Defenders’ Wellbeing Podcast Ep 2

Episode 2 is a conversation about how our  native language(s) tell more stories and brings emotional layers of our lived experiences that  English simplifies. Featuring Selma Zaki, this episode speaks about defining care and self-care from a non-Western, intersectional perspective. It explores sustainable care practices and draws on our diverse cultures to define what self-care really means.

Selma Zaki is a psychotherapist, community mental health advocate and researcher working at the intersection of clinical practice, community care, and narrative change. Her clinical background spans private practice and institutional settings in New York, London and Lebanon with a focus on supporting individuals and communities navigating distress, burnout and trauma. 

Beyond one-on-one therapy, Selma’s work centers on building projects for collective healing. As Director of the Community Mental Health Program at Team CommUNITY (2020–2023), she designed and implemented mental health support for digital rights activists globally, informed by her research on their unique needs (Community Health Report, 2021). Earlier, she founded LEZEM in Lebanon – a youth initiative using arts for civic engagement  and In Fluency at Columbia University, a platform examining how political injustice shapes global mental health. Together, these projects reflect her commitment to community mental health by examining and addressing the connection between the political and the personal through creative and participatory approaches. She is currently launching Sila, a community-based initiative that weaves together storytelling and psychoanalysis to explore how political contexts shape relational health in the Arab world.

At the core of Selma’s approach is a belief that healing requires both introspection and honest dialogue about the forces that shape us; whether in therapy rooms, research, or community spaces. https://www.selmazaki.com/