Therapy that respects your faith and your family — a Muslim therapist NYC clients trust

Rubina works with clients of every faith and of none, including many Muslim individuals, couples and families from Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Arab, African and convert backgrounds. She grew up in a South Asian context where Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism sat side by side, and she understands the rhythms of Ramadan, Eid, Jummah and family obligations around them.

She is not a religious scholar and does not give fatwas or religious rulings. If you want guidance on a point of fiqh, your imam or a scholar you trust is the right person. What Rubina offers is a space where your faith is respected, where you will not be asked to justify it, and where you can explore your emotions without feeling you have to choose between your deen and your mental health.

Some Muslim clients have heard, directly or indirectly, that anxiety or depression means weak iman — that if you prayed more or trusted Allah more, you wouldn't feel this way. That message can add shame on top of pain. Many scholars and Muslim mental health organisations reject it, and Rubina does too. Feeling low is not a spiritual failure.

Others carry harder experiences: rigid or frightening religious teaching in childhood, judgment from a community when a marriage ended, or doubts they feel unable to share with anyone. You can bring those experiences here without being labelled. The goal is never to move you closer to or further from religion. It is to help you feel more at peace with yourself.

Muslim women in New York are often doing several jobs at once: building careers, raising children, caring for parents, holding a household's reputation, and quietly absorbing comments about how they dress or whether they are "too modern" or "too religious." Rubina sees many women who feel they cannot win either way.

In sessions you will not be asked to explain why you cover, or why you choose not to. You can talk about modesty, marriage, intimacy and boundaries in the language that feels right to you. Women who want a wider circle might also look at the group program for South Asian women, or the page on therapy for South Asian women.

Rubina works with married Muslim couples and with couples preparing for marriage. Common themes include different expectations about roles in the home, how much say each family has, money, intimacy after years of silence about it, and differences in religious practice between partners. She does not take sides, and she will not push either of you to abandon your values.

Couples preparing for nikah can benefit from premarital counseling, which gives you a chance to talk about the hard questions — children, finances, where you will live, how you handle conflict — before they become fights.