LiA Radio Interview
Hello! I recently graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology Research from the University of Toronto. I’m passionate about youth mental health and how humour can be used to support resilience after adversity.
My Summer 1 research project explored the relationship between childhood adversity, aggression, and self-regulation — deepening my understanding of the psychological impacts of early trauma.
In Summer 2, I led a Leadership-in-Action project at SOS Children’s Villages in Cape Town, where I designed and facilitated a comedy-based mental health program for teens.
That experience led me to found HaHaHelps — an organization that uses improv comedy to support youth mental health through accessible, community-led workshops. I am currently conducting a feasibility study of the program in South Africa as part of my master’s dissertation in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, with plans to expand to more communities globally.
Please feel free to connect :)
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/younessrobert-tahiri
Email: youness@hahahelps.org
![[Project Outline] The Impact of Race and Gender on Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment Equity](/cdn-cgi/image/metadata=copyright,fit=scale-down,format=auto,quality=95,width=256,height=256/https://public-storage.zapnito.com/uSzliKvKFInUwfupVY6RLlRd7fdKvRd9XYMadpvg6Iw)
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Hi Youness, I missed the interview on the live stream and would love to hear it. Do you know if they recorded it?
Hi Susanna, that is no problem—the recording of the interview can be found here. I just updated the post to include it there too.
It is fantastic. You are a natural broadcaster. The description of the games that foster self-regulation and empathy is so clear and compelling. I love the concept of a "lens of curiosity". So thrilled to hear about your future plans for staying engaged with them. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you (once again) Susanna for your support! I really appreciate it.
Always.
BTW - I shared it with the SOS Villages HQ too. Hope that was ok. I wanted them to be aware of the great work that you are doing and start thinking about how it could be scaled and sustained.
I love that! Thank you, Susanna.