Education

I hold a Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where I also completed a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management and a minor in Research Methodology. My doctoral clinical internship was completed at Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, where my work focused on grief, serious illness, caregiver and family support, loss, and emotionally complex life transitions.

I earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from North Carolina State University and completed my clinical internship at the NC State Counseling Center, providing counseling services to undergraduate and graduate students within a university mental health setting.

I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I also minored in Social and Economic Justice.

My Approach

My approach is humanistic, relational, and grounded in Relational Cultural Theory, which centers connection, mutuality, and the ways we are shaped through relationships. I work from a holistic, trauma-informed, and attachment-based lens, recognizing the ways our experiences live not only in our thoughts, but also in our bodies, relationships, and nervous systems. Therapy is not about “fixing” you, but about deepening understanding, exploring patterns, building insight, and creating space for meaningful and sustainable change. It offers space for emotional processing, greater awareness of the mind-body connection, and a holistic approach that considers the emotional, relational, cultural, spiritual, and systemic experiences that shape our lives.

My work is integrative, drawing from approaches such as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and somatic perspectives depending on what best supports your needs and goals. My time working in hospice and palliative care shaped how I understand this work. It was there that I witnessed the depth of human resilience, the complexity of grief, and the profound importance of presence. Grief, in many forms, continues to inform my work and perspective as a therapist.

Professional Experience

I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate with over 10 years of clinical experience working across a range of settings, including private practice, community mental health, hospice and palliative care, nonprofit organizations, and university counseling centers. I have worked with individuals, families, and groups navigating trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, identity-related concerns, emotional overwhelm, and life transitions.

I received additional training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), emotionally focused therapy, and spiritually integrated psychotherapy.

In addition to my clinical work, I have served as a counselor educator since 2020, teaching and supervising graduate-level counseling students. I have held full time faculty roles at the University of Cincinnati and Campbell University, and currently adjunct at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Saybrook University.

Home & Identity

I was born in Sudan and moved to the United States with my family in early childhood. North Carolina has remained a consistent home base, though home at different seasons of my life has also been Texas, Ohio, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Growing up across cultures and communities shaped how I understand identity, belonging, family, spirituality, and connection. As a Sudanese American Muslim woman, I carry an awareness of what it means to move between worlds, hold multiple identities at once, and navigate the complexities of both rootedness and displacement. These experiences continue to shape not only how I see the world, but also how I show up in my work as a therapist. Sudan remains home in a deeper sense. It is where many of my values were formed, particularly appreciation for family, community, and the incredible generosity that is so ingrained in Sudanese culture. It is a generosity expressed not only through giving, but through time, presence, care, and love for others, and in the ways people continue showing up for one another even in the midst of hardship. Living across cultures and witnessing the impacts of war, displacement, oppression, and collective suffering has influenced my understanding of mental health and healing. My work is rooted in the belief that people do not exist separate from the systems, communities, histories, and sociopolitical realities that shape their lives.