My Approach

I specialize in working with adults and emerging adults who have experienced trauma, mood disorders, and personality disorders, as well as those navigating life transitions, relationship issues, and cultural and immigration. I believe in the importance of exploring how past relationships and early experiences, including cultural factors familial histories, have influenced how you interact with yourself and the world. I have extensive training in multicultural and relational psychotherapy, which I implement with all my clients. Together, will collaboratively work towards obtaining your most actualized and integrated self.

Many of my patients come from LGBTQ+, immigrant, and other marginalized communities. I understand what it feels like to belong to multiple worlds that sometimes seem vastly different. Through our work together, I hope to help you make sense of your various identities and support you in integrating them.

I strive to create an environment of curiosity, warmth, and directness as we explore and address the root causes of your struggles. With extensive trauma training, I primarily practice from a relational and psychodynamic framework, emphasizing the impact of past relationships and intergenerational dynamics on your current life. I also integrate various treatment approaches, including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS), to best fit your individual needs. My goal is to help you uncover a more authentic way to live and express your feelings, needs, and desires.

I have worked in various settings, including college counseling centers, community centers, and hospital systems. During my time at Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance I received focused dynamic and trauma training within the Victims of Violence (VoV) clinic co-founded by Dr. Judith Hermann. My experience includes outpatient therapy, intensive outpatient therapy, emergency room work, inpatient units, and consultation liaison teams.

The Therapeutic Relationship

Finding a therapist with whom you feel comfortable and that you can trust is essential. Of course, building trust and comfort takes time. The therapeutic relationship is unique because through it we can understand and address your relationship patterns better. As a relational and trauma-informed therapist, my hope is that we can use our relationship as a space for you to connect more fully with yourself while attempting to process past experiences.

Education, Clinical Training, and Faculty Positions

Instructor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University Medical Center

Adjunct Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Columbia University Medical Center

Predoctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance

PhD, Counseling Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University

EdM, Counseling Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University

Selected Presentations and Publications

Presentations

Abdel-Salam, L. (2024, April). Providing psychotherapy to Arab American and MENA populations. Guest Lecture at Teachers College, Columbia University. New York, New York

Abdel-Salam, L. (2024, March). Beyond Diagnoses: Integrative approaches for clients with BPD and Complex PTSD features. Presented at the Columbia Social Work Trauma Conference. Virtual Conference.

Abdel-Salam, L. (2022, September). What are you?" Racial ambiguity, belonging, and well-being among Arab American women. Presented at the American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Psychological Association Annual Convention. Virtual Conference.

Abdel-Salam, L (2019, August). Experiences of gender among Arab American women: A qualitative study. Presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention. Chicago, Illinois.

Abdel-Salam, L. (Chair) (2019, August).  Arab American Voices: Making the Invisible Visible. Symposium conducted at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention. Chicago, Illinois.

Abdel-Salam, L., Alves-Nishioka, S., Lei, N., Motulsky, W., Postalache, N. (2019, February). Micro-offenses:Addressing and discussing prejudice between people of color. Presented at the Annual Winter Roundtable. New York, New York.

Smith, L., Abdel-Salam, L., Madon, N., McVicar, C., Model, Z., Srinivasan, R., Scott-McLaughlin, R., Williams, M., Xu, S. De-Pathologizing women and youth in poverty: Counseling in the context of public systems. Presented at the Annual Winter Roundtable. New York, New York.

Smith, L., Abdel-Salam, L., Srinivasan, R. (2017, August). Youth participatory action research in the context of poverty. Presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention. Washington D.C., Maryland.

Smith, L., Semel, R., Srinivasan, R. & Abdel-Salam, L. (2016, August) Race, social class and other socio-cultural identities: Everyday lessons from the cultural landscape. Presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention. Denver, Colorado.

Publications

Abdel-Salam, L., Smith, L. [In Press]. "What are you?" Racial ambiguity, belonging and well-being among non-veiled Arab American women. The Counseling Psychologist.

Smith, L., Abdel-Salam, L., Madon, N., Trojanovic, N., Scott-McLaughlin, R. [In Press]. Exploring preferences for multicultural workshop formats: Does the race of the trainer matter? Professional Psychology.

Smith, L., Abdel-Salam, L., Scott-McLaughlin, R., Baranowski, K., Madon, N., & Williams, M. (2022). Counseling psychology and participatory justice: "sharing the university." Counselling Psychology Quarterly (2022): 1-19.

Awad, G. H., Ikizler, A., Abdel-Salam, L., Kia Keating, M., Amini, B., El-Ghoroury, N. (2021). Foundations for an Arab/Mena psychology: Advancing an alternative cultural paradigm. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 1-23.

Smith, L., Abdel-Salam, L., Coyne, M., McVicar, C., Robin, D., & Scott-McLaughlin, R. (2020). Listening to #2A: Applying qualitative method to Twitter dialogue. The Qualitative Report, 25(7), 1856-1872.

Abdel-Salam, L., Rifkin, R., Smith, L., Zaki, S. (2019). Experiences of gender among Arab American women: A qualitative study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66,3, 225-268.

Smith, L., Baranowski, K., Abdel-Salam, L., Mcginley, M. (2018). Youth participatory action research: Agency and un-silencing as an anti-classist practice. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 4, 2, 176-186.