Masharat Mujib, Counselor
I was born and raised in New York, my parents are from Bangladesh. I am a Bengali Muslim American. My parents worked hard throughout their whole lives. My parents always reminded my siblings and me of their cultural roots and they kept that alive to this day.
I attended City College CUNY and completed my B.S. in Psychology and shortly after attended Medaille College. I completed my Masters in Clinical Mental Health and Counseling. I started off interning with Amira Crawford and joined her platform Therapists for Black Girls, and it's been over 3 years.
I am formally trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and generally am an interactive, solution-focused therapist.
I worked in three different fields before and during my career in counseling. I worked as a service agent for various airlines at the airport. I also worked alongside designers and models in the fashion industry. Lastly, I worked in real estate. I didn’t jump around to find what best fit me, I was curious to learn and gain knowledge in these various fields. My career focus and goal always aligned with myself becoming a clinical mental health therapist.
Stigma revolves around therapy in various cultures. It is difficult for people to seek help when its frowned upon. I want to change that and assure and educate people that it’s okay to access this type of help. I chose this line of work to help people uncover their true potential and lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in our lives. I want to help unearth long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that hold people back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
Clients describe me as a warm, open, accepting, and interactive therapist. Clients generally express feeling thankful and appreciative of my work with them.
Growing up as a Muslim Bengali American was difficult at times. I was juggling incorporating American culture sand Bengali Muslim culture. Racism was when we as Muslims were targeted as terrorists after the World Trade Center fell. At times I struggled with what my identity was. I wish I had counseling at that time of my life to help me discover myself.
I care about working with different diverse racial and ethnic groups because I am aware of the biases, prejudices, and discrimination people face every day. I am are aware of and have been personally impacted by the sociopolitical contexts, issues of oppression, sexism, elitism, and racism in our country, not limited to it happening in personal relationships, workplaces, and within families. It is important for me to help people learn to face and cope with such issues in positive, healthy, and harmless ways. People need to talk about what is generally brushed under the rug in order to move forward. It’s important to set an example that it’s okay to talk and it’s time to talk. Culture is so much more than race and ethnicity, we make it, and it is constantly changing to fit our lives.
I offer Poly affirming and kink/BDSM awareness psychotherapy. I am very passionate about helping people understand their identity, behaviors, issues as well as exploring to learn more. I believe there is an assessing bias in mental health services to BDSM, kink, and Poly clients. Polygamy and polyamory are considered non-traditional relationships but it is widely practiced among various cultures and religions such as my own. I am aware of the stigma and biases people face with their identity however this shouldn’t prevent a person from seeking help from a therapist who is Poly affirming and kink/BDSM aware. I will efficiently offer you tools you can use to support healing and to become more mindful in practical, everyday ways; to reach beyond where you already are in order to move your optimal expression; to find a deepened self-acceptance, increased self-compassion, self-confidence and a greater sense of wholeness. My goal is to create a safe, inclusive, sex-positive, non-judgmental, and empowering space for all people to explore the depths of their emotions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors they can identify and explore.
I enjoy arts and crafts and watching TV. I am on a self-discovery journey, I enjoy exploring food, places, and things.