Dr. Saima Bint e Saif

Assistant Professor, SSLