Stephen Abdullah Maynard was already a counsellor working with people of colour when he reverted to Islam over 30 years ago. Within a year he met his Shaykh of tasawwuf and has been his student since. Through these teachings he was shown an Islamic psychospiritual understanding of humanity, which has formed the basis of what he and Sabnum Dharamsi developed over the last 26 years, Islamic counselling, and psychotherapy. Following their work developing accredited professional qualifications and the Department of Health Scoping Report on

Muslim Mental Health. Abdullah set up The Lateef Project, which since 2010 has provided free Islamic counselling in the belief people in England should access appropriate mental health care, free at the point of use.

Through The Lateef Project, Abdullah is working towards the accessibility of appropriate faith-based and effective mental health care for Muslims in the UK. In its first 12 Years, The Lateef Project has proven that it is an Islamic therapeutic service open to the whole community that is effective in working with common mental health problems, and this is evidence-based.

Publications include:

Maynard A, (1998) Beginning at the Beginning Islamic counselling. British Association for Counselling Race and Education in Counselling Multicultural Journal No 16 22-24

Maynard, SA, (2008). Muslim mental health: A scoping paper on theoretical models, practice and related mental health concerns in Muslim communities. Retrieved from http://de.scribd.com/doc/90324305/Muslim-Mental-Health-Stephen-

Maynard Dharamsi S, Maynard A, (2011). Islamic-Based Interventions in Ahmed S, Amer M, Counselling Muslims: Handbook of mental health issues and interventions Routledge

Maynard SA, (2022, in print). Muslim mental health inequalities – Addressing mental health through Islamic counselling a faith-based therapeutic intervention. In Dogra, S.A. (Ed.), British Muslims, Ethnicity and Health Inequalities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

Maynard SA, (2022) How do Muslims survive and thrive within secular prejudicial spaces? The British Psychology Society Psychotherapy Section Review Volume 66 17-20

Ayesha Powell is a counsellor/psychotherapist at the Lateef Project and is proud of her ability to form a bridge between cultures and people. Her early years were spent in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Arabian Gulf, where she grew up, developing an ear for Arabic and mixing with the vast and varied expatriate community. People’s resilience in the face of challenge became an abiding interest for her. Ayesha previously worked in journalism in the Middle East and Pakistan before settling in the UK. She is the mother of three adult daughters.

Through focusing on her spirituality, she first became a Conscious Connected Breath therapist and then an Islamic Counsellor, which she has practised for seven years, working with adult clients coping with anxiety, depression, complex childhood trauma, domestic abuse, bereavement, as well as clients presenting with autistic behaviours and ADHD.

She is fluent in spoken English and Urdu, and has a good grasp of Qur’anic Arabic.

Sandra is a Senior Psychotherapist at the Lateef Project and has worked with children, adolescents, and adults of diverse cultures and faiths. She graduated from Psychology Counselling and Therapies and has recently undertaken a Masters in Health Psychology. Sandra has been a counsellor since 2016 and is an active member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). She also holds a graduate membership with the British Psychological Society. Sandra works with the Islamic Counselling model, which enables clients to experience their sense of Self from within a spiritual and therapeutic spectrum.

She loves working with the diversity of cultures that the Lateef Project is open to, as well as taking a holistic approach with her clients towards their physical, psychological and spiritual well-being.

Humayra is a qualified Islamic Counsellor with considerable experience working with teenagers aged 11 to 16 years. She has a BSc Hons in Psychology and is a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP). She has worked with adults, children, and adolescents since 2015, acquiring considerable experience during this time working with cleints presenting with depression, anxiety, attachment issues, relationship difficulties, trauma and bereavement.

Humayra can provide therapy in Urdu, Punjabi (at a basic level), Potowari (at a basic level) and English. She has provided counselling to a diverse range of clients, including teenagers with autistic behaviours and ADHD.