Maryam Abdallah shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Maryam , it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I lose track of time and find myself again in a good book, especially if I’m sitting in nature. I can get lost reading a good book while swinging in a hammock or sitting on the beach or on my back porch. I love reading fictional books by authors such Teri McMillan, Omar Tyree and Sister Souljah because they’re so relatable and it’s a break away from reality, particularly when reality aka “the world” is chaotic. The comfort of a book and nature are soothing and give me space to check in on myself as well.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! I’m Maryam, Founder & Chief Wellness Officer, for I Am Well Consulting, LLC. I Am Well is a boutique group therapy practice that provides compassionate and evidence-based therapy, empowers workplaces to prioritize employee well-being, and actively engages in community outreach to destigmatize mental health and promote accessible support. We believe in creating authentic individuals, healthy families, safe workplaces and whole communities in which everyone thrives.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Grief is a part of me that has taken up a lot of space, served its purpose and has been released. I met major grief early in my adolescent years when my father disappeared from my life, then again as a young adult when cancer took my mother from me. I spent years grieving the loss of parents and over those years, many more losses of family and friends. Now as a therapist, I can appreciate my journey of grief as I am able to relate to the pain, hurt, anger, all the feelings that grief brings with my clients.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
One of the most defining wounds of my life was the disappearance of my father that I mentioned in an earlier question. Our father-daughter relationship abruptly ended when I was around 12 years old and I didn’t see my father again until approximately 15 years later. I didn’t know why he disappeared, was it my fault, is he coming back, is he dead…so many questions. Then after my mother died, I really felt alone because both of my parents were gone. When my father reappeared, I was initially overjoyed simply because he was alive and then I was overwhelmed with emotions of anger because of the obvious question…”Where the hell have you been?” The journey of repairing our father-daughter relationship wasn’t easy and I had to decide if I wanted to stay mad and miss the next hopefully 30+ years or find a way to forgive and rebuild starting from that day forward. I chose to forgive him because I would want the same if the tables were turned, so forgiveness healed that wound.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The biggest lie or belief within the psychotherapy world is that the DSM-5 is the end all be all when working with clients. I believe that diagnoses are important and the DSM-5 is a nice starting point to guide therapists when there is a diagnosis that is warranted. It’s even more important to listen to client’s needs and let that guide the treatment plan, not getting stuck in a check box from the book. Many clients seek therapy to talk and work through life conditions/issues, transitions and stressors that don’t meet criteria in the DSM-5, but the issues are still disruptive enough that the client needs support. At I Am Well, we believe in and practice a holistic approach and utilize alternative interventions to ensure that all concerns are addressed in a person-centered manner. We strive to provide a safe space to work through these issues without the fear of being diagnosed or medicated for having struggles.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
If I laid down my name, role and possessions, I would be just human. I would continue to love hard and treat everyone with kindness, even when they aren’t doing the same in return. I would continue to strive to be a good human by remembering that everyone has a story and are human…just like me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://iamwellconsulting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamwellconsulting/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryam-abdallah-lcsw-179655157
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamwellconsulting/
Image Credits
Autumn Moultry
