Naomi Midanik, HBA ’05, transitioned from leading marketing teams in the corporate and non-profit sectors to becoming a psychotherapist who helps professionals manage anxiety and burnout, and reconnect with purpose.

Interview by Mark Witten

For 17 years, I built a career in marketing, holding leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, BMO, and Plan International Canada. I loved mentoring my team, driving strategy, and translating vision into action. 

But as the pandemic hit, everything shifted. Leading a large team remotely while parenting two young children cracked something open in me. I was burnt out, and I could see my team was struggling, too.

I’ve always had an interest in being a psychotherapist. At age 10, I had my own Psychology Today subscription. As I helped my team members navigate the mental health struggles that came with COVID, I saw a glaring gap in the mental health field: there just weren’t enough therapists who understood the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds from lived experience. 

So, I decided to become the therapist I had been looking for. I earned a master’s degree in counselling and psychology, while still working full time, and launched Bright Balance Psychotherapy in 2023. These days, I help professionals and entrepreneurs in Ontario to feel better about work, whether that means managing anxiety and burnout, reconnecting with purpose, or getting unstuck from “meh.”

The feedback from clients has been great. The throughline in my old and new careers is that I like to get to the root of a problem. As a therapist, I can peel away the layers, help somebody truly understand themselves, and address the underlying issues that may be impacting their personal lives and work.

Then came another left turn: a breast cancer diagnosis in 2024. Going through treatment while growing a business and parenting young kids reshaped my understanding of vulnerability, uncertainty, and mental health. It also led me to create and share art, which I now post weekly on LinkedIn alongside daily reflections on leadership, therapy, and life after cancer.

This is an entrepreneurial journey, too. I’m a therapist and a business owner. In my marketing and networking efforts, I get to leverage the skills I learned at Ivey, which makes running a business feel like second nature. There’s pressure involved, but that makes it fun and exciting. This is exactly what I was meant to do.

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