Meet the Askin Psychotherapy Team

I’ve been a therapist for almost twenty years, and my work continues to evolve alongside my training, my clinical curiosity, and the many people I’ve had the privilege to sit with. My background includes Gestalt therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and psychodynamic and attachment-based theories, and my practice reflects an integrated, relational approach grounded in these traditions.

I work with individuals and couples, including those navigating high-conflict dynamics, long-standing relational patterns, or moments of transition and uncertainty. I use a trauma-informed, psychodynamic framework to support people working through anxiety, grief, identity questions, and the lingering impact of earlier experiences. I also work with therapists, clergy and religious leaders, and adults exploring cultural or intergenerational histories. I welcome people in non-monogamous and polyamorous partnerships, as well as anyone who comes to therapy unsure of how to make sense of the stories and relationships that have shaped them.

I offer therapy from my office in East Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, and provide telehealth sessions to clients across Pennsylvania and Delaware. My hope is to offer a space where people feel deeply seen, thoughtfully engaged, and supported in the meaningful and often transformative work of change. More about me.

People often come to therapy looking for a space where their experiences, culture, and identity are truly seen and welcomed. As a first-generation immigrant of Lebanese descent with Muslim heritage, I am keenly attuned to what it feels like to live between cultures. In my center city office and via telehealth, I bring personal insight into the pressures, expectations, and questions of belonging that often accompany that experience. Sharing these cultural touchpoints can create a sense of ease, the kind that allows you to show up fully without needing to explain the nuances of your upbringing and cultural background. I work with a diverse group of clients—including adult and teen individuals and couples to explore identity, navigate family and cultural dynamics, and build lives that feel grounded and meaningful. 

Clients describe me as warm, curious, and attuned. I take this work very seriously and I bring extensive education and training to sessions. I take notes, I remember details, and I gently challenge clients when it is appropriate. I believe in the transformative power of good therapy. And each day, I am moved by the profound work my clients do in session. 

In my practice, I draw on my training in psychodynamic theory to guide treatment, and weave IFS and EMDR in to encourage deeper reflection and internal exploration. Psychodynamic work invites reflection on how early experiences and relationships shape the way we think, feel, and relate today, helping us understand the deeper roots of present-day struggles. IFS and EMDR then offer more experiential ways of working, allowing us to explore long-held beliefs, emotional reactions, and triggers through a visual and emotionally guided process that many clients find eye-opening and transformative.

To me, therapy is a deep and profound meditation on what it means to be alive, to exist in community, and to be endlessly curious about our lives. So let's begin.

My therapeutic work is grounded in a compassionate, relational style and an unconditional respect for the people I sit with. I approach therapy from a social justice and trauma-informed perspective, understanding that both harm and healing are shaped by the social, political, and cultural contexts we live in. I think of healing as something made possible through building loving, authentic connection—with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us.

My practice is also informed by my experience as a mindfulness facilitator and trauma-informed yoga teacher, and I often work with clients to explore how emotions live in the body and how the body can be a resource in the healing process. Together, we pay attention to patterns, sensations, and the stories held in the nervous system, integrating both somatic and relational approaches.

I work with clients across identities and experiences, and I specialize in therapy for trauma, anxiety, grief, surviving intimate partner or sexual violence, identity exploration, and the impacts of chronic illness or disability. I have extensive experience working with people of color, mixed-race clients, and queer and trans community members, as well as activists, organizers, students, and healers who are navigating burnout, fatigue, or the emotional weight of care work.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and am also nearing the end of a PhD program in social welfare, where my research deepens and expands my therapeutic lens. Outside of work, you can usually find me near the ocean, practicing jiu jitsu, reading feminist science fiction, or daydreaming with my friends. I look forward to welcoming you exactly as you are.

My focus is on fostering a strong, collaborative, and trusting connection with you. I believe that understanding your cultural background—and the ways it shapes your thoughts, emotions, and relationships—is essential to meaningful therapeutic work. Together, we’ll explore the root patterns and experiences contributing to your distress so that you can move toward greater clarity, confidence, and ease.

Clients often describe me as warm, non-judgmental, supportive, and grounding, someone who can hold space thoughtfully while helping them understand themselves more deeply. Over the past decade, I’ve lived in both Cairo and the United States, and I bring a multicultural, globally informed perspective into the therapy room. I speak Arabic, French, and German, and I have a particular passion for working with Middle Eastern and Muslim clients, immigrants, first-generation individuals, and people navigating cultural identity, belonging, or major life transitions.

I work with adolescents and adults across Pennsylvania through secure telehealth, offering a space where clients can feel fully seen, understood, and supported in the ways that matter most. Outside of my professional work, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, watching Friends, and getting outside for a good run.

Hi, I’m Carmel, a queer and gender non-confrming therapist working with individuals and couples in Pennsylvania. As a relational therapist I believe in the transformational power of relationship and my hope is that through our work together people are able to find more ease, connection, choice, and aliveness. 

I have experience working with people around anxiety, depression, trauma, identity exploration, shame, life transitions, and grief and loss. I also love to work with people who are new to therapy, queer and gender nonconforming, neurodivergent, and young adults.

I work from a psychodynamic approach, integrating IFS (internal family systems), mindfulness, and somatics. I am a deeply curious person and continue to seek additional training and healing practices that inform my work. As a trauma- informed and anti-oppressive therapist, I value agency and autonomy.  My hope is to provide a space to build a trusting relationship where clients can come closer to themselves, their values, and their community.

Therapy should feel safe, grounding, and intentional. My work is rooted in forms of therapy that honor self-determination while also acknowledging the impact of systemic, cultural, and institutional pressures on people’s lives. I take a strengths-based, collaborative approach to exploring identity, boundaries, harm reduction, relationships, and pleasure.

As a gender-non-conforming clinician, I believe deeply that every person deserves access to affirming, compassionate, and culturally responsive medical and mental health care. My practice centers the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth, adolescents, adults, and families, offering an accepting space to explore identity, relationships, and the complexities of growing up or living within marginalized communities.

In addition to my individual therapy work, I serve on the social work team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, supporting young people and their families through moments of crisis, transition, and growth. I work with adolescents and adults across Pennsylvania via telehealth.

My goal is to create a therapeutic environment where clients feel seen, supported, and empowered to define who they are and what they want for their lives.

Hi! I’m a queer and trans therapist offering trauma-informed, relational therapy to adults (18+) via telehealth in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I work with individuals navigating trauma, shame, identity exploration, anxiety, depression, and the impacts of marginalization, with attention to how systemic pressures shape the nervous system and sense of self.

I have a lot of experience supporting neurodivergent clients, including ADHD and autistic adults, and I’m attuned to sensory overwhelm, executive functioning differences, masking, and misattunement. I adapt therapy to different ways of processing and communicating, moving at a pace grounded in consent, clarity, and care.

My approach is collaborative and experiential, drawing from EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and one-to-one psychodrama. I aim to offer a steady, affirming space where queer and trans people don’t need to explain themselves, and where therapy can feel like a place to slow down, find clarity, and move forward with more ease. I’m poly- and kink-affirming and work exclusively with individuals.