Hello! My name is Shay! I am a graduate of Hunter College twice over with a B.A. in Psychology and an MSEd in Mental Health Counseling. The ideals that I value the most as a therapist are those held in humanistic, person-centered therapy—I believe that the personal narrative of you, the client, should be centered first and foremost, before any sort of assessment on the part of me, or any others you have worked with in the past. My approach is integrative, combining evidence-based methods such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with knowledge of the impact of multicultural factors.

To me, counseling is—beyond everything else—a conversation. Not just verbal, but one of body language and gestures and exchanges of culture in and of itself. As a therapist, my role is first and foremost to listen to your story, understand how you communicate, and how you see the world, working towards understanding your goals within that perspective. I approach therapy from the perspective that cultural differences necessitate unique approaches, whether that is with regards to working through personal goals or interpersonal conflicts.

Much of this perspective is a result of both my background and those around me. I am South Asian—Bangladeshi, to be more specific—and the first of my family, the child of immigrants, to attend college here in the United States. Being of a certain diaspora, I grew up bilingual, and I grew up midway between two very different cultures. Growing up in New York, I was also always surrounded by people with equally as diverse of a background—or even more so—than my own. As a teenager, I faced the difficulties of understanding my own gender and sexuality in the face of a society that was not always accepting of it—and of course, in the world of today, I still do.

I have worked with people of all ages and various cultures, with those that have physical disabilities and those who are neurodivergent, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community. To that end, I believe that the intrinsic nature of therapy as communication is what has brought me here—and I extend the offer to join that conversation to anyone who needs it.

Shay (Sharah) Nabi
they/them