Mental health practitioner Shazia is new to Hong Kong and eager to support the mental wellbeing of marginalized communities in the city. Through Resolve she hopes to build meaningful relationships, understand the mental health services landscape, and gain tools to run group programs with underrepresented individuals.
Certified mental health and leadership coach Shazia hopes to help underprivileged communities across the globe realize their innate wellness. She has experience working with clients from diverse backgrounds to help them recognize their natural wisdom, resilience and clarity as a path to power, transformation and freedom. She has guided clients struggling with issues including depression, anxiety, physical illness, chronic pain, stress and burnout, homophobia, racism, gender identity issues, abuse, confidence, heartbreak, career transitions, difficult relationships, indecision and more.
Shazia sees the lack of proper mental health support for vulnerable communities as a serious challenge in society. To that end, she offers pro bono coaching to try and bridge the gap in healthcare infrastructure. She has delivered programs to members of TimePeace, a non-profit that supports people seeking sanctuary in the United Kingdom, and is currently supporting The QPOC Project, a community organization for queer people of color.
Having recently moved to Hong Kong with her partner in order to be closer to her brother, Shazia hopes the Fellowship will help launch the next chapter of her career. She is passionate about experiencing different cultures, languages and ways of life, and hopes to learn more about the city from a Hongkonger’s perspective. Recognizing the disparity between the rich and poor in Hong Kong, she is dedicated to supporting and empowering marginalized communities in the city who struggle to cope with the fast pace and intense work environment. In view of that, she wants to better understand the mental health needs of local communities in Hong Kong, analyze the broader mental health service landscape, and identify how she can play a role in filling gaps. She is keen to run group programmes with underrepresented individuals in Hong Kong, and train them to become leaders in their own communities.
Shazia enjoys being around people and spends the bulk of her free time socializing or having friends over for movie nights or board game parties. She loves to read, rock climb and hike.