welcome to
calamansi counseling
culturally integrative therapy & community care
hello, kumustaka, ahlan wa sahlan !
I’m *Heba, an Arab Egyptian Filipina mental health therapist and I am so honored to welcome you to Calamansi Counseling! Hospitality was weaved into the fabric of the cultures that shaped me, and if I could, I would invite you in for a bottomless cup of tea as we nourish our spirits by way of authentic connection, sharing in cultural conversation, laughter, tears, and community. I am passionate about transforming and reclaiming healing traditions by centering culture in the therapy space.
*pronounced heb-uh or hib-uh
centering culture as a source of healing
Calamansi Counseling provides anti-oppressive mental health therapy in Maryland and Washington DC, specializing in the unique experiences of multicultural individuals and couples, cultural hybrids, 1st & 2nd gen adults with immigrant parents, queer and trans Muslims, and individuals with hyphenated identities. We also work with third culture kids living abroad. Our work is anchored in healing that is liberatory, culturally integrative, and LGBTQ+ affirming, centering the needs of BIPOC communities locally and globally. We hope to empower our clients in accessing the wealth of resources, strength, brilliance, and wisdom that live within them, their communities, ancestors, and traditions.
culturally integrative mental health therapy for
those who dare to disrupt the norm
The hybrids, chameleons, or nonconformers who occupy space outside of the box.
Those of us feeling severed from our ancestral lineages and culture(s) of origin and desire to experience reconnection.
Those of us wounded by failing systems and oppressive institutions, and looking for spaces that center the intersection of social justice and anti-oppressive healing.
Those of us navigating the first and second generation immigrant experience who have a foot in two, three, or more cultural worlds.
Those whose names were ever mispronounced, or asked where are you really from, feeling exhausted by the stress of racism, colonialism, and having to minimize parts of who you are to experience safety or acceptance.
Those of us with hyphenated identities, othered for defying eurocentric / americacentric ‘norms.’
healing as an act of resistance
“True resistance begins with people confronting pain…and wanting to do something to change it”
We honor ourselves by tending to our own healing, which echoes in the healing of our families, communities, and our institutions. At Calamansi Counseling, we are passionate about supporting our community in reclaiming their cultural story and cultural identity as intrinsic to the healing journey.
healing
In therapy, healing is a collaborative effort in deepening insight, self-awareness, and acknowledging the vulnerability it takes to sit with our wounded parts, as we learn to soften the edges of the pain and hurt we have experienced. It is the expansion of our capacity to hold both joy and pain as we endeavor to exist in and disrupt systems of oppression. It is where we feel valued, known, and understood; a felt safety and embodied peace to lower the proverbial armor we have worn to protect ourself. It is through being in relationship with each other where healing happens.
part of speech in therapy, verb
Calamansi Counseling is an apartheid free zone (AFZ). AFZs are an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people and are about creating spaces free of racism, oppression, and racial discrimination in Palestine and elsewhere. We aim to actionably foster a practice that does not contribute to the maintenance of any apartheid regime, does not benefit from grave human rights violations, or become influenced or shaped by any of the former. We resist any normalization of settler colonialism, apartheid, and imperialism.
what is calamansi?
Calamansi (kalamansi in Tagalog) is a citrus hybrid fruit native to the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia. As a hybrid, it’s part kumquat, part mandarin orange, and a total chameleon! Its flavors can be sweet, bitter, and sour. Inside is yellow-orangey and the outside anywhere from a green to bright orange. Calamansi is a staple in Filipino dishes, and for many, it is symbolic of a connection to one’s heritage, cultural identity, and a warm reminder of home. Being that calamansi is a hybrid fruit, it seemed so very fitting for the name of our practice which is a space for cultural hybrids!
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