Interview with Mona Fakhry from Afghans in Therapy
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
My name is Mona and I am a psychotherapist in training, a coach and community/wellness educator. I enjoy participating in community initiatives that center on healing for Afghans and other BIPOC/SWANA diaspora. Prior to all that, I have extensive experience in working with children and families in various roles. I am located in so-called Canada (Treaty 13). Some things I do for joy and rest are hiking, exercising, and taking lots of naps!
You recently launched Afghans in Therapy. Can you tell us about it?
Afghans in Therapy is a platform aiming to destigmatize and make accessible mental health and therapy in the Afghan community, through the first-ever Afghan therapist directory and podcast. The directory is worldwide and is currently a work in progress! The podcast features authentic conversations with Afghan therapists and Afghans who have attended therapy. The conversations are centered around our healing, trauma, and resilience on topics typically considered taboo in our communities. Be sure to catch the first episode because the second one is dropping soon. I also want to share some upcoming aspects of Afghans in Therapy that is hidden on the website! There will be a blog, resources, and an allied professional directory or list.
As you mentioned, therapy and mental health are quite taboo topics across many cultures, communities, and societies, including among Afghans. Can you talk about your journey in becoming a mental health advocate and pursuing mental health studies as a profession?
There are many things that led me to this path and what’s at the heart of it is my own healing journey that rippled through family and community healing. When I entered my therapist’s office, who saw me, truly saw me through a cultural and systematic lens, was the moment I knew I wanted to be that for our community. Through the experience, I learned so much about generational pain, release, and resistance,
What do you hope to accomplish with Afghans in Therapy?
I envision a world where Afghans have no structural barriers to accessing an Afghan therapist that supports the intersections of their mental health, healing, and cultural identity. A world where Afghans are supported in their collective healing and liberation, through dialogue and therapy spaces. Afghans in Therapy strives to be that space for folks.
Has your hyphenated identity of being an Afghan living in the diaspora impacted your career or life decisions in any way?
Every moment. The longing for home. The survivor’s guilt. The healing, resistance, and trauma my family, myself, and community have gone through has shaped me immensely. It’s why I do what I do. Finding safe and brave healing spaces can help support folks to explore that hyphenated identity that comes with so much. I often think of that little “–“ as this giant gap that so many of us feel. That looks so small on the outside but drives so much of our being (so much of our lostness, otherness), a gap I think generational, ancestral, and collective ways of being and healing can fulfill.
One of the therapists on the directory has a quote that reads “I know you're tired but come, this is the way.” -Rumi” and I think about what that means for Afghans, myself, and healing/therapy spaces that are culturally relevant. I think it means you are found, in community or perhaps uncovered with all your strength shedding your pain through a hyphenated identity.
Afghans are often painted as victims of violence and war, through media, art, and storytelling. What is something that you would like others to know about Afghan resilience, culture, or community?
I’d like non-Afghans to know that what you probably know about Afghans, especially if it’s through mainstream media, is most likely not an accurate representation of who we are. To know Afghans is to sit and celebrate with them through our beautiful culture and ways of being. I definitely, wish to tackle this through Afghans in Therapy. Afghans in therapy is not only about traumatization that has happened to us but our joy and resistance. Healing is in itself a form of resistance.
What challenges have you faced working in the mental health field as an Afghan?
Most of the challenges I’ve faced in the mental health field have been as a result of the system. We are very often left out of the narrative in mental health, including community research. Generally being from the global majority and striving to adopt a decolonial lens, you notice that there is a lot of work lacking in really being culturally responsive and socially just. This is why projects like Afghans in Therapy are so special to me, it’s by us for us!
What would you like to tell Afghans reading this who are not familiar with therapy?
It’s okay to have doubts. It’s okay to feel imposter syndrome when entering therapeutic spaces. You do belong and when you are ready, there is a community of Afghan therapists and mental health professionals ready to embrace you.
Finally, are you a coffee or chai person?
BOTH! Always both.
Anything else you want to share with us?
Thank you for giving me this space to share. Thank you for giving US this space to really celebrate us. I am so grateful, kin!
Stay in touch with Mona
Website www.afghansintherapy.com
Instagram @afghansintherapy
Personal @mindfully_mona