Licensed to practice in New Jersey and accepts 14 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Coping Skills, Child or Adolescent and 2 more.
(he/him)
New to Grow
Hello, I’m Ibn Sharif Shakoor, EdD, LPC, a Licensed Professional Counselor and founder of Cultured Minds Counseling Services. I provide individual therapy for adolescents, adults, student-athletes, creatives, and professionals navigating anxiety, depression, stress, life transitions, relationship challenges, trauma, and performance-related concerns. With a background in both education and mental health, I take a collaborative, culturally responsive, and strengths-based approach to therapy. I strive to create a supportive environment where clients feel heard, understood, and empowered to make meaningful changes in their lives. My goal is to help clients build resilience, develop practical coping skills, and improve their overall emotional well-being.
During our first session, we will spend time getting to know one another and discussing what brings you to therapy. I will ask questions about your current concerns, personal history, relationships, strengths, and goals to gain a better understanding of your experiences and what you hope to achieve through counseling. The first session is also an opportunity for you to ask questions, share what is most important to you, and determine whether we are a good fit for working together. My approach is warm, collaborative, and nonjudgmental, and there is no pressure to share more than you feel comfortable discussing. Together, we will begin identifying goals and developing a treatment plan tailored to your unique needs, strengths, and circumstances. Whether you are seeking support for anxiety, depression, stress, life transitions, relationship challenges, academic concerns, athletic performance, or personal growth, my goal is to help you feel heard, understood, and supported from the very beginning of the therapeutic process.
One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is my ability to build genuine, trusting relationships with clients from diverse backgrounds. I strive to create a space where clients feel comfortable being themselves, discussing difficult topics, and exploring challenges without fear of judgment. Clients often describe my approach as warm, down-to-earth, collaborative, and easy to connect with. My background in both education and mental health allows me to bring a unique perspective when working with adolescents, families, student-athletes, and individuals navigating academic, career, and life transitions. I understand the pressures that can come with balancing performance, expectations, relationships, and personal well-being. I also integrate evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Trauma-Informed Care while tailoring treatment to each client's individual needs, culture, strengths, and goals. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, I work collaboratively with clients to develop practical strategies that can be applied in everyday life. Whether a client is seeking emotional healing, personal growth, improved coping skills, greater self-awareness, or enhanced performance in school, sports, or other areas of life, my goal is to help them build resilience, gain insight, and create meaningful, lasting change.
I work with adolescents, young adults, and adults facing a wide range of emotional, behavioral, academic, and life challenges. Given my background in education, school counseling, and mental health, I am particularly well-positioned to support adolescents and families navigating school-related concerns, academic stress, behavioral challenges, motivation difficulties, peer relationships, self-esteem issues, anxiety, depression, and major life transitions. I have a special interest in working with student-athletes and athletes who are seeking support with confidence, performance anxiety, mental toughness, motivation, focus, resilience, injury recovery, identity development, and balancing the demands of sports, academics, and personal life. My approach helps athletes strengthen both their mental and emotional game while maintaining perspective and overall well-being. I also enjoy working with creatives, entrepreneurs, artists, content creators, and professionals who may be navigating burnout, self-doubt, perfectionism, creative blocks, career stress, or the pressure of balancing ambition with mental wellness. These clients often benefit from a space that supports both personal growth and performance optimization. Many of the individuals I serve are highly capable people who appear successful on the outside yet struggle internally with stress, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, relationship concerns, unresolved experiences, or uncertainty about their next steps. Whether a client is seeking symptom relief, personal growth, improved performance, healthier relationships, or greater self-understanding, I strive to provide a collaborative, culturally responsive, and strengths-based therapeutic experience. My goal is to help clients develop practical tools, build resilience, gain insight, and create meaningful change while feeling supported, empowered, and understood throughout the therapeutic process.
Other specialties
I identify as
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the primary treatment approaches utilized in my practice. CBT helps clients identify the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and develop healthier, more adaptive ways of responding to life's challenges. In sessions, I work collaboratively with clients to identify unhelpful thought patterns, cognitive distortions, and behavioral habits that may be contributing to symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, or emotional dysregulation. Clients are guided in examining the evidence for their thoughts, developing more balanced perspectives, and practicing practical coping strategies that can be applied in everyday situations. My approach to CBT is individualized and culturally responsive. Interventions may include cognitive restructuring, problem-solving skills, behavioral activation, coping skills development, stress management techniques, goal setting, and self-monitoring exercises. Clients are encouraged to practice skills between sessions to promote lasting change and increased confidence in managing challenges independently. CBT is integrated within a supportive therapeutic relationship and is often combined with other evidence-based approaches when clinically appropriate to best meet each client's unique needs and treatment goals.
Trauma Informed Care
Trauma-Informed Care is an essential component of my therapeutic approach. This framework recognizes the widespread impact that trauma can have on emotional, psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal functioning while emphasizing safety, trust, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural sensitivity throughout the treatment process. In practice, I work to create a supportive and nonjudgmental environment where clients feel emotionally safe to explore difficult experiences at their own pace. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms or behaviors, I help clients understand how past experiences may influence current thoughts, emotions, relationships, coping patterns, and stress responses. Treatment emphasizes building emotional awareness, strengthening coping skills, increasing resilience, and restoring a sense of control and self-efficacy. Trauma-informed interventions may include psychoeducation about trauma and the nervous system, emotional regulation skills, grounding techniques, mindfulness practices, cognitive restructuring, and strategies for managing triggers and distress. Care is taken to avoid re-traumatization, and clients are encouraged to actively participate in treatment planning and goal development. My trauma-informed approach is culturally responsive and tailored to each individual's unique experiences, strengths, and needs, helping clients move toward healing, growth, and improved overall well-being.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment approach that helps individuals develop practical skills for managing intense emotions, improving relationships, increasing distress tolerance, and enhancing overall emotional regulation. In my practice, DBT is often utilized with clients who experience emotional overwhelm, impulsivity, interpersonal conflicts, anxiety, mood instability, or difficulty coping with stress. I integrate DBT principles by helping clients build awareness of their emotional experiences while learning effective strategies to respond to challenges in healthier and more intentional ways. Treatment focuses on balancing acceptance and change—validating a client's experiences while simultaneously working toward meaningful personal growth and behavioral change. DBT interventions commonly include mindfulness skills to increase present-moment awareness, distress tolerance techniques for navigating difficult situations without making them worse, emotion regulation strategies to better understand and manage feelings, and interpersonal effectiveness skills to improve communication, boundaries, and relationships. Clients are encouraged to practice these skills between sessions and apply them to real-life situations. My use of DBT is collaborative, culturally responsive, and tailored to each client's unique needs, strengths, and treatment goals. The overall aim is to help clients build resilience, improve emotional stability, strengthen relationships, and develop greater confidence in managing life's challenges.