Today we’d like to introduce you to Fatima Wasim.
Hi Fatima, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Pakistan and raised there till mid adolescent years before moving with my family to the United States. Albeit an average life, our parents were driven to provide us with a better life in terms of education and lifestyle, so they chose to immigrate to the ‘land of opportunity’ to live the ‘American dream.’ Uprooting and moving to a new country is a challenge in itself and requires basic linguistic, problem-solving, and social skills to navigate the transition. In hindsight, the challenges were minor for me compared to my immigrant parents’, given their oversight and thoughtful planning. For example, we had most of the basic needs from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs covered, like physiological, safety, and financial security, but socially, it was slightly challenging not having family and friends at the time when we moved initially. Needless to say, my parents sheltered and guided us along the way, and if they had not, I would not have had a safe base to navigate my life journey as I have.
High school, college, and graduate school were all a mix of struggling and uplifting experiences. The prominent personal struggle was the acculturation as an adolescent into a social environment with unknown culture, norms, rules, and practices. For example, despite having a strong grasp on my English skills, there were challenges in communication at times not understanding the metaphors and everyday slang. I did very well academically throughout and had some of the best teachers who showed interest in learning about me as a person, not just teaching the curriculum. I remember the strong affiliation I felt with most of my teachers, which helped me navigate my entire educational journey. Majority of my academic and career decisions were inspired by my teachers and professors in college, who encouraged and believed in me towards pursuing my heart’s desire.
I had the opportunity to have a diverse group of friends and it was a pleasant experience throughout my school and college years. I realized I was drawn to people from various backgrounds in my friendships and enjoyed my interactions with each of them. I strongly believe our friendships are as influential as our parents and sometimes, given the phase of life, even more so. I remember during high school and college my lunch table was open to all, and that was the one of the best parts of the day for me. During our initial years, I was able to expand my social network from friendships to meaningful relationships with people in the community, thanks to local cultural and international organizations fostering such connections and community presence. For me, good friends quickly became family, and this helped bridge the social-emotional gaps, fostering a successful adjustment overall from one phase of life to another.
College was truly the ‘best’ experience both personally and professionally, albeit not living on campus. Initially, there were financial challenges until we got our immigration status to permanent residency, but with scholarship and invaluable all-encompassing support from my parents, it was smooth. I had some of the best advisors and professors who inspired me to create a path for myself with more confidence and less doubt.
I entered college aspiring to become a Physician, and my first two years were focused on that until I took an Abnormal Psychology course with a female professor and psychologist (who later became a mentor to me), which inspired me to consider changing my path. I met another professor who was conducting psychological research, and that inspired me to further consider changing my career path into psychology, and I graduated with a BS in Psychology instead of Biology. The transition from Biology to Psychology was not easy as, culturally, there was a huge stigma towards the field of psychology and counseling, and I had to convince my family that it would be worthwhile. I also had to excel at what I did in order to continue pursuing my dream.
Outside of University, I was introduced to a friend who was working for a local non-profit, Raksha Inc., helping survivors of domestic violence. The work and cause spoke to me, and I joined them as an advocate, noticed there was a need for research with South Asians (population served by Raksha), and I decided to pursue my master’s and PhD in Counseling. After some years of break from my career at the time while I was furthering my education, I returned to Raksha as Clinical director, managing their counseling program.
I completed my PhD in Counseling Psychology from Oklahoma State University, did my doctoral internship at Duke University Counseling and Psychological Services, and then postdoctoral fellowship at University of North Carolina-Wilmington Counseling Center. I gained significant experience working with college students in university settings and enjoyed working with young adults on adjustment-related issues. During my graduate training, I also worked at Ridgeview Hospital, a domestic violence shelter in OK, gaining exposure to diverse concerns and opportunities to help.
Alongside, I started my part-time private practice at Enaya Counseling and Consulting LLC. Having a private practice was a dream come true since my first exposure to the science and practice of psychology in undergraduate and graduate. While pursuing my dream, I was also introduced to Noor Family Services (NFS), another non-profit helping survivors of domestic violence, especially in the local Muslim community. I was invited to contract with them to provide therapy services to survivors of domestic violence, given its negative impact on their mental health.
Both organizations’ flexibility and support has allowed me to continue to pursue my overall goals of breaking stigma against mental health and helping people improve their mental well-being in culturally, linguistically, specific, and evidence-based interventions. I consider myself a generalist but have a passion for helping adult women live free and confidently from any relationship violence. We have a saying in our culture that education and self-confidence are two of the most significant assets a woman can have, and many times in these toxic relationships, these are compromised.
