I am a counselling therapist and educator currently residing in Prague, Czechia, EU. My vocation forms an ongoing engagement in the areas that span the existential-humanistic and spiritual-mystical psychologies, as well as their philosophical underpinnings. A topic that I have been engaging in is a study in divine love (agápē) on meaning and purpose in life in the context of Islamic Sufi psychology, which I intend to explore and expand further, possibly looking at awakening experiences that may be categorized as a “dark night of the soul.” I intend to dive further into the phenomenology of the emotional landscape, particularly that of love, being that it is central in mystical/awakening experiences in forming an integrated concept of the self and positive well-being in a person and society.
My academic experience in psychology formally began in 2016 when I decided to enrol in a psychology degree in my early 30s. Since then, I have made the mental health world my metaphorical home. Having graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology, I continued to work as an academic advisor and lecturer in the first four years of my career in mental health. Throughout my vocational trajectory, I encountered various learning experiences, not just psychological theories put forth in the classrooms, but also the day-to-day realities of life. Something that I found rewarding was being able to advise and mentor students through the challenges of education. My academic interests include Transpersonal and Spiritual Psychology, Islamic Sufi Psychology, Cultural Psychology, Research Methodologies, as well as Phenomenological and Existential Psychology and Philosophy.
At present, my training and background have largely been in psychology (formal) and the Sufi/Islamic tradition (informal). Nevertheless, my engagement with existentialist philosophy and psychology has personally begun in 2010, when I first moved to the Czech Republic and had to grapple with the themes of isolation, loneliness, love, and identity reformation. It was also concurrently that I became immersed in Sufi thought. Thus, for me, the link between Sufism and existentialism has been experientially immediate. Since then, I have been making my involvement in existentialism—and by extension, phenomenology—increasingly formal, such as enrolling in a four-year psychotherapy training diploma in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy, where the phenomenological approach to psychotherapy is key. I have found that it is through psychotherapy and psychology that I may best link phenomenology to Sufism, the inward-directed mystical branch of Islam, encouraging life lived in the Real.
I have long been fascinated by the unfolding dialogue between mankind’s outward journey as caretakers of the earth and our inward contemplation as beholders of divine beauty and majesty. I am raised in the intersection between the Eastern and Western worldviews, embracing both. My spiritual background is rooted in traditional Islam and Sufism through familial ancestry and formal initiation.
When I am not working, teaching or studying, I enjoy quiet moments at home with my three cats, as well as coffee drinking, meditative writing, and intentional living.
Current Qualifications
Master of Arts in Psychology
University of New York in Prague
Bachelor of Arts in Human Development (with a concentration in Psychology) / Magna cum Laude
State University of New York Empire State College
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
University of New York in Prague
Ongoing Education
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology (exp. 2028)
Specializations:
・ Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrated Health
・ Existential and Humanistic Psychology
Saybrook University
Master of Science in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy (exp. 2026)
Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg / GLE-International
Professional Membership
Federation for Existential Therapy in Europe (FETE)
Individual Associate Member (Pending)
The British Psychological Society
Graduate Member (GMBPsS)
Certifications
Counseling from an Islamic Theoretical Orientation Certificate Program – Certificate One Course
International Association of Islamic Psychology (IAIP) / Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim Üniversitesi (IZÜ)
Certificates in Islamic Psychology
Khalil Center / The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
Topic 1: Understanding the Mental Health Needs of Muslims & Emerging Islamically Integrated Psychotherapies
Topic 2: A Glimpse into the Living Tradition Reading Abū Zayd al-Balkhī and Imām al-Ghazalī in Light of Modern Psychology
Topic 3: Introducing Traditional Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy (TIIP) – Foundations of an Islamic Orientation to Psychotherapy
Topic 4: Traditional Islamically Integrated (TIIP) Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Scrupulosity (Waswasa) in Muslim Patients
Topic 5: The Role of Dreams in lslamically Integrated Mental Health Practice
Topic 6: The Intersection of Islamic Jurisprudence and Mental Health: A Collaborative Care Model for Islamic Clergy and Mental Health Professionals