Naziat Hassan
I initially worked with school-age children in a school setting, and in my junior year of college, I decided to pursue psychology because there was a need for it in my community. I come from a background where mental health and psychology are taboo topics, and I happen to be one of very few Bengali-speaking therapists from a Bangladeshi-American background. I decided to pursue this field because there was a need for therapists and an advocate for mental health in the Bangladeshi American community. Now, I advocate for mental health services, dismantling stigma around mental health in underrepresented communities. My main area of expertise is trauma and substance abuse. On a typical day, I meet with clients one-on-one, check my emails, look at my schedules, prepare what the session will look like before they come to session, have a conversation with them, reflect on what occurred during the session, do a wrap-up, do my notes, and then debrief with colleagues. The experiences I received during my graduate program in mental health counseling at Hunter College shaped me, especially with the diversity of experiences, and the experiences I got after I graduated working in various settings such as outpatient mental health clinics and inpatient substance abuse treatment programs, working with adolescents, all of it really shaped my career and who I am today, being able to evoke empathy and understanding for others.
• Graduate program in Mental Health Counseling at Hunter College
• Inclusion
• Access
• And Success Award from National Association for College Admissions Counseling (2023)
• Appreciation Awards from Rotary Club
What do you attribute your success to?
What contributes to my success is my ability to tap into my faith. First of all, my faith - I am Muslim, and I follow Islam, and just being able to tap into that and reflect on myself, how I am as an individual, what I do on a daily basis, being mindful of my actions really contributed to my success. I wanted to create a positive impact in my community. I wanted to create a space where individuals can come together and just be themselves and be their most vulnerable selves. And so, just being able to create that and evoke empathy and understanding in others really has contributed to my success. Of course, my family, my mentors, but really my faith and my uniqueness have contributed to my success.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The advice I received from my mentors wasn't just one piece of advice, their advice was surrounding productivity, and just being true to myself, just utilizing my individuality, my uniqueness, to do the positive work that I'm doing.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say be ready to learn, be ready to absorb as much as you can. You know, you will make a lot of mistakes, but you will have the right system in place to help you and guide you, and also find that one person who will be able to mentor you and point you to the right direction.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There isn't a lot of education - I mean, now there is, but there still needs to be more education around various mental health topics. People are over-diagnosing individuals, they're misdiagnosing individuals, and there needs to be a better way of raising awareness and education around mental health within the community. A lot of people are not really asking for help because they don't really understand what mental health is about, what wellness is about, and we just need to work together to really educate these individuals. I would say creating more spaces where there can be more meaningful conversations around various mental health topics, where individuals from various specialties can come together and just have healthy conversations around various mental health topics, and what's appropriate and what's not appropriate.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Some of the values that I bring are empathy, being mindful and present, being firm, having a firm belief in who I am, respect, kindness, and generosity. These are all some of the values that I carry with me in my line of work.
Locations
Pearls of Wellbeing
9929 211th Street, Queens Village, NY 11429