Today we’d like to introduce you to Shama Panjwani.
Shama, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The first word that comes to mind is Resilience. My life changed at the age of seven years when my parents migrated to the U.S. leaving my brother and me back in India under the care of my aunt and uncle. Initially, it was difficult adjusting without my parents but the environment felt safe and secure. Soon, the environment changed to where I experienced physical and emotional abuse. Eventually, I moved to the U.S. in 1999. Throughout this time, my faith and my education became my resiliency factors. I was able to acculturate fairly quickly because I did not experience the language barrier that my parents still face. It was a challenge, and to some extent still is, to maintain a balance between the cultural values that exist in the U.S. versus the ones I learned because of my nationality and my religious beliefs that come from being a Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim.
Living in an individualistic society while coming from a collectivist culture has its advantages and disadvantages. Another challenge was dealing with immigration status issues. Throughout this time, education and faith have continued to be my resiliency factors. Attending schools in the U.S. from elementary school to high school and from undergraduate to now being enrolled in a Ph.D. program has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My faith in God and the support from my family has allowed me to continue my journey towards my goals. I truly believe knowledge is strength and spirituality is a guiding force towards one’s purpose.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Struggles are an important component for developing resiliency. Having experienced physical abuse and neglect as a child, to a point where homelessness became a possibility, was a traumatic experience for me. Migrating and living in a country where I was limited on what I could do because of my immigration status was also disheartening. At each stage of my life, I was tested and as I faced those obstacles my resiliency continued to strengthen. I continued to move forward and went from surviving to thriving as I changed my perspective and my approach towards my life journey. Since I was young, I have been extremely involved in community service and providing voluntary service within my religious community. My involvement became my purpose as I faced these obstacles. After obtaining my bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott College, I was lost. My immigration status prevented me from continuing my education because getting a Masters degree meant I would be paying 4x more than someone else who is an American citizen. My status also prevented me from working in a field of my choice. As things changed for the better, being a life long learner became closer to being a reality. I obtained my Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Capella University while working full time. I worked 3 jobs at the same time for months and now, I just completed the 2nd year of my Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision program at Mercer University debt free. The opportunities are around us. It’s up to us to recognize them and take the risk of going towards a direction we did not consider.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with SoHolisticEnergy – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a National Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC). I am currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Counselor Education and Supervision at Mercer University with a specialization in Cross-Cultural Psychology and Leadership. I have four years of experience in the mental health field working with clients from different cultural backgrounds with varying mental health disorders – depression, anxiety, suicidality, psychosis, trauma, adjustment, etc – and substance abuse related issues. I am very holistic in my approach and believe in the mind-body-spirit connection in order for a person to truly feel balanced and experience blissfulness. Aristotle once said, “the whole is greater than the sum of its part.” In order for a person to feel complete or whole, all aspects of his/her life require attention so the person can feel fulfilled. I personally live a holistic lifestyle by feeding my mind-body-spirit by priding myself to be a lifelong learner, eating healthy, exercising, meditating, and enjoying the things nature has to offer. I do training, workshops, and presentations in order to increase awareness in an attempt to reduce the mental health stigma and provide people with tools they can use for themselves or pass on to others. My current research has been surrounding the South Asian community in terms of the prevalence of mental health issues, cultural understanding to reduce stigma, using an integrative psychological approach that combines the Eastern and the Western values, and immigration. An article my professor and I worked on, providing a guide on how to code qualitative research, was recently published on Sage Publication’s digital platform.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am currently working on developing my website called Soholisticenergy. I have began promoting it on Instagram and Facebook recently by posting about different topics to create awareness and share my knowledge. I have also been working on writing a blog (soholisticenergy.home.blog) to share my experiences, both personal and professional. This website will allow me to offer my services of counseling, consulting, coaching, training, and supervision. It will also serve as a forum or blog for me to continue to write about topics in the fields of psychology and counseling to create awareness and possibly start a conversation with people in the community. I have also experimented with different foods and exercise regimes and have finally created my own blend that has proven to be effective for me. I share these with people who have reached out to me and would love to continue to share and coach those that are interested in living a healthy lifestyle. I love culture and learning about different places and groups of people through my travel. I hope to do more traveling in the future because this would also allow me to strengthen my knowledge and educate those who may not be aware of cultural similarities or differences. I am striving to be an advocate for people of different cultures as it relates to mental health policies. I have been joking about going to Law School since I began my Ph.D. program in 2017 but who knows, that could potentially turn into reality in the future. I plan to also teach and supervise future counselors and counselor educators at the university level and maybe do some research and publish. I also have begun working on, but stopped when I began the Ph.D. program, my fictional autobiography. It will be a blend of my life story with some fictional aspects to it to maintain curiosity and allow for some enigmatic moments. The possibilities for the future are endless!
Contact Info:
- Email: shamaholisticcounselor@gmail.com
- Instagram: @soholisticenergy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soholisticenergy
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