One of my other passions is presenting research and mental health-related information to educate the community about all things mental health. I thoroughly enjoyed conducting research and presenting during my educational and training years (e.g., undergraduate and graduate research conferences) and at university settings to students in classrooms. Given clinical duties in my current career it does not leave much time to devote to outreach and education, but my hope is to continue in the near future. Additionally, I was invited to speak about stress management at a podcast as part of my non-profit work (link to podcast here: https://music.amazon.it/podcasts/51708a93-0160-4a84-8e0c-858abe69724a/episodes/36d6de38-41c1-46ed-86f0-df5c9835378b/plan-tastic-events-plantastic-events-podcast-e024-the-stressful-pass-with-nisha-khan-and-dr-fatima-wasim) and will soon continue engaging in such platforms to reach more people who may be interested in personal growth areas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In addition (see previous response), there were also some other personal and professional struggles along the way through which I learned greatly. Initially, being away from my extended family was hard as I missed my grandparents and cousins’ uncles and aunts in the first few years of immigrating to the US. I remember, I used to write letters and send cards communicating my feelings as well to keep up the relationship bonds. It was also a challenge to not be able to visit them for several initial years due to education and career goals.
There were some struggles in pursuing higher education, e.g. moving away from immediate family into another state and navigating the PhD program and internship match/interviews, licensing exams, self-care, and then post-doctoral training out of state. Also, when I decided to start my private practice, I endured a few family emergencies, which slightly impacted my timeline of events for practice. Nevertheless, I was determined to make it work and keep moving forward.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
EC&C is a private practice focused on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services for concerns pertinent to college students and adults in Georgia (in-person), North Carolina, and Psy pact authorized states in the United States through telehealth platforms. My ultimate goal is to have a holistic mental health group practice focusing on minority mental health especially locally in my community.
In-person and telehealth services are offered.
Workshops/groups curated based on the community need
Self-pay and major insurances accepted
Some sliding scale and EAP accessibility
Supervision for upcoming therapists available as well
Insights as a Muslim South Asian mental health provider
Culturally specific knowledge/insight pertaining to people from South Asia and also of Islamic faith
Proficient in Urdu and Hindi
Population of focus: college students and adults
Special expertise in assessing and helping survivors of interpersonal violence/abuse, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and life transitions.
Psychological evaluation-based letters of support for VAWA (Violence Against Women’s Act) related issues
Acceptance and mindfulness-based approach towards treatment
Trained in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
Active and collaborative approach to mental health services
Unconditional regard and acceptance of people and their struggles
Focus on cultivating their inner peace and practicing self and other compassion
Services throughout the US (telehealth)
Psychological Assessment for immigration hardship based on domestic violence for survivors.
Access to local professionals’ network through affiliations with relevant nonprofits
Destigmatizing help-seeking for mental health among South Asians and promoting a healing relationship with self while learning to navigate life’s struggles.
I believe our mental health matters, and our psychological wellness is just as vital as physical wellness. I am humbled to be able to provide culturally sensitive and evidence-based in-person (Alpharetta/Roswell) and telehealth psychotherapy/counseling and assessment services throughout the US (37+ states) to adults struggling to cope with life’s challenges.
The hallmark of my approach to counseling is therapeutic connection, compassion, and competence that I strive to bring to my clients. As a multilingual Muslim South Asian licensed psychologist and counselor, I strive to facilitate a caring and compassionate relationship with myself and those around us. It gives me great pleasure and intrinsic satisfaction to witness clients go confidently in the direction of their goals and values, promoting their overall well-being, especially achieving congruence and inner peace.
At EC & C, as a client, you feel empowered to work through your life’s struggles by Navigating and Accessing Your Authentic self!
The LOGO of Lotus in Head: The symbol of Enaya counseling represents our mind’s beauty, strength, and resilience. Destigmatizes mental health as the lotus flower encourages trust in the process of life and healing. Our mind can be a beautiful place to be when we don’t separate it from our body and nurture it like we would our best friend. The color white of lotus represents honesty and authenticity to promote better mental well-being. The green color in the logo represents growth, harmony, balance, and security.
What does success mean to you?
Some of the words that initially come to my mind as I think of success are: Internal satisfaction, authenticity, not linear, mentoring, persistence, dedication, grit, resilience, purposeful living,
I believe there are latent struggles behind any success story. Many times, success is the tip of an iceberg, which (beneath the surface) involves sacrifices, mistakes, failures, trials, lessons learned, hard work, dedication, resilience, and discipline.
I personally define success as persistence and resilience in the face of adversity towards a valued direction or purpose. Making a positive, healing difference in people’s lives holds a special place in my heart, and as long as I can facilitate that, I feel successful. What gives me strength and a sense of purpose is to strive to promote self and other compassion both at personal and professional aspects of life.
Pricing:
- Initial Consultation (15 mins) FREE
- Initial Counseling Intake (60 mins) $300
- Individual Counseling (50 mins) $270
- Supervision & Consultation $270/hour
Contact Info:
- Website: www.enayacc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enayacounselingconsulting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enayacounseling/
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/fatima-wasim-alpharetta-ga/362585
Image Credits
Nausheen
Nisha Khan LPC
