About Me

I am an Assistant Professor of Counseling at Hood College (Frederick, MD) and the co-founder and Mental Health Director of the HEAL Refugee Health & Asylum Collaborative in Baltimore, M.D. 

 

My clinical work, research, training and consulting focuses on trauma, torture, grief, and loss with survivors of war, violence, and persecution. My clinical work serves children, adolescents, and adults, with a specialty in expressive arts therapy. At HEAL, I also conduct forensic psychological evaluations, provide clinical supervision and consultation, and lead mental health training and program development. 

 

Previously, I was the program director of a mental health agency serving refugees and immigrants from the Middle East, South Asia and North/East/West Africa that I built from the ground up in Maryland and have developed integrative community mental health programs in schools and communities. Prior to joining Hood, I was a Clinical Assistant Professor at Loyola University Maryland for six years where I was awarded the Loyola Community Engaged Scholar Award. 

 

I hold a PhD in Counseling from George Washington University, an M.A. in Trauma and Violence Transdisciplinary Studies from New York University, and am shaped by my work as an artist, arts-activist and (former) doula. I am from Kashmir, was born in Saudi Arabia, raised in New York and have lived in the Washington DC / Maryland Area for over 15 years.