Hello! As a licensed clinical therapist, I provide respectful and compassionate services to help you identify your goals, and support you in coping with challenges along the way to achieving them. I have a social justice orientation that recognizes the impact of oppression, discrimination, and marginalization on mental health. I believe that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and kindly, and that our behaviors serve a function, whether unhealthy or healthy, understood or misunderstood. I work with clients who struggle with various issues, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, relationship problems, identity, and self-esteem. I use evidence-based approaches that are tailored to your unique needs and preferences. Some of the techniques I use include teaching skills around emotion regulation and distress tolerance, incorporating narrative therapy practices and cultural relational understanding of trauma and healing. My aim is to create a safe and supportive space where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences without judgment. I will listen to you with empathy and curiosity, and help you find new ways of understanding and effectively responding to what is coming your way. Together, we will work on developing your strengths, fortifying your resiliency, and further embodying your values in your day-to-day life. If you are interested in working with me, please contact me to schedule a free consultation. I look forward to hearing from you and supporting you on your journey.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

If we are a mutually good fit, you will walk away from sessions with increased clarity, and a sense of agency around the growth you seek. I hope to help you gain a clearer idea of what it might mean to be authentic to yourself, and to live your life accordingly. I hope to help you develop and practice new skills and strategies that will inch you closer to your preferred way of living and being. I hope to be an encouraging partner in your journey of healing and transformation.

What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy; Relational-Cultural Therapy; Narrative Therapy; social justice orientation

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

One of my biggest strengths as a therapist is creating a strong therapeutic alliance with my clients. I value building trust with each client, and am curious about their unique perspectives, life experiences, and goals. I use a warm, empathic, and respectful approach that honors the client’s autonomy and agency. Another strength of mine is my integration of various therapeutic modalities that suit the client’s needs and preferences. I have training and experience in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), narrative therapy, and trauma-informed care. I also incorporate mindfulness, self-compassion, and cultural humility into my practice. I believe that each client is the expert of their own life, and I aim to help them discover and utilize their inner resources and strengths. My niche is working with clients who identify as Muslim, a person of color, queer, and/or those engaged in or exploring alternative relationship arrangements (e.g. polyamory). As a second-generation daughter of Iraqi and Muslim immigrants, I have first-hand experience living at the cultural and political margins of society and am passionate about providing culturally sensitive and affirming services to clients who feel marginalized based on their divergence from societal norms, expectations and biases. I also recognize and celebrate the resilience, diversity, and richness of communities often facing stigma and isolation as a result of their difference. Embracing, accepting, celebrating, and loving our whole selves is a critical part of healing -- and the process is never perfect. I strive to create a safe and brave space where clients can express their authentic selves, explore their preferred reality, accept challenges to pre-existing programming, and heal from their wounds.

About Noor Aljawad