Najwa Awad, LCSWC, PMHC

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Columbia, MD
Najwa Awad, LCSWC, PMHC

Psychotherapist, EMDR Provider, Author

Helping Muslims heal, grow and thrive after adversity.

Najwa is a psychotherapist, certified perinatal mental health specialist and organizational mental health consultant that has provided services to individuals and families in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for over 15 years. She has a private practice that offers psychotherapy to women and children, and specializes in treating depression, anxiety, trauma and family conflict. Her experience in the field is diverse and includes providing services at group homes, Islamic schools, public schools and in the foster care system. In addition to giving regular workshops in the community, Najwa is also Fellow at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research in which she authors publications on the intersectionality of Islam and mental health.

02/27/2026

Shaytan distorts shame for his gain.

He will either minimize or justify the wrong to protect your ego, keeping you in denial about the need for istighfar, or magnify it until it feels so catastrophic that you grow hopeless and withdraw.

Either way, the goal is distance.

Istighfar, when viewed as an ongoing invitation to reconnect with the Most Merciful, always keeps the door open.

It restores clarity.

02/20/2026

01/16/2026

I’ve been listening to the book Zero to One. It’s not really my cup of tea, but this quote genuinely resonated with me:

“You can have agency, not just over your own life, but over a small and important part of the world. It begins by rejecting the unjust tyranny of chance. You are not a lottery ticket.”

TV, movies, and social media quietly train us to view success as viral, random, unpredictable, and dependent on being “picked.”

Performance culture reinforces it too. Yes, hard work matters, but so does timing, the algorithm, luck, and proximity.

Over time, that mindset can make us passive. Islamically, this can quietly and subconsciously shape our hearts in a spiritually dangerous way.

Do amazing things happen to us by chance? Zero to One pushes back on this idea. Reject the tyranny of chance.

And as believers, we go even further. We don’t believe in luck. We believe success comes from Allah.

It comes through thinking highly of Him, making du‘aa without limitations, and trusting that barakah follows sincere effort and good intentions.

And if Allah bestows a talent, wealth, or a blessing, it isn’t random. It isn’t chance.
It’s a door Allah opened for you.

So don’t live like you’re waiting to be chosen.
Move with intention. Take action. Trust Allah.
And refuse to be passive with the life you’ve been given.

01/09/2026

I loved this insight in a therapy session this week. We can come closer to Allah even when we are struggling spiritually. We don’t have to resolve the struggle in order to seek nearness. Those are two separate things.

01/02/2026

Address

Columbia, MD

Website

http://www.amanahcounseling.com/

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Bio

Najwa Awad (LCSW-C) is a psychotherapist in private practice who is passionate about helping others heal, grow, and thrive after adversity. She has over a decade of experience providing counseling to children, adults, and families. Najwa also enjoys writing articles and giving workshops to destigmatize mental illness and address current mental health issues within the Muslim community.

Najwa is also fellow at the Yaqeen Institue for Islamic Research and a Steering Committee Member at UMMAH (United for Muslim Mental Advocacy & Health: A grassroots initiative to de-stigmatize mental illness and address the mental health needs of Muslim communities). Services are available in her Maryland office and online. Please visit www.amanahcounseling.com for more details.