MEET MUNIRA MOHAMED
At MM Counselling Services, I, Munira Mohamed, am a registered counsellor providing relational-cultural therapy (RCT) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to adults suffering from mood, anxiety, and various related disorders and conditions. I often work with clients who require a multifaceted treatment approach ranging from individual to group treatment.
As someone who has immigrated to Canada and identifies as being a part of a few marginalized and under-recognized communities, I place value on a few things that matter to me and the members of my community here in Canada. As a Black immigrant female who grew up in a low socioeconomic community, I highly value the importance of being culturally aware and sensitive towards others, treating others with respect, inclusivity, and spirituality. My lived experience with my own cultural struggles and growing up in a space that I had to adapt to has shown me the importance of keeping those around me close, such as family and respected community members. I have a spiritual belief system I follow and practice, and value treating others with kindness, being able to look within myself, self-acceptance and self-awareness, and having a positive mind-body connection. I value the importance of helping others, being emotionally present and attuned, and being genuine at all times. I believe everyone’s life experiences and past are and should be considered important and work with my clients to achieve optimal results that we are both happy with.
The two models I use value diversity and can be used in a wide range of contexts. RCT and MBCT are growing in ways they can help various populations. RCT has been used in helping people living with many different mental health disorders, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It has also been successfully used with marginalized populations such as Black people and Persons of Colour, and with different age groups, and genders. MBCT and the MBCT 8-week program have also been proven to help marginalized groups such as People of Colour, people who identify with various gender groups, and those with living with chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. The program teaches techniques that can help re-focus attention on what really matters and to decrease stress and anxiety and depressive symptoms.
MY CORE VALUES AND BELIEFS
We as humans need human interaction to survive and thrive! We need to also have solid foundational connections with others close to us to continue thriving without feeling inadequate. I believe we need to create relationships and connections that have a healthy give-and-take system included. RCT’s approach to helping others and healing comes from the idea that healing takes place in the environment of a mutual and empathic growth fostering relationship. RCT also has a wonderful piece about resiliency and understands growth is not a one-way process. It also believes we need to contribute to our relationships and be able to turn to the relationship when we need support.
I also believe we as humans can sometimes have a hard time managing our thoughts and emotions to help get relief from feelings of distress. The MBCT program works to help us manage our thoughts and emotions by understanding there are different ways we receive and process information, and it works to promote lasting positive emotional changes especially for those of us who experience depression and depression-like symptoms. I align with MBCT belief that we are all experts on ourselves and have all the relevant experience and skills necessary for positive change to occur.
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
RCT understands isolation is a huge source of why we as humans suffer. It usually comes with the feeling that we cannot move forward, which stops us from going back to important relationships after we lose connection. RCT understands that experiences of isolation, shame, oppression, marginalization and microaggressions to name a few, are actually relational violations that are at the very centre of why we as humans suffer. I share MBCT’s belief that even a mild uncomfortable state can have a huge effect on our thoughts. Our minds are extremely powerful and thoughts such as feeling worthless or inadequate can have lasting negative effects on our wellbeing.
TECHNIQUES FOR CHANGE
In order for us to be able to reconnect to those we love and shift our negative expectations of important relationships, I use RCT to teach others to experience a sense of relational effectiveness of having an impact on another person. By being emotionally present, I work with the connections and disconnections in our therapy relationship itself. I also use MBCT to help my clients regain focus on the present and be aware of their relationship to their feelings and thoughts. I aim to help restructure negative thought patterns. I then work with my clients using MBCT’s core skill of how to get out of, and stay out of, self-destructive thought habits. This is done by transforming negative thinking to positive ones, which help prevent depressive symptoms or episodes from happening.
The MBCT 8-week group program meets for 2 hours weekly, including a Day of Mindfulness which is 8 hours. It is designed to help people become more mindful and aware of their thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. This is done by going through practices that help bring moment-to-moment awareness of our body sensations such as sounds, smells, breath, thoughts, and even taste. It is important to attend all session because each session has a specific area it targets and works with. Throughout the program, I ensure a comfortable setting for the group, which usually ranges from 12-16 participants, is created.