Compassionate counseling and pastoral care rooted in Islamic values.
We provide licensed mental health counseling and pastoral care for individuals, couples, and families. Our approach integrates professional therapeutic care, faith-informed guidance, and psychoeducation to support emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being.
About Us
Qalam Pastoral & Counseling Services provides counseling and pastoral care for individuals, couples, and families. Services are informed by professional ethical standards and Islamic values, supporting emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being with care, clarity, and integrity. Confidentiality is regarded as essential to this work and is upheld as both a professional obligation and a moral trust grounded in faith-based ethics.
Care is offered through a thoughtful integration of counseling, pastoral support, and psychoeducation, with attention to the whole person and respect for individual needs, goals, and circumstances. Every effort is made to ensure that individuals and families experience a setting that is respectful, private, and grounded in trust.
Our Services
Individual Counseling
Individual counseling provides a confidential setting for addressing emotional, psychological, and relational concerns. Care is informed by evidence-based practice and professional ethical standards, with faith-informed reflection incorporated when appropriate and aligned with client goals.
Marriage Counseling
Marriage Counseling supports couples seeking clarity, improved communication, and healthier relational patterns. Attention is given to emotional safety, shared responsibility, and relational understanding within an Islamic ethical framework. Care may also address patterns of conflict, expectations, and emotional responsiveness, supporting couples in developing greater awareness, accountability, and connection.
Family Counseling
Family counseling addresses relational dynamics, boundaries, and communication patterns across family systems. Services support families navigating conflict, stress, and life transitions with care and clarity. Attention is also given to roles, expectations, and intergenerational patterns, supporting healthier interaction and understanding within the family unit.
Children, Adolescents, and Teen Counseling
Child and adolescent counseling provides a confidential and developmentally appropriate setting for addressing emotional, behavioral, and relational concerns. Care is informed by evidence-based practice and professional ethical standards, with attention to the child’s developmental stage, family context, and individual needs.
Services may address concerns such as anxiety, mood difficulties, behavioral challenges, trauma, grief, peer relationships, family transitions, and school-related stress. When appropriate, caregivers may be involved to support consistency, understanding, and effective communication within the family system. A faith-based perspective may be incorporated when appropriate and aligned with the child’s developmental needs and family goals.
Pre-marital Counseling
Pre-marital counseling supports couples in preparing for marriage through structured conversations addressing communication, expectations, values, and relational responsibility. Attention is also given to areas such as conflict navigation, emotional readiness, and shared understanding, supporting couples in approaching marriage with clarity and intentionality.
Pastoral Counseling
Pastoral counseling offers faith-informed guidance and emotional support rooted in Islamic tradition. This service focuses on reflection, spiritual grounding, and personal guidance, and is offered within clearly defined ethical and professional boundaries. Referrals are made when clinical care is indicated.
Therapy
Therapy is understood as a process of addressing emotional, psychological, and relational barriers that affect clarity, stability, and purposeful living. Care is grounded in professional ethics and informed by Islamic values, with attention to balance, insight, and spiritual grounding where appropriate.
An integrative therapeutic framework is utilized, drawing from established psychotherapeutic modalities including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and narrative approaches. Mindfulness-based practices and somatic (body-based) interventions may be incorporated when clinically indicated, particularly in trauma-informed care.
Services are provided to adults and adolescents and address concerns such as trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, co-dependency, parenting challenges, and relational difficulties. Treatment is individualized and guided by clinical judgment, ethical responsibility, and responsiveness to each person’s needs and goals, with faith-informed reflection incorporated when appropriate.
Our Team
Shaykh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith - Pastoral Counselor
Shaykh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith is an educator, author, and pastoral counselor deeply committed to fostering emotional well being, spiritual growth, and compassionate understanding within diverse communities. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of West Alabama, building on a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Tarleton State University and a Master’s equivalent education in Islamic Studies from the Academy of Sacred Knowledge.
Shaykh Mikaeel’s work integrates emotional intelligence, faith-informed reflection, and genuine human connection. His approach emphasizes meaningful dialogue, personal insight, and the transformative power of listening, helping individuals and families navigate emotional and relational challenges with clarity and care.
Since 2017, he has served as an instructor at Qalam Seminary, teaching Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence, and Prophetic traditions, while also providing counseling, academic advising, and contributing to the seminary’s academic journal. He is the author of With the Heart in Mind and When Hearing Becomes Listening, both of which explore emotional intelligence through classical Islamic scholarship and contemporary psychology.
In addition to teaching and writing, Shaykh Mikaeel has served as an Imam since 2013 and has led workshops across the United States focused on emotional intelligence, communication, and healthy relationships. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to healing, connection, and community empowerment.
Ustadha Samrina Qureshi - Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
Ustadha Samrina Qureshi is a Licensed Professional Counselor and faculty member at Qalam Seminary whose work reflects sustained engagement in counseling, education, and community-based mental health services. A Southern California native, she currently resides in Dallas, Texas. She completed her Alimiyyah degree at Qalam Seminary in 2019 and holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of the Cumberlands, along with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design.
