Nawaal Amer (Associate Therapist)

Nawaal Amer (she/her) is an Associate Therapist at The Center For Growth. She meets virtually with clients in PA and offers in-person sessions monthly on Sundays at the Society Hill office in PA. She is especially interested in working with clients on issues such as depression, anxiety, self-esteem, relationships, trauma, and self-exploration. However she is open to growing as a therapist and exploring other therapy topics to help guide her clients!

Philosophy

Nawaal believes that there is always something we can learn about ourselves, and therapy can be a great place to do so. She wants to be a compassionate, and attentive therapist that allows her clients to open up and work on issues that may not have otherwise. Therapy and seeking mental health treatment isn’t always easy – but Nawaal wants to make the process as welcoming and comfortable as possible so it’s a little less scary.

Nawaal also believes that mental health care is just as important as physical health care. Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors impact so many aspects of our life. Working on any outstanding mental health issues but also keeping a check on one’s emotional/mental/behavioral state is a great way to live a fulfilling and healthy life.

Nawaal feels that everyone – regardless of gender, background, race, identity, etc. – is entitled to mental health care. It can truly change one’s life and can make all the difference when someone is struggling with something. Nawaal is excited and open to working with any client that is also open to the process of therapy. Having an open mindset can allow the client to be receptive to guidance during therapy, but also be receptive to their own inner thoughts and feelings. However if you are nervous about therapy and unsure if you can have the open mindset right off the bat – don’t worry! Sometimes it does take time for you to feel more comfortable in a therapy setting to allow yourself to open up. Growth and change do not happen overnight. Sometimes it can be a gradual process, but it is rewarding all the same!

During her time with The Center For Growth, Nawaal is thrilled to meet and work with new clients and further develop her interests in various therapeutic approaches. She is also very excited to continue building therapeutic relationships with her clients as her career continues. She wishes to help her clients grow, empower themselves, and she hopes to make a true difference in their lives. The approaches Nawaal mostly utilizes during counseling are Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Trauma Therapy, and Humanistic Therapy.

What To Expect In A Session

Nawaal understands that seeking out therapy for the first time can be overwhelming. Whether you are seeking treatment for depression, anxiety, trauma, or another issue, taking that first step can be difficult! The first session with Nawaal will include her building a connection with her clients and creating a strong foundation for the rest of the sessions going forward. In the first session, Nawaal will work with her clients in identifying the issues that bring them into therapy, discussing current coping methods, listing any potential constraints for treatment, and setting up goals for therapy. The following sessions would involve working to achieve those goals.

Therapy goals can often change over the course of treatment. Nawaal is aware that goals that a client initially starts with might change over time, or new goals may arise on top of what was already set. She is flexible and open to working on whatever concerns are most pressing to her clients as the sessions progress. Nawaal will be kind, inquisitive, empathetic, and non-judgmental to ensure that clients are able to safely share their concerns without fear. To ensure that goals are being met, Nawaal will keep track and do several check-ins during future sessions. She wants to make sure her clients feel they are heard and that their issues are being addressed in a timely and consistent manner. She also wants to make sure that her clients are treated as individuals with unique perspectives and needs. Nawaal understands that not all treatment methods may work exactly the same on every client. So, she is ready to tailor treatment to each individual client based on their abilities, wants/needs, and level of comfort.

Nawaal feels that every therapeutic relationship is a collaborative one. She is open to new ideas and wants to know what is working for her clients and what isn’t as their individual counseling relationship with her progresses – that way any necessary changes can be made for the betterment of her clients. Whether you wish to incorporate approaches like Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Trauma Therapy, or Humanistic Therapy into your time in therapy, or another therapeutic approach not mentioned, let Nawaal know and she will help integrate those into your treatment!

Nawaal’s Approach To Solution-Focused Therapy

Quite often clients will come into therapy very weighed down by the struggles they are facing. They may take on a very negative outlook on their situation and not see the light at the end of their struggles. Nawaal understands that it can be very difficult for people to find any necessary solutions when they first come into therapy. Having a solution-focused approach allows Nawaal to work with the clients to break down their struggles into manageable parts that can be examined and solved. Nawaal wants to help her clients identify easy solutions to the difficult problems they are facing and help implement those solutions into their daily life.

Nawaal’s Approach To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

People can often fall into cycles that involve negative thoughts and harmful behaviors. It is common to get comfortable with these cycles since that is either all we’ve known, or we don’t know how to go about breaking those cycles. Sometimes we might not even realize we are involved in such a cycle until someone else points it out to us. Nawaal wants to help her clients identify these patterns and identify ways to break the cycle to create better patterns going forward. This can be done by identifying any specific triggers to those thoughts, examining any feelings that could be contributing to those cycles, and more!

Nawaal’s Approach To Narrative Therapy

Life is full of stories. Nawaal wants her clients to explore their own personal stories in therapy to help reframe and rework them into positive ones. Narrative therapy allows a person to deconstruct their life stories but also view their own stories through an objective lens. Nawaal wants her clients to feel comfortable sharing their stories with her so that they can be deconstructed, and so the issues her clients are facing can be externalized and worked on through other viewpoints.

Nawaal’s Approach To Trauma Therapy

Trauma can affect our lives in ways that we may not initially realize. There are also several different issues we face in our lives that we do not recognize as traumas. Whether you are seeking therapy after facing a traumatic event, or you want to address generational trauma, Nawaal can help you through your journey. Due to her educational background in trauma counseling, Nawaal is open to working with her clients on processing any potential traumas they may have faced. Nawaal’s approach to trauma is gentle and she wants to create a safe space for her clients to unpack and work on their thoughts/feelings following their trauma. Speaking about previous traumas can be an exhausting and emotional experience, and Nawaal is aware of that. The discussion and treatment of trauma under Nawaal would occur at the client’s level of comfortability. While working through processing their traumas, clients can expect Nawaal to be kind, receptive, and empathetic to what they are going through.

Nawaal’s Approach To Humanistic Therapy

Humanistic therapy is an approach that allows an individual to explore their own self-identity, beliefs, feelings, and thoughts. Nawaal believes that her clients should be able to explore their own identity and learn more about themselves as individuals in therapy. She approaches this form of therapy with a sense of genuineness and empathy to ensure that her client feels safe expressing and exploring their individuality. She uses this approach to help identify a person’s individual needs, wants, and feelings to help her clients navigate through life with a stronger sense of self-identity.

Background

Nawaal completed her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an Emphasis in Trauma Counseling at Grand Canyon University. She completed her undergraduate degree at Drexel University where she completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Biology.

Nawaal always had an interest in mental health from an early age. Whether it was through watching TV/movies about mental health issues or reading articles on changes in the mental health field – she always found herself drawn to it. As she grew up, she realized the lack of mental health care in situations where people could greatly benefit from it. When finalizing a career choice, Nawaal wanted to make sure that she not only could incorporate her interest of mental health but also contribute to the field of mental health care to try and help those people she would often see struggling.

Nawaal grew up right outside the city of Philadelphia and always loved it. After moving around to different states for several years due to previous work experiences, she returned home last year to work in the city again. She has had jobs in the past that exposed her to different people and life experiences. Nawaal worked has worked many years in property management, before shifting her professional field to a clinical setting instead. She has completed her therapy internship at the Center For Growth and now works as an Associate Therapist to continue fostering her love of the mental health field and helping others. When Nawaal isn’t working, you can usually find her spending time with her friends, family, or her fluffy cat, Theo. She also enjoys going to museums, watching movies, and doing whatever sounds fun at the moment.

Nawaal Amer (Associate Therapist)'s Resume