actor. Sveta has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), English Literature, and Political Science from Delhi University and a Diploma in Interior Design and Display from New Delhi Polytechnique. She holds a Post-Graduation Diploma- Marketing Management from Centennial College. She studied at OCAD University taking courses in Advanced Designing, Drafting, Rendering and History of Architectural studies. She is past member of ACTRA and completed her Acting I, II, III in Film and Television Certificate, Acting, Screenplay writing at George Brown College. Sveta was selected as one of the five top new designers by the Ontario Fashion Exhibitors for the September 2003 market. She is trained in Indian Classical dance under the world famous Bharat exponent Guru Sonal Man Singh and her other accomplishments include Forum Theater, Docudramas, Industrials and commercials. She was the popular host of Indian show 'Sounds of Asia' on City T.V and was selected to design for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundations Celebrity Bra Auction. Sveta's Creations has been featured as editorial picks; seen as the featured Designer at The ROM in 2004 and 2005, Global TVs Diva on the Dime, Style by Jury on WTN. Her creations have aired innumerable times on OMNI TV, Eastern Trends, Desi Magazine and National Post. In the past, Sveta's Creations limited collection was available at It's made, Naturally Petite, Felicia's Collection Boutiques in Ontario.

Sveta combines her extensive art background with her present Counselling practice to create awareness, creative intervention strategies for addressing issues of gender violence. She offers Motivational Interviewing for Substance Use, Behavioral Addictions and Concurrent disorders (dual diagnosis). She combines an integrative approach based in Gestalt, Solution Focused Brief Therapy AND Mindfulness (Yoga, Vipasana, Ayurveda), with Personality Dimension Awareness and Colour Therapy, Art (painting, sculpting, music, dance, and drama) as a tool for self-awareness, healing, recovery and rejuvenation. She is an Advocate for challenging the status quo, a strong relationship builder, influencer and community developer with a desire to mobilize a regional response to STOP gender violence. She speaks fluent English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Awadhi and Bhojpuri.

Presently she is also a Consultant: Grant Writer, Facilitator, Artiste, and Counsellor/Advocate on the project #Discovering StoriesInDurham made possible through Grant from OAC (Ontario Arts Council). This project will create opportunities for community members to collaborate with artists and other communities to explore common issues by expressing their stories through art and performance. Using fun-filled games and exercises, along with music, movement and visual arts, common stories and ideas will be shared during the workshops. Then, with permission from the participants, these ideas will be documented to discover the most effective artistic discipline(s) for community members tell their stories in a possible public presentation at the end of 2017/early 2018.