Arabic-Speaking, SWANA & Cross-Cultural Practitioners

Languages: English

Maela is a Jungian Art Psychotherapist (HCPC-registered) and visionary artist. She has a lifelong practice of using art for self-discovery, and holds a special interest in grief and spiritual care. She has experience working across CAMHS, end-of-life and bereavement services, wellness retreats, and diverse community settings.

Maela’s identity is inherently cross-cultural. Being of Pakistani heritage and growing up within the cultural tensions in Northern Ireland has given her a unique perspective and a lived understanding of the nuances of cross-cultural existence. This directly informs her therapeutic work, where she practices as a cross-cultural therapist in the UK, drawing on her experience to navigate themes of identity, belonging, and cultural complexity within the therapeutic space.

Email: maela@maelaarttherapy.com

Psychology today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/maela-amin-sheffield/1643418

Languages: English, Spanish, Arabic (shami)

I offer 1-1 sessions, remote and in person. I am an intuitive reader and guide, with a specialization in shifting perspectives. Having been exposed to many cultures, being bi-racial and multi-lingual, my work is reflection of this diversity. 

I recently started an online metaphysical school, ‘The Sanctuary’, where we cover topics ranging from existentialism to critical thinking, ‘shadow work’ to epistemology. The guiding intention is to create clear tools, to be accessed in your own time, that help you navigate life. Ultimately, this space is intended to create structure to support the evolution and elevation of the collective.

What lived experiences, or formal training, or qualifications, or supervision do you currently hold?

Being Palestinian-American and a third culture kid, I have had a life rich of lived experience. From being born in occupation, to healing from severe chronic illness, I have been blessed with firsthand knowledge of navigating the depths of a full life. It was through these struggles, and awareness in the journey it took to emerge from them, life has initiated me into this work. And provided me translatable tools to pass forward. 

How do you work with the body, nervous system, or lived experience (if at all)?

I do body work when working in person, if that is what the session calls for. We may move, we may stretch, we may use tools from art therapy, but ultimately, we address what you need: at the time you need it. Having navigated these topics first hand, I understand the importance of receiving the guidance of your body.  My goal is to be one step helping you towards your own self-sustenance and maintenance. Meditation, mindfulness and body awareness are all included in my practice (remote and physical) 

How do culture, language, and identity inform your work?

Having had a rich diversity of cultural and linguistic experiences, I understand the implications it has on identity. My work focuses on empowering my clients to live in their fullness, and that includes embracing the beauty of cultural heritage while exploring the restrictions we may have inherited (ancestrally and traditionally), given our history. Being a polyglot, I understand the value as well as limitations present through language, this is a topic I love exploring in sessions. 

Website/ Social media: Holycitysanctuary.com /@papalarzi

Email: la.papalarzi@gmail.com

Languages: English & Italian

I am an Italian-Iranian artist, director, space maker and guide, who roots in feminine, ecological principles, radical imagination and inter-connection. I work with somatic healing, movement facilitation, space holding and making, to inform my visual work, as well as creating space for transformation and belonging. As a mentor, I guide people in activating and unearthing their creativity, to reconnect with their whole self and build work rooted in their spiritual, creative and cultural lineage. Land and relationship to lineage are integral part of my work, as are themes of belonging, identity, invisible parts of our being, disconnection and displacement/fragmentation.

What lived experiences, or formal training, or qualifications, or supervision do you currently hold?
I have 15 years of experience spent in research, international cooperation, project management and consulting first, and creative research, deepening and inquiry later, including through film and commercials production, writing and directing.

I studied law (MSc), global studies, politics and social sciences (MSc), cinema and documentary filmmaking (Diploma), writing, business and the energetics of holding space for your creative practice and your work.

I also hold certifications around somatic and embodiment practices, body-led processes and movement, beyond having a long-standing personal practice of both spiritual and energetic inquiry.

I embody both Italian and Iranian ancestry and have deep love for the lands that have carried me forward in this life. Either through my ancestral lines or because of deep connections, creative threads and cycles.

I always work with my own mentors and guides to be held while holding space for others. My work is not a therapy/therapeutic process or service.

How do you work with the body, nervous system, or lived experience (if at all)?
I relate to the body, nervous system and lived experience as the creative source of our power and essence. Archive, landscape and creative vessels of our imaginaries and stories, as well as multi-dimensional and layered organism that exist across levels and dimensions.

How do culture, language, and identity inform your work?
My work is deeply rooted in an ecological viewpoint in which everything is relationship. I infuse cultural aspects and linguistic aspects into my own research, deeply reflecting on the shape and form we give to both cultural and linguistic aspects. Identity has been a main carrier of my own research, working with both invisible and visible parts of our cultural, political, spiritual and emotional self. I am interested in the parts of our collective and individual identity that live at the margins, submerged or/and exiled and that can be remembered, brought them back to surface. Collectively/politically, I am interested in how identity shapes history, epistemology and narratives and how we can actually reclaim and move from dominant, extractive narrations towards inter-connected, post-colonial narratives.

Website + Instagram: maryamshater.com + https://www.instagram.com/maryamshater/

Languages: English

My therapy style is down to earth, warm, inviting and active. I believe therapy is most effective when it is a collaborative process between the client and the therapist. We will work together to explore, reflect and identify areas in which insight and change are needed to achieve your goals. In sessions, I openly share my thoughts and my perspective as a guiding force but respect and believe that you are the leader in the room. I provide therapy as a transformative experience or a space to just let go, it can be whatever you need it to be, as long as the purpose of this space is for you to heal and find more joy in your life.

What lived experiences, or formal training, or qualifications, or supervision do you currently hold?

I specialize in both adolescent and adult psychotherapy and treat mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and complex trauma (PTSD). I also work with clients to address issues related to low self-esteem/low self-worth, chronic comparing, body image issues, relationship challenges and identity discovery.

How do you work with the body, nervous system, or lived experience (if at all)?
I use psychoeducation frequently to support clients in understanding what is occurring in their nervous system when experiencing emotions, stress, and anxiety. I believe in mindfulness practices and provide resources for clients to access outside of sessions.

How do culture, language, and identity inform your work?
As the child of immigrant parents (Iran and France), I have developed a unique understanding of the interpersonal divide between identity and culture. I personally understand many of the complexities of having a mixed heritage background and believe this allows me to connect with clients of many different backgrounds and ethnicities through shared experiences.

I strongly believe in my responsibility to educate myself in all areas of privilege and oppression to be an advocate for social justice and be an advocate for my clients.

Website: www.nedalunatherapy.com

Languages: English & French

What lived experiences, or formal training, or qualifications, or supervision do you currently hold?

Trained via generative somatics, Strozzi institute, herbalist. 10 years of CBT practice with people formally incarcerated. An immigrant myself.

How do you work with the body, nervous system, or lived experience (if at all)?
I pull from my extensive trauma, somatics and herbalism to help my clients find safety, joy and reconnect with desire.

How do culture, language, and identity inform your work?
I am multilingual and multicultural. Grandchild of Moroccans who grew up in France and lived in the US for over a decade. I work best with people in the diaspora who embody liminal existences

Website: www.noamkeim.com