CCRC is proud to periodically spotlight one of our staff therapists so as to give you a chance to get to know their unique qualities and interests. Today's spotlight is on Nosheen Hydari, LMFT.
1. Hi!
My name is Nosheen, and I’m a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, as well as a Post-graduate Supervisor, and an American Library Association Great Stories Club Advisor.
2. Do you have a specific focus or interest in your clinical work?
I currently work primarily with couples and individuals around issues of identity, differentiation, attachment and depression/anxiety. I have a particular focus on the experience of multiculturalism. I know firsthand that psychosocial development is not the same for people who identify from non-majority cultures and backgrounds. I work with interfaith and biracial couples and families, and am establishing a niche working with South Asian and Muslim American clients, who are presenting in my therapy office at a higher rate than ever in my years as a Therapist.
I have past experience in Public Mental Health, with a background in treating trauma and managing crisis due to violence and poverty caused by system racism in various settings including health clinics, hospital systems, correctional facilities and community mental health agencies. I have worked with the Obama White House, and Obama Foundation, as well as other local community organizations, on efforts to prevent gun violence.
3. What makes you unique as a therapist?
I am originally from Hyderabad, India, and have also lived in Saudi Arabia, England, and the United States. I have worked in Online Marketing in Chicago and San Francisco before deciding to take the leap into Psychology as my second career. I appreciate the amalgamation of my diverse cultural and professional background which has allowed me to see a wide spectrum of life's possibilities. I believe that living in different cities and working in a multitude of settings has allowed me to connect with my clients, who present from an array of backgrounds and walks of life.
4. Why did you decide to become a therapist?
I was fascinated with people's stories, and what intentions and motivations create progress in their lives. I wanted to study people, their behaviors, and their constraints, why they get caught up or stuck despite the knowledge that they want or aspire for something different. I originally majored in Journalism, and worked in Marketing, so I believe that passion for people's stories and motivations has been a thread woven through many of my major pursuits in life. I get that passion from my Mom, who has always been so keenly interested in people, their history and their upbringing. Growing up, she often spoke the stories of those who were constrained, disenfranchised, held back or oppressed. She planted the seed of curiosity about the lives of people who are struggling. Now working as a Therapist, I get to connect with and dive into the inner workings of a person. It is beyond fulfilling.
5. How do you think change happens?
I know everybody struggles in some way, and our society's perpetuating of loneliness and isolation breeds illness. I know that connection with another human being, even through life's most challenging times, is the definition of wellness. To me, it is how change is possible.
I think of change in Therapy in 5 steps:
1) Connection in the therapeutic relationship through validation and safe exploration
2) Building awareness of past and current behaviors and patterns
3) Defining goals and committing to change behaviors
4) Practicing new behaviors, testing out responses internally and externally
5) Integrating change into your relationships with others and Self
6. What are you most thankful for?
Autonomy. I believe that we are meant to do with our lives what we feel we are good at, what is meaningful to us and what feels fulfilling. If we are able to do it without the hovering and micromanaging of systems, quotas, budgets full of insecurity and operating from a place of scarcity, we should count ourselves lucky. I have worked in many settings from the private sector to public health to non-profit and government, now finally rooted in private practice. I feel calm and well-differentiated from the anxieties of work settings laden with stress. I feel extremely grateful to have the autonomy to create my own clinical practice and a life that I have long sought-out. I know that if I can create that for myself, I can help my clients do the same in their own lives.
Nosheen was awarded with the Obama White House Champion of Change Award for work in Gun Violence Prevention, and has been featured by the following media: MSNBC, WHYY-FM Radio, Obama White House Blog, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Nosheen currently sees clients at our South Loop and Northside locations.
She can be reached by phone at (630) 965-6674, and by email at nosheenhydari@ncrcchicago.com.
