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A conference that centres a different way of being
All are welcome to this conference, which aims to offer therapists from our diverse communities an opportunity to reflect and dialogue on ancient and contemporary Islamic understandings of self, therapy, and well-being. Our worlds are structured by our imaginings of it, and this conference explores Islamic understandings of knowing, being, and health, that may invite a wider understanding of the field of mental health as a whole.
Exploring intersections between spirituality therapy and politics
This is also important within the context of today’s political and geopolitical upheavals as we try to build therapeutic relationships with Muslim clients whose lives are structured by understandings of Islam. It is widely acknowledged that therapy is not neutral, and perhaps this is why Muslims in the Global North do not access standard therapeutic practice as often, as quickly or effectively as many other client groups.
Coming together
This event is a space for both Muslim therapists and their peers to reflect on the nuances of therapeutic work in the super-diverse Muslim community—a community that has often been subject to misunderstanding, suspicion, and surveillance. We will explore how Islam, Islamic Counselling, and Islamic Psychology, provide pathways to more culturally aligned and meaningful therapeutic experiences for Muslims. With keynote speakers, and practical examples of therapeutic work, we aim to provide valuable learning for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Course Content
Presenter
Stephen Maynard is the founder of Stephen Maynard & Associates, a trained counsellor, consultant and educator, working in the public sector and with NGOs.
He has worked with a number of central government departments including The Department of Health, The Home Office, The Department of Children, Schools and Families and The Department of Local Government and Communities. Also a member of National and Regional (West Midlands) Forums for Mental Health and Spirituality, Advisor to the Department of Health IAPT Programme (Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies) BME Communities, and author of their Muslim Mental Health Scoping Report, He co-founded the Islamic counseling courses.
He is the founder member of The Lateef Project, unique in offering Islamic counselling as part of mainstream services for the NHS in Birmingham.
Dr Tarek Younis is the Racial Justice Researcher at HealingJusticeLdn and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Middlesex University. He researches and writes on Islamophobia, racism in mental health, the securitisation of clinical settings and the politics of psychology. He teaches on the impact of culture, religion, globalisation, and security policies on mental health. As a registered clinical psychologist, he primarily attends to experiences of racism, Islamophobia, and state violence in his private practice. His book is called The Muslim, State and Mind: Psychology in Times of Islamophobia.
Hooman Keshavarzi is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois, he holds a Doctorate and Masters in Clinical Psychology and a Bachelors of Science – specialist psychology track/minor in Islamic Studies. He currently serves as the program director for the Masters in Counseling Islamic Psychology Program in Doha, Qatar, is a visiting scholar for Ibn Haldun University (Istanbul, Turkey) and adjunct faculty at the Hartford Seminary. He is the founding director of Khalil Center – the first Islamically oriented professional community mental wellness center and largest provider of Muslim mental healthcare in North America. He is also a senior fellow at the International Association for Islamic Psychology (IAIP), conducting research on topics related to Islam, Muslims and Mental Health. Hooman Keshavarzi is an international public speaker and trainer providing education on the intersection of Islamic studies and behavioral health.
Hooman Keshavarzi has also authored several published academic papers in recognized peer-reviewed journals on integrating Islamic spirituality into modern psychological practice.
In addition to his academic training, Hooman Keshavarzi has studied Islamic theology both formally and informally. He is a student of Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya from Toronto, Canada, where he attended his hadith and spiritual discourses for a number of years. After moving to Chicago, he studied informally with Shaykh Azeemuddin Ahmed, later formally enrolling in Darussalam Academy for 4 years. During this time he also did some specialized coursework with Shaykh Amin Kholwadia in Islamic counseling. He then transferred to Darul Qasim where he is continuing his higher Islamic education.
Myira is a multi-award-winning Accredited Counsellor, Supervisor, Coach and Counselling Tutor, and the Founder of the Muslim Counsellor and Psychotherapist Network (MCAPN).
Myira works in private practice, under her organisations ‘Myira Khan Counselling’ and ‘Grow to Glow’ and has over 12 years of clinical experience. Myira also delivers workshops and events internationally and is a regular speaker and facilitator at national conferences. As the Founder of the Muslim Counsellor and Psychotherapist Network (MCAPN), Myira runs the network for Muslim counsellors, therapists and psychologists, offering support, CPD opportunities and raising the visibility of Muslim practitioners. A visibly Muslim ethnically-minoritized practitioner, Myira represents a diversity within the therapeutic and coaching professions, promoting counselling and coaching to ethnically-minoritized, Muslim and under-represented marginalised communities and clients.
Ramzia is a psychotherapist trained in the Islamic Counselling Model, with extensive experience providing support to individuals from diverse cultural and faith-based backgrounds. She currently leads the Mental Health Team at a charity focused on refugees and asylum seekers, while also supporting survivors of domestic abuse through her work with Nour. Ramzia offers culturally and faith-sensitive one-to-one counselling, seasonal group therapy, psychoeducation workshops, parenting sessions, professional training on refugee and migrant mental health, and supervision. Fluent in Dari/Farsi and English, she tailors her sessions to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of her clients. She is also trained in post-cult recovery therapy, with specialized expertise in addressing the dynamics of power and control in personal relationships, high-demand groups, and cult-like environments. In addition to her psychotherapy practice, Ramzia collaborates with a leading humanitarian organization in Afghanistan, providing essential support to professionals as they navigate the complexities of the country’s current challenges.
Sabnum Dharamsi is a psychotherapist, and writer. She co-founded the Islamic Counselling Model, developing an accredited training curriculum and practice based on sacred, timeless ways of seeing and being.
Born and raised in the SF Bay Area, the traditional territory of the Ohlone people, she is passionate about serving her community. She is a certified drug and alcohol counselor and LCSW. She earned her MSW from CSU, East Bay (2017). She has a BA in Religion from Dominican University, with minors in Women and Gender Studies and Philosophy. She has a Masters in Religion and Psychology from the GTU with a Certificate in Islamic Studies (2009) and is a visiting scholar at the GTU. She has published in a variety of formats on liberation psychology, conversion, addiction treatment, and mindfulness, as well as a variety of other topics. Her most recent book is Islamic Liberation Psychology: The Transformational Force of Self-Development, Community Empowerment, and Revolutionary Change.
Waheeda Islam is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, clinical hypnotherapist and amateur poet. She is the Chief Executive of Nour, a charity working with survivors of abuse and trauma. Waheeda passionately believes in working in a compassionate and heart-centred manner, which is rooted in her training as an Islamic Counsellor with Stephen Maynard & Associates. She has her own private practice, Inner Rewilding Therapy, specialising in trauma and working with survivors of abuse. Waheeda is also Clinical Lead at Sister Circle who provide trauma-informed counselling to FGC/Cutting survivors. Following her Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Supervision, Waheeda provides clinical supervision to counsellors in private practice and at Sisters Circle, and for counsellors at Afghan Association Paiwand, a charity working with refugees and asylum seekers. In her chapter, ‘Themes in an intercultural approach to supervision: working with survivors of abuse’, published in ‘Intercultural Supervision in Therapeutic Practice: Dialogues, Perspectives and Reflections’, Waheeda provides a compelling case for mental health professionals to actively champion social justice.
