Lisa recently graduated with a Sociology and Criminology degree (BA HONS) from Coventry University, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Post graduating from University, she embarked on a role as a youth mentor at a charity called CHANCEUK.

This role involved weekly 1-1 mentoring sessions using the solution-focused approach for a caseload of mentees, all with varying referral reasons. Some were at risk of exclusion, so they required early intervention, whereas others came from complex family backgrounds and faced issues such as domestic violence, emotional abuse, single-parent households etc.  Several of her mentees were impacted by family circumstances psychologically and required support. Despite not providing direct therapeutic services, elements of her role as a mentor involved listening to mentees' problems and liaising with external agencies for further support.

Doing this role sparked her interest in intercultural therapy and made her further acknowledge how one’s situation can affect an individual’s psychological state massively, irrespective of age.  The mentees she worked with came from varying backgrounds and religions. Thus, her approach to each mentee had to be tailored for a positive outcome to be reached. To provide an example, during her mentoring sessions with a young Muslim woman, their discussions often revolved around how the concept of Allah aided her during difficult moments and how she believed Allah would continue to assist her. In contrast, when mentoring a male mentee from a non-religious Caribbean background, she focused on identifying and exploring prominent individuals from similar cultural backgrounds who served as role models and how the mentee could follow in their footsteps.

This (for Lisa) is the beauty of intercultural therapy. Founder of Nafsiyat Jafar Kareem stated we need to ‘take into account the whole being of the patient’. Using one’s cultural background as a focal point to understand individuals better really aided her as a mentor and helped with some really positive outcomes at the end of mentoring journeys.  This is why she has a keen interest in intercultural therapy.