Her clinical practice is informed by extensive experience working with individuals and families navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, and complex life transitions. She specializes in trauma-informed care, women’s mental health and life transitions, and family systems, integrating evidence-based psychological treatment with faith-based reflection and culturally responsive care. She is currently working toward EMDR certification, with a particular focus on trauma recovery, emotional regulation, and long-term healing.
At Qalam Seminary, Ustadha Samrina teaches courses in Spiritual Refinement (Tazkiyah) as well as foundational and advanced Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh). She has also served as an instructor, mentor, and retreat facilitator, and previously served on the Women’s Committee at Valley Ranch Islamic Center. Her work is characterized by a deep commitment to ethical practice, professional excellence, and the development of holistic models of care that address emotional well-being, relational health, and spiritual formation. She brings a seasoned, thoughtful approach to her work and remains deeply dedicated to serving the Muslim community through clinical rigor and compassionate care. She offers counseling services in English and Urdu.
Zamzam Abukar, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor who works with women, children, teens, couples, and families navigating emotional stress, relational challenges, and major life transitions. Her clinical work focuses on women’s mental health, postpartum and perinatal mood concerns, and family relationships. She provides trauma-informed, culturally responsive care, integrating evidence-based therapy with faith-based consideration when appropriate.
Faizan Majidi is a Licensed Professional Counselor who provides culturally responsive, evidence-based mental healthcare. His clinical work focuses on anxiety, stress, depression, grief, and relational challenges, and he supports individuals and families with clarity, compassion, and practical therapeutic insight.
Tasneem Alhomsy, LPC-Associate provides culturally responsive, evidence-based counseling to adults, couples, and youth navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, and relational challenges. Her clinical work integrates approaches such as CBT, EFT, and attachment-based therapy within a solution-focused, faith-aware framework. She practices under the supervision of Elizabeth Land, LPC-S.
Dalia Assem - Office Manager
Our Approach
Our approach is grounded in removing barriers to mental and emotional care within the Muslim community. Informed by Islamic values and ethical practice, professional counseling, pastoral guidance, and education are integrated to support individuals, couples, and families as whole persons navigating the complexities of modern life with clarity, resilience, and purpose. When individuals and families are met with empathy, clarity, and compassion, healing is intentional, transformative, and grounded in faith.
Our Core Focus Areas
Compassionate, Person-Centered Care
Individuals are approached with care and respect, recognizing a natural orientation toward clarity, purpose, and meaningful living. Attention is given to addressing emotional and psychological barriers in order to support realignment with clarity, purpose, and spiritual grounding.
Ethical and Trust-Centered
All services are delivered with professional integrity, confidentiality, and respect. Ethical practice is understood as both a professional responsibility and a moral trust grounded in faith-based ethics.
Strength-Based Growth
A forward-focused approach that builds resilience, insight, and adaptive skills, with care extending beyond symptom management to support long-term emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being.
Integrated Psychoeducation
Islamic principles are integrated thoughtfully and intentionally into counseling, pastoral care, and education when appropriate, supporting reflection, understanding, and personal growth without imposition.
Fees & Insurance
Fees are set by each provider and services are offered on a private-pay basis. Payment is expected at the time of service.
At this time, Qalam Pastoral & Counseling Services does not accept insurance.
Individual Counseling Fees
(All fees are per 50-minute session)
Shaykh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith: $200
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): $170
Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC-A ) & Graduate Level Student: $120
Marriage & Family Counseling Fees
(All fees are per 50-minute session)
Joint Couples Session: $250
Joint Family Session: $250
Qalam Seminary Students (Currently Enrolled in years 1-5)
50-min session: $75
Frequently Asked Questions
What services are offered through Qalam Pastoral & Counseling Services?
Services include individual counseling, couples and marriage counseling, family counseling, child, adolescent, & teen counseling, pre-marital counseling, pastoral counseling, and educational programming. Services are informed by professional standards and Islamic values and are tailored to individual needs and goals.
What is the difference between licensed counseling and pastoral counseling?
Licensed counseling is provided by licensed mental health professionals and focuses on emotional, psychological, and relational concerns through evidence-based therapeutic approaches, coupled with faith-informed reflection when appropriate. Clinical counseling may include assessment, treatment planning, and therapeutic intervention, and is delivered in accordance with professional ethics, licensure requirements, and state regulations.
Pastoral counseling provides faith-based and spiritually grounded support rooted in Islamic values, with an emphasis on spiritual reflection, religious guidance, and personal development. It offers space to explore faith, meaning, moral decision-making, and life challenges through an Islamic ethical lens, while supporting emotional insight and personal growth. Pastoral counseling does not include clinical diagnosis or formal treatment planning, and referrals are made when clinical care is indicated.
Questions?
Email us at pc@qalamcare.com