They speak about the role of community, the impact of larger systems on personal life, and the importance of advocating for yourself while making sense of who you are.

This episode is a thoughtful conversation about fluid identity, empathy, self-compassion, and the beauty and complexity of growing between worlds.

Episode hosted and recorded by Forouz Salari (she/her) in Feb. 2026 - edited & mixed by Miranda Ramnarayan (she/her).

Guest Bio:

Xuan-Yen (XY) Cao (she/they) is a psychotherapist, community engagement facilitator and emerging artist in Ontario, Canada, who is deeply passionate about forging connections among individuals and communities through relational and multi-disciplinary approaches: https://www.xuanyencao.com/

Their lived experience and work with racialized, queer, newcomer and neurodivergent individuals informs their practice and deep commitment to fostering mental and emotional well-being with an intersectional and anti-oppressive lens.

He speaks about privilege, intergenerational influence, reconnecting with ancestral roots, and the courage it takes to move through different cultural worlds.

This episode is a thoughtful conversation about identity, loneliness, and what it means to honour where you come from while continuing to define yourself.

Episode hosted and recorded by Forouz Salari (she/her) in Jan. 2026 - edited & mixed by Miranda Ramnarayan (she/her).

Guest Bio:

Gio Iacono (he/him) is an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work: https://ssw.uconn.edu/person/gio-iacono-phd/

He completed his Masters and PhD at the University of Toronto.

He identifies as a white, queer, cisgender man and is a first-generation university graduate, who immigrated to the USA from Canada.

He has worked as a psychotherapist, clinical social worker, educator, community organizer, and researcher in a variety of health and community-based settings, for over 15 years.

His community organizing and advocacy work have primarily focused on diverse LGBTQIA+ communities.

They speak to the pressure to assimilate, the weight of navigating multiple identities, and the lasting impacts of colonialism, capitalism and racism on migrant lives.

This episode is a powerful reminder that migration is not just personal. It is structural, collective, and deeply tied to healing, resistance and liberation.

Episode hosted and recorded by Forouz Salari (she/her) in Jan. 2026 - edited & mixed by Miranda Ramnarayan (she/her).

Guest Bio:

Tracey Jastinder Mann (she/they) is a practicing psychotherapist in Ontario, Canada and a queer femme of colour who is working to support collective healing and liberation through their offerings of individual counselling, group facilitation and workshops: https://healingforeverybody.ca/

Their work is centred in an intersectional feminist approach to therapy and facilitation.

Their focus is on creating a healing space where individuals can explore the emotional dimensions of life changes, experiences of trauma, grief and loss, while also attempting to understand how experiences of marginalization, privilege and power influence our lived experiences.

He speaks about queerness, cultural inheritance, grief, and the weight of returning to a homeland shaped by distance and loss.

This episode is a powerful conversation about self-definition, fluid identity, and making space for all the parts of who you are.

Episode hosted and recorded by Forouz Salari (she/her) in Jan. 2026 - edited & mixed by Miranda Ramnarayan (she/her).

Guest Bio:

Rayan Anton (he/him) is a queer, trans Palestinian man and the child of an immigrant family who moved to Canada in the early 1990s.

He is a Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist in Ontario, Canada, working predominantly with queer and trans youth of colour - many of whom also come from immigrant families: http://www.rayananton.com

He is also a parent to a young child and is often thinking about what it means to hold on to cultural identity for himself and to pass it on to his son, in a society that is determined to erase Palestinian culture and identity.

She shares what it means to move between cultures, navigate Islamophobia, and carry the protective habits shaped by expectation, pressure, and the need to fit in.

The conversation also touches on body image, beauty standards, connection to land, and changing ideas of success within immigrant communities.

It’s a thoughtful episode about cultural humility, emotional intelligence, and learning how to connect more honestly.

Episode hosted and recorded by Forouz Salari (she/her) in Feb. 2026 - edited & mixed by Miranda Ramnarayan (she/her).

Guest Bio:

Nikoo (Nikki) Sedaghat (she/her) is the founder of Sedâ Psychotherapy, a virtual practice in Ontario, Canada, supporting individual mental health and relational wellbeing: http://www.sedapsychotherapy.com

As a Registered Psychotherapist, Nikoo's work is shaped by her lived experiences as a queer, neurodivergent, diasporic Iranian who grew up in Canada as the child of first-generation immigrants.

These identities inform her strong commitment to anti-oppressive practice and her belief in the transformative power of authentic connections that embrace the full spectrum of the human experience.

Through personal stories, they explore cultural negotiation, inherited expectations, and the influences that have shaped their lives.

They also share why they created Grown Between Worlds: to hold space for thoughtful, honest conversations that honour the complexity of immigrant experiences and amplify voices too often left out of the wider narrative.

Episode recorded in Dec. 2025 - edited & mixed by Miranda Ramnarayan (she/her).

Explore the Grown Between Worlds website: https://www.grownbetweenworlds.com

Learn about Forouz Salari’s work: https://www.forouzsalaritherapy.ca/

Learn about Miranda Ramnarayan’s work: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/eb40ec43d2314486a3607066060ca03d

This podcast is for anyone navigating the immigrant experience.

Introducing "Grown Between Worlds" - a podcast that dives deep into the stories of adult children of immigrants (people who immigrated as kids / teens, or were born into immigrant families after settlement) and their partners.

We talk about the complexities of identity, belonging, and the often unseen struggles that come with living between worlds.

This isn't just about trauma; it's about resilience, humour, and the beauty of diverse experiences.

Join us as we explore insightful conversations with guests who share their personal connections to immigration and offer wisdom for those on similar journeys.

Launching April 15, 2026!

Your story matters, your voice matters, and you are not alone.

Follow us for updates and subscribe to dive into these meaningful discussions!

Share this with a friend or loved one who may need to hear this!

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