I have over 25 years of experience in management, counseling, and teaching, primarily in the areas of mental health and wellness, I am pleased to join the exceptionally diverse team at FSHN.
My previous position as the Executive Director of Counseling, Health, & Wellness Services (CHWS)at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA (USA) and prior to that as Director of the Student Counseling Center and Health Services at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi & Dubai Campus. In these roles, I was responsible for overseeing overall operations and crisis management, as well as developing strategic plans, policies, budgets, staffing, and supervising a diverse team of mental health clinicians, medical doctors and nurses, trainees, social workers, and support staff. I also provided clinical supervision for the mental health professionals. Additionally, I provided clinical psychological services including individual, couples, and group therapy, to a diverse range of clients. Before moving to the UAE, I worked as a psychologist at Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, and was the Director of the Group Therapy Program. I was an Assistant Professor at the University of Akron, in the Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program.
As a U.S. licensed psychologist, I had the opportunity to train and work across a spectrum of clinical settings, including hospitals and universities including the New England Medical Center, George Washington University, University of Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute and Clinics, Southern Illinois University, Case Western University in Ohio, and The University of Akron in Cleveland, and gathered invaluable experience treating a diverse range of clients with varied diagnosis, including anxiety, depression, interpersonal issues, post-traumatic disorders and severe mental health issues (dissociation, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, etc.).
Over the years, I have also taught graduate level courses and provided clinical supervision and mentorship to master’s and doctoral practicum students across various universities in the U.S., and published numerous research papers in counseling psychology at international conferences in the U.S., UAE, South Africa, and Japan. I am able to provide services in English, Urdu, and Hindi.
Helping people, both clients and colleagues, thrive and achieve their potential. This is what gives me the greatest satisfaction and meaning and is the reason why I became a psychologist. I have been fortunate to have gained training and experience across a broad range of clinical settings, with excellent supervisors, and am comfortable with working with a full range of clinical issues, including complex cases and clients with multiple diagnoses. I also had considerable training in couples therapy and it is an area of special interest for me.