Heba Youssef
“My freedom is to be what they do not want me to be.” – Mahmoud Darwish
She/Her/Hers
Currently in school at Johns Hopkins University – Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Projected Graduation, May 2023
Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, 2012/Master of Divinity
Currently accepting clients on a case by case basis, specifically accepting in-person or relationship therapy clients.
What’s therapy with me like? I focus on multicultural strengths/concerns/conflict, repairing wounds experienced due to family dysfunction, intergenerational and/or racialized trauma, and cultivating self-love/self-compassion as you face the daily anxieties that come with being human!
My therapeutic style is affirming and holistic of mind-body-spirit. Steeped in person-centered/humanistic principles, the environment cultivated is that of genuineness and compassion coupled with a deep optimism in each person’s innate resources and resilience. My approach is integrative, steeped in culturally compassionate, humanistic and feminist principles. I embrace a combination of therapeutic lenses that sometimes include expressive arts, mindfulness, and psychodrama.
My therapeutic style is affirming and strengths-based; I empower clients to radically embrace their identities, and creatively explore traditions and practices that are culturally meaningful to them. The hope is that through our work together in an environment that is respectful and compassionate, you will feel liberated to be yourself, set boundaries, and express your own needs; the collaborative process of building that relationship will serve as the force which facilitates change and growth.
How I’ve kept learning… For me, learning is a lifelong pursuit! I am in the process of completing my second Masters degree and the bulk of my research has focused on the impact of moral injury on frontline healthcare providers. Recent courses I’ve taken that I am really interested in are Integrating Alternative Approaches to Mental Wellness, Couples & Family Counseling, Ethics, and Diversity and Social Justice in Counseling.
I am reimagining learning outside of the context of an institution or degree. Learning for me recently has manifested in the form of unlearning messages I have received about my body, my sexuality, my femininity, my power, and my inherent worth. I have learned by wading through the fears of amplifying my voice, breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma, and learning how to live life more authentically. I am re-learning what radical self-love, acceptance, and self-care look like, and learning to operate in a way that consistently allows me to experience joy. I have also begun to explore the wonders of creative arts therapy in group work and I look forward to continuing to facilitate these integrative experiences.
Who do I work with? I work primarily with multicultural, racially or socially marginalized adults. I may work with families, relationships/couples on a case by case basis.
My impacting identities are… Being bi-racial and multicultural, I can uniquely empathize with the identity struggle that exists navigating between different cultural realities. I am racially and ethnically ambiguous, born to immigrant parents impacted by the effects of cultural assimilation. I am an able-bodied cisgender feminine-presenting woman, who has learned to thrive after surviving non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and cancer-induced infertility. My multicultural feminist values shape my intentionality in uplifting marginalized and disenfranchised voices and informs my belief in challenging oppressive systems and decolonizing my therapy practice.
I feel allied/aware/part of/informed/knowledgeable about… LGBTQIA2S+ (allied), women of color (part of), multicultural (part of), immigrant, refugee, asylum seekers, and those impacted by political statelessness (part of), bodies of culture and racially marginalized individuals of Black/African American identity, Hispanic/Latinx identity, Indigenous identity (allied), Asian identity (part of), Middle Eastern/North African identity (part of), socially disenfranchised groups (part of)…with ever present room to learn and grow in my positions of allyship.
I am the best fit for a client who… holds multicultural identities and may feel like an outsider or are exhausted by the pressures of navigating multiple cultural worlds. I am a great fit for clients who hold racially and/or socially marginalized identities and struggle with not fitting inside a box of socially normative binaries or familial expectations of how you should act, present, or feel. I am also a good fit for clients who are interested in exploring how intergenerational patterns impact their current function.
I am not a good fit for a client who… who may need a lot of prompts to express themselves or are looking for a directive or structured approach to therapy. I am also not a good fit for clients who are not interested in critically evaluating exclusionary or prejudicial beliefs they may hold.
What makes me unique? My demeanor is empathic, warm, nonjudgmental, and I hold space for clients to be exactly who they are in all of their fullness, though I will compassionately challenge clients when there is opportunity to facilitate insight. I am intentional in bringing a culturally sensitive lens to my work and am committed to creating space for the socio-cultural and systemic realities that exist and impact a client’s lived experiences. In collaborating with clients, I recognize we each have unique styles of communication shaped by our cultural realities and that we are more than the sum of any one of our identities.
The Practical Stuff
What insurances do I accept? I am currently not in network with any insurances, but I offer therapy for a sliding scale between $30-70, based on what the client can afford.
Do I offer telehealth or in person sessions? I am offering a hybrid of telehealth and in person therapy
The Fun Stuff
Did you know…What we do in the Shadows (ridiculously hilarious vampire mockumentary) is my current show on repeat!
Any pets? I have two sweetheart saluki-mixes named Ishta & Asab, who are rescues from Oman.
How I’ve Learned Lately
- Racialized Trauma & Trauma Basics e-course, Resmaa Menakem Cultural Somatics Training Institute, February 2022
- Sinclair Method for Alcohol Use Disorder: How I overcame alcoholism, TedTalk by Claudia Christian, February 2022
- Queering the Middle East: Establishing Jordan’s First Online LGBTQ magazine, Brown University: Center for Middle East Studies, March 2022
- Anti-racism Training 3 Month Training Dr. Nathalie Edmond, April 2022
- Opioid Epidemic Awareness & Education Program, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, April 2022
- Racialized Trauma: Black Body Trauma, how trauma impacts the black body, the history of enslavement, and HIPP Theory, Cultural Somatics Training Institute April 2022
- Career/Life Development Planning, Johns Hopkins University, May 2022
- Gender Affirming Surgery Letter Writing Training, Tavi Hawn, LCSW-C, July 2022
- Impact of Psychological and Physical Trauma, Relias Academy, September 2022
- Advanced Master Program on the Treatment of Trauma – Part 1: Strategies to Treat Patients Trapped in the Freeze Response, NICABM, September 2022
- Culturally Competent Counseling and Therapy, 1, Innovative Approaches to Counseling African Descent People, Dr. Thomas Parham, American Psychological Association Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues via Alexander Street, September 2022
- Trauma-Informed Dance Movement Therapy:
Real Life Trainings with Syrian refugees, China and US COVID-19 Hotline, American Dance Therapy Association, October 2022
- Advanced Master Program on the Treatment of Trauma – Part 5: How to Work with Patients Whose Trauma Triggers Problems in Their Current Relationships, NICABM, October 2022
- Gaza: The Longest Siege in Modern History Brown University Center for Middle East Studies, October 2022
- Religious Trauma and the Nervous System The Religious Trauma Institute, November 2022
- Never Have I Ever: Understood Desi Parenting Until I Attended This Workshop Pro, Bono Counseling Project with Neha Navsaria, PhD & Razia F.Kosi, EdD, LCSW-C, November 2022
- Advanced Trauma Techniques Across Cultures Intercultural Counseling Connection, Caitlin Tromiczak, LICSW-C, LCSW-C in collaboration with Inspirit Counseling Services, November 2022
- Sand Therapy Seminar with Dr. Dee Preston-Dillon, The Sand Training Therapy Institute via Intercultural Counseling Connection, January 2023
- Introduction To Forensic Psychological Evaluations, Dr. Nouf Bazaz via HEAL Clinic, February 2023
- Creative Strategies for Reducing Anxiety: Improv, Exposure, & Affirmations, Dr. Rachel Singer via The Center for Trauma, Stress, and Anxiety, LLC, February 2023
How to Give me A Buzz
The best way to contact me is…by email at admin@honeybwellness.com.
Supervised By: