Yaqeen Sikander, Istanbul (2025)

22/12/2025

Honored to be a speaker at the 9th Al Sharq Conference, held in Istanbul on 12–13 December 2025.

With over 2,000 participants from across regions and disciplines, the space felt deeply alive—intellectually, emotionally, and ethically. We spoke about histories that live in bodies, wounds that are inherited, and the quiet ways trauma becomes collective. But we also spoke about something equally powerful: collective healing, moral imagination, and liberation as a shared responsibility.

What stayed with me most was the openness in the room—the willingness to sit with discomfort, to connect psychology with history, faith, justice, and lived experience. My masterclass titled “From Collective Trauma to Collective Liberation" reminded me why interdisciplinary, decolonial, and spiritually grounded approaches to mental health are not optional—they are necessary.

Grateful to for the platform, the participants for their presence, and Istanbul for once again being a meeting point of ideas, struggles, and hope.

17/11/2025

A week in Oman — Peace, Tolerance & the Power of Human Connection...

I just returned from a beautiful week in Oman, invited among the 20 delegates globally as part of the country’s vision for peace and tolerance. Sitting on a panel surrounded by inspiring youth leaders and peacebuilders from around the world reminded me of something simple — we cannot build peace alone.

On the panel, I discussed about:

1) Networking as a form of peace work — how real partnerships are born when people sit together, listen, and dream together.
2) Doing more with less — in a time of shrinking and unpredictable funding, the strength of a community becomes our greatest resource.
3) Tapping into local wisdom & relationships — because sustainable peace can never be imported; it grows from within.
4) Building capacity and community resilience - healing is collective and unresolved trauma and mental health need to be addressed in marginalised and war-affected societies.

Oman taught me again what gentleness can do, what hospitality feels like, and how hope travels when people from different cultures choose to sit in the same circle.

Grateful for every conversation, every smile, and every lesson. Here’s to building bridges — locally, globally, and spiritually.

08/11/2025

This weekend, I had the opportunity to present my paper on “Moral Injury in Islam: A Case Study and Clinical Implications” at the 9th International Students Congress organized by YTB (Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities) and hosted at Uludağ University, Bursa.

It was truly an enriching experience — with over 200 papers presented and more than 1,000 participants from across the world, all converging to share knowledge, culture, and research that reflects the incredible diversity of the global student community.

In my presentation, I discussed how moral injury — often studied through Western military and trauma frameworks — needs to be explored within Islamic moral, ethical, and theological contexts. The Qur’anic and Prophetic worldview offers a profound language for guilt, repentance, and healing that can meaningfully expand our understanding of human suffering and moral repair.

The congress reminded me of the urgent need to develop indigenous samples, culturally rooted frameworks, and Islamically grounded psychological models that truly reflect the lived realities of our communities. This is where the field of Islamic Psychology is not only relevant but essential — bridging faith, science, and the human story of resilience.

Grateful to YTB, Uludağ University, and all the participants for creating such a vibrant space of dialogue, learning, and inspiration.

16/10/2025

Sometimes, healing doesn’t look like journaling or deep therapy sessions. Sometimes, it looks like falling back into a pit of foam cubes — laughing, breathing, and remembering that life was never meant to be endured in constant seriousness.

In Islamic psychology, the self (nafs) seeks tawāzun — balance. Not just between work and rest, but between the adult who carries responsibilities and the child within who still needs play, joy, and lightness. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Your body has a right over you.” (Bukhari) — and that includes its need to unwind, laugh, and release.

We often talk about healing through prayer, reflection, or therapy — but sometimes, healing begins the moment you give yourself permission to simply have fun again.

Here’s your reminder: you’re allowed to rest. You’re allowed to play. You’re allowed to feel joy without guilt because joy too… is an act of ‘ibadah — a form of gratitude for the life Allah gave you.

Should we normalise taking out time to relax?

11/10/2025

On this World Mental Health Day, I had the honour of speaking to teachers about their own mental health — the quiet battles they face behind the classroom doors.

Teachers hold the emotional climate of a generation in their hearts, yet they’re often the most neglected when it comes to care and compassion.

As we talk about mental health, let’s not forget the vulnerable communities across the world — from Gaza’s classrooms to refugee camps, where children learn under trauma and teachers teach through grief.

Mental health is not a privilege; it’s a right.

30/09/2025

✨ PUBLICATION ALERT ✨

I am grateful to share that my academic book review “Restoring the Sacred in Psychotherapy” has just been published in the journal Spiritual Psychology and Counseling.

In this review, I reflect on how faith-based perspectives—particularly within Islamic psychology—are reshaping the discourse on psychotherapy. The piece emphasises the importance of restoring the “sacred” in our understanding of the human psyche, moving beyond purely secular frameworks to approaches that integrate spirituality, culture, and meaning-making.

This work resonates deeply with me, as it links my ongoing research in Islamic psychology to wider discussions on enhancing the holistic, inclusive, and globally relevant nature of mental health.

📖 You can read the full-paper in Volume 10, Issue 3 of Spiritual Psychology and Counseling athttps://spiritualpc.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/07_Sikander.pdf

23/09/2025

Compass 4.0—2-Day Personal Growth Retreat is back!

We’re excited to announce the 4th edition of Compass—our annual retreat that brings together people from across a wide spectrum to pause, reflect, and rediscover direction in life. I will be co-facilitating this event along with Dr. Farhat Umar

📍This year, Compass is happening at a beautiful resort in Kashmir, surrounded by mountains, forests, and serenity.

🗓️ October 4–5, 2025 (Sat & Sun)

🎟️ Limited to only 20 seats

What to expect:

- World-class growth sessions

- Deep connections and lifelong friendships

- Soulful adventures in nature

- Surprises and keepsakes to take home

- Luxury stay, premium travel & delicious local flavors

Our 2025 Compass Theme is:

Belong. Bloom. Become. 🌸

💬DM us for details & registration—seats are filling fast!

18/09/2025

On 20–21 September 2025, I will be serving as the Chief Facilitator at the National Mental Health Workshop, organised by SIO of India.

This 2-day training will bring together 150 participants from over 20 states of India, representing diverse academic and professional backgrounds, all committed to strengthening community mental health.

The workshop focuses on Community Mental Health First Aid through the lens of Islamic Psychology. This perspective integrates spiritual, psychological, and cultural dimensions of well-being, offering practical tools for resilience and preventive care.

Key areas of the programme include:

1) Recognizing, responding to, and referring individuals in distress
2) Contextualizing mental health challenges within community realities
3) Learning from Prophetic models of empathy, compassion, and healing
4) Designing grassroots frameworks for preventive mental health care

In a time where mental health challenges are growing rapidly, this initiative is an important step in building capacity at the community level. By equipping young people, educators, and leaders with mental health first aid skills, we can collectively create a culture where psychological support is accessible, stigma-free, and rooted in values of empathy and responsibility.

I look forward to contributing to this important dialogue and learning from the diverse perspectives of participants.

05/08/2025

Every Summer, when I visit home - Kashmir, I also do a limited number of face-to-face consultations at our Srinagar office, 4th year in a row now!

We are back in 2025 too and all details are provided on the registration page. If you are in Kashmir between 15th August to 15th October, 2025 and wish to see me for a 30 Minute Consultation face-to-face, please register at

https://pages.razorpay.com/ys2025consultations

All details are provided in the link above.

#2025

20/06/2025

As I reached for the ripe apricots closest to my hand, I felt the quiet lesson it carried: life always begins by inviting us to gather the “low-hanging harvest” — the languages we already speak, the skills we’ve practiced, the wisdom that lives in our communities and families.

But when my fingertips stretched for the fruit just out of reach, I needed a sturdy stick to bridge the gap. That simple tool became a reminder that higher branches demand deliberate investment: seeking mentorship, reading voraciously, enrolling in that course we keep postponing, daring to ask better questions of ourselves.

The tree itself stood firm in the breeze, patient and generous, whispering that our outcomes (the fruit) are never separate from the roots we nourish and the effort we’re willing to extend upward.

What “stick” will you choose today to climb beyond comfort and taste the sweetness waiting above? Start from what you have today to reach what you are missing...

02/06/2025

“Do not wish for an encounter with the enemy; rather ask Allah for safety” (Muslim).

This clip was recorded before the ceasefire, yet its plea is timeless: we must resist the seductive poetry of war. Islam’s prophetic ethic frames battle as a grim last resort, never a stage for spectacle. The Qurʾān reminds us, “If they incline to peace, then you too incline to it” (8:61), while ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib warned that “victory at the cost of mercy is the seed of future defeat.”

When rhetoric turns conflicts into myths of honor and revenge, it blinds us to the shattered futures of children across borders who inherit the smoke. True courage is not in waving flags over cratered ground, but in mending the social fabric before it unravels.

As Tagore wrote, “The world has kissed my soul with its pain, asking for its return in songs,” and our song must be one of justice without blood-lust, resolve without rancor. May this conversation soften hearts, disarm tongues, and remind us that the most ennobling jihad is the struggle to preserve life, dignity, and the quiet miracle of ordinary days.

10/05/2025

Recorded a short podcast on the ongoing violence between India and Pakistan where we Kashmiris are suffering due to this warmongering and romanticising of violence on both sides.

May peace and sense prevail, Amen.

Yaqeen Sikander

22/12/2025

17/11/2025

08/11/2025

16/10/2025

11/10/2025

30/09/2025

23/09/2025

18/09/2025

05/08/2025

20/06/2025

02/06/2025

10/05/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category