We had a great, productive and important discussion on Saturday at 62 – with a wonderful panel of speakers including Adam Afghan, Dr Tarek Younis, Myira Khan and Imam Mohammad Rashid.
Adam Afghan: “I suffer from OCD, anxiety and fall into depression. So many muslims suffer from mental health issues and they suffer in silence, and this is particularly in the case of muslim men, I feel the onus is on me to speak openly about my issues, so it helps others through their times of hardship.”
Myira Khan is an Accredited Counsellor and qualified Supervisor, working in her private practice. In 2017 Myira helped set-up the Leicester Centre for Psychodynamic Counselling. Myira is the Founder of the Muslim Counsellor and Psychotherapist Network (MCAPN). She was awarded the Mental Health Hero Award (2015) by Nick Clegg.
Tarek Younis is a cultural psychologist with a PhD/PsyD in Clinical Psychology. He is a private psychologist and an Honorary Research Associate at University College London. His British Academy postdoctoral fellowship explored the racialization of statutory counter-terrorism policies in the NHS, and its impact on British Muslim mental health access.
Imam Muhammed Rashid is an Islamic Scholar who has served as an Imam and teacher for over 15 years. He has lectured on a variety of subjects including theology, jurisprudence etc. He has served as a Chaplain in the prison services and is currently working for various NHS trusts as a Mental Health Chaplain providing cultural and Islamically appropriate psychological interventions to patients and their families both in hospitals and in the community.
We’d like to remind anyone that wishes to get in contact to discuss this issue more, or to raise any points about the topics covered in the discussion, will have their anonymity protected and any comments will be received in confidence.
For professional help with any of the topics covered, MIND, the mental health charity, offer an extensive list of mental health helplines which can be found here:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/crisis-services/useful-contacts/#.XRvdl-j0k2w
