Masuma Rasheed Ph.D. RYT

Welcome! My name is Dr. Masuma Rasheed, I’m a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and founder and owner of Mindful Life Counseling. I have 17 years of experience helping clients find more clarity & direction in their lives. Our practice specializes in supporting adults, specifically marginalized individuals, to take control of our life story.

I root my therapy practices in anti-oppression and offer a safe therapy space for clients to come as they are. Societal structures can lead marginalized people to dim our authentic selves; in session with me, there’s no need to hold back, self-censor, or explain— my role is to work with who you are and your experiences. I do this by inviting awareness and conversation of racial, gender, and sexual dynamics and the impacts of institutional racism and discrimination into the therapy room.

I also do this by acknowledging that I am a hetrosexual, abled body, cis South Asian woman; I recognize that my privileges will impact how I show up in this space. I acknowledge that we all come from different life experiences and backgrounds and that we are all activated by different things that may come up during our time together. I am actively reflecting on my privileges and know that because of my identities, there are areas of growth I have to pay attention to and barriers to my understanding that may come up along the way. I am committed to paying close attention to my own advantages and remaining humble.

“Choosing our people is the closest we come to controlling our destiny“.   

As a therapist and team leader, I combine two major constructs and personal passions; movement and community. I founded Mindful Life Counseling to build a safe community for therapists to authentically serve clients in addition to fostering a space where clients feel a sense of belonging.

In the therapy room, I employ mind and body techniques, such as guided breathing, body movement, somatic techniques, and trauma informed yoga-based therapy. I also encourage clients to connect with safe spaces and communities outside the therapy room with the belief that “choosing our people is the closest we come to controlling our destiny“.

I have a strong passion for using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, in sessions. EMDR enables clients to live more fully in the present by working through past triggers and letting go of beliefs that no longer serve them. I am also certified as a LifeForce Yoga Practitioner (LFYP®), trained in using yoga to treat depression and anxiety. I believe that although talk therapy is necessary, I strongly believe that we need to incorporate the body for a sufficient journey in the healing process.

Outside of the therapy room, I continue to value service to communities of color. I am a former board member of HEART Women & Girls, an agency that works to promote sex education, uproot gendered violence, and advance reproductive justice by establishing choice and access for the most impacted Muslims. I also serve as a consultant to educate and train mental health providers in dismantling inequitable power structures and decolonizing the mental health field.

In my free time, my Mindful Life rituals include yoga, tai chi, breath-work and meditation — not to mention kickboxing, running, and weight lifting. I believe in strengthening the body to condition the mind. Other rituals include learning, dancing, journaling and connecting to nature as often as possible. I am usually working on a project that feeds my creative side; in addition to playing with my dog, Winnie.

Dr. Rasheed obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Southern Methodist University in 2003, a Master of Science degree in Counseling in 2008 at University of North Texas (UNT), and a Ph.D. in Counseling Education at UNT in 2011. Dr. Rasheed founded Mindful Life Counseling in June 2020.