I identify as a migrant Muslim woman with Egyptian heritage. A single mum, sister, daughter, children’s book author, who happens to also be a counsellor, lived/living experience (LLE) practitioner and national Intentional Peer Support facilitator with more than 10 years’ experience in the FV, Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) and mental health sectors. As a migrant woman from a marginalised community, my lived experience spans family violence, institutionalisation within the mental health system, and supporting a loved one through active addiction and complex mental health challenges. These experiences have shaped my deep compassion, dedication to social justice, and commitment to amplifying the voices of people who are too often unheard.

I have extensive experience working alongside migrant, refugee, and faith-based communities. My work is deeply shaped by values of dignity, compassion, cultural humility, and justice. I am strongly committed to creating spaces that are safe enough, inclusive, and culturally responsive so people can explore their stories and strengthen their wellbeing and practices.

I have over 10 years experience in designated lived/living experience roles in the AOD and mental health sector, including long-standing work at SHARC (Self Help Addiction Resource Centre). My roles have included supporting families with loved ones impacted by addiction and mental health issues, delivering peer-based education, and contributing to system-level advocacy across Victoria. I have also done a lot of work in the FV sector, one of which is authoring the ‘Faith Leader’s Practice Guide on preventing and responding to FV in Faith settings’, launched by Minister Gabrielle Willims in 2022 and is downloadable for free from the WIRE website. I have consulted with Melb Uni and Ourwatch on some FV projects along with Merri-bek and Hume City Councils. At MYAF (Muslim Youth, Adults & Families), I support families from migrant and refugee backgrounds who are navigating the impacts of AOD use, mental health distress, trauma, and family violence. I co-adapt and deliver culturally relevant psychoeducation programs (adapted from sharc’s psychoeducation programs) for various communities including First Nation’s peoples and help families make sense of service systems while strengthening their capacity to support their loved ones. I have held multiple consultancy roles, including with the Department of Health on lived/living experience workforce development, and contribute to co-design projects, committees, and policy discussions across community and mainstream organisations.

Across my career, I have supported individuals, families, and communities navigating settlement processes, identity, trauma, discrimination, racism and various social justice issues. My trauma informed practice is led by an intersectional, strength-based understanding of lived and living experience and community-led healing approaches. I am bilingual (Arabic and English speaking) and bring both professional and personal insight into the complexities of belonging, faith, culture, stigma, shame and systemic barriers that can perpetuate a person’s experience with services and within systems.

I currently work across SHARC and MYAF in roles that combine counselling, psychoeducation, family support, community engagement, and peer-led practice. I deliver workshops, co-design programs for diverse communities, and provide consultation on culturally responsive approaches within AOD/MH services predominantly within migrant and refugee communities and faith settings.

Alongside this, I am an Intentional Peer Support (IPS) National Trainer and Alt2su trained. I frequently present at conferences, community events, and sector forums. Public speaking and community education are significant parts of my work, and I am committed to strengthening the LLE workforce through training, mentoring, and sector capacity building.

• Diploma of Counselling (Grad 2017)
• Dual Cert IV Mental Health & AOD (Grad 2017)
• Intentional peer support training – core, advanced and TTT
• Wire’s FV training (9 weeks)
• Ames Leadership Program on Preventing and Responding to FV (12 weeks)
• Trauma-informed and recovery-oriented practice
• Islamic psychology, including work by Dr Francesca Bocca-Aldaqre
• AOD and mental health frameworks, including family-inclusive practice
• Family violence, intersectionality, and culturally responsive practice
• Community development and group facilitation training
• Extensive professional development in lived/living experience leadership and workforce capability

My supervision approach is relational, culturally responsive, and grounded in lived experience wisdom. I create a reflective, safe enough, and empowering space where supervisees can explore complexity without judgement. My practice draws on IPS principles, trauma-informed care, narrative approaches, and intersectional understanding of culture, faith, and identity.

I support supervisees to sit confidently with discomfort, reflect deeply on their values, and strengthen their capacity to work with diverse and marginalised communities. I offer supervision because I am committed to growing the LLE workforce, elevating lived experience as expertise, and nurturing practitioners who bring authenticity, compassion, and integrity to their work. My aim is to walk alongside supervisees in a way that builds their agency, aligns practice with purpose, and strengthens both their confidence and their contribution to the communities they serve.