Mishaal Jannat
BA (Hons.), Psychology
SHE/HER
INTAKE TEAM LEAD
Mishaal’s name is pronounced
just like “Michelle”
QUALITIES
Mishaal is one of the Kaleidoscope Butterflies
(Intake Specialists) at Kids Reconnect.
This is her Superhero story,
and she wants to share it with you.
Kaleidoscope Butterflies
help to build joy for kids to see.
In their work, they use smiles, colours, and mirrors.
That’s because kids’ Superpowers
are always within.
Kids Reconnect Butterflies love to play,
and most of all,
they love helping kids find their way.
•
Mishaal’s Superhero Story
Attention Parents
Before your first session, you can share this story
with your child. You can also scroll below
to read about Mishaal’s professional experience
in her professional bio.
Mishaal loves helping kids who visit
EmPOWERland at Kids Reconnect
to choose their own special snacks
before their child counselling session.
Click on Shiwu, the black-and-white panda,
to hand him his own special snack!
Once upon a time there was a girl (she was about seven) called Mishaal, who did not like soup.
She liked healthy snacks, like veggies and fruits, but not soup. Not potato, not tomato. And not chicken or carrot. Not even noodle soup.
One day, she was having trouble eating her noodle soup for dinner, so her parents put Mishaal on a time-out.
Suddenly, she heard a kerfuffle (a bit of a fuss) under the table.
“OW!” a small voice said.
She looked under the table to see who that was.
Guess what she saw?
It was her favourite toy, a friendly panda stuffie called Shiwu. Her stuffy was much younger than Mishaal. Shiwu was little (only about six and a half) so Mishaal often had to explain things in easy ways so Shiwu could understand.
“Oh no, Shiwu. I heard you say “’OW’. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I am okay,” said Shiwu.
Mishaal was relieved. “Okay Shiwu, what happened?” she asked, with a gentle smile.
“I did not like my noodle soup, so I put the noodle soup bowl over my head. But now I am all gooey. And I am hungry.”
Shiwu started to cry.
Noodle soup belongs in your tummy,
not on your head, getting your hair gummy!
How they talked about their tricky feelings
Mishaal was good at listening. She was friendly and loved to help people (and pandas, too, of course).
Mishaal comforted the little panda. She asked him questions and listened to him, to understand his tricky feelings. Then, in her sweet, empathetic way, she offered him a hug. Mishaal was kind and smart, so she knew what to say and do to help her friend, in a gentle, warm, reassuring way. (What amazing Superpowers to have, wouldn‘t you say?)
Shiwu felt much better after that.
“Thank you for listening and for you kind hug, Mishaal,” he said. “What a good friend you are!”
Then they sat together, as friends do. They felt their feelings together. They thought about what happened and talked.
What did they learn that day?
“Shiwu”, said Mishaal, “it sounds like you are sorry for what you did. Is that right?”
The friendly panda nodded. “Yes, I am really sorry. I will not do that again.”
“That’s good, Shiwu, now how about we clean up?”
So they cleaned up the mess together and then they shared Mishaal’s delicious warm soup.
After dinner, they reflected. (Reflecting means to think hard, with your mind and heart, about something).
“Well, dear Shiwu, she said, what have we learned today?”
Shiwu thought hard before answering.
“I learned that I must not dump noodle soup over my head.”
“That’s right, Shiwu. You learned that, and you know what? So did I!”
(That’s what happens when we learn in a group – when one of us learns, those around us learn, too.
Learning together is one of the beautiful things about friendship.)
“Now let’s sit together and eat this nice noodle soup”, Mishaal went on. “It’s good to eat healthy foods and snacks, like noodle soup, veggies, and fruits. And it’s easier to do the things we need to do, with the help of our friends.”
That is how from that day on, Mishaal always ate all her soup at dinner time, without complaint. Carrot soup and broccoli soup. Tomato, potato, and green bean soup. Even noodle soup.
What happened when Mishaal grew up?
When Mishaal grew up, she went to university to study psychology and graduated with Honours (that means she got really good grades). Her parents are so proud of her! Now Mishaal works at Kids Reconnect, a special place for kids to play and talk to feelings helpers (child psychologists). At work, Mishaal loves being surrounded by beautiful toys when she makes intake phone calls to talk to parents and gives kids their special snack.
Even now, as a grown-up, Mishaal still finishes her soup, which is great. And sometimes, after dinner, she has delicious desserts, like strawberry, raspberry, and cherry sorbet.
When you visit EmPOWERland with your parents, you might see a panda stuffy in a play therapy playroom. That might be Shiwu! And we are pretty sure Shiwu would not have any noodle soup bowls over his head, aren’t you?
Exploring your Superpowers... your heart grows, sparkles, and thrives!
As Team Leads like Mishaal
know really well,
when kids reach for their star Superpowers within,
there are no limits to how far they can grow, soar, and fly,
how many fun friends they can have,
how kind they can be,
or how joyfully they can grin!
Mishaal’s Professional Bio
Mishaal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Hons.) degree from Mount Royal University. In addition to her academic support experience as a Research Assistant at Mount Royal University and her administrative support experience, Mishaal also brings the Kids Reconnect Intake team a wealth of heartwarming and impressive volunteer experience in mentoring, tutoring, intake, education, and community leadership roles within the mental health support field.
Since she was a child, Mishaal has held a strong desire in her heart to help children and families who are struggling to find support. Mishaal joined the Kids Reconnect team in 2022. In her Intake Team Lead role, she uses her professional experience and expertise to welcome kids, parents, and families, offering empathy and administrative support as clients seek child counselling, family counselling, and couples counselling services. Her favourite part about her Intake Team Lead role is listening to parents and talking to them about our clinic’s unique approach, focused on children’s strengths, not on cold, clinical diagnoses. In EmPOWERland at Kids Reconnect our approach is warm, positive, and empowering.
Michelle is always learning and sharing something new. She loves learning from children’s unbridled curiosity and how they are comfortable asking questions.
Asking questions, reaching out to learn from and support each other, being courageous, steadfast, staying playful, and trying our best is a great way to learn. Kids often excel in these areas, but as adults, our childhood skills fade if we don’t keep growing and learning.
Building diversity, belonging, and multicultural understanding as one large human family is one of Mishaal’s strengths. In addition to being professionally fluent in English, Mishaal also speaks Urdu, Hindi, and Kashmiri.
“Families are a primary support system for many people. One of the reasons I am so proud of our work at Kids Reconnect is that we help families to connect, heal, and become stronger. This has a huge impact on children’s sense of identity and it helps them connect with the world in healthy ways as they grow.”
— Mishaal Jannat
Our friendly Intake Team
Call or email our Intake Team to book an appointment.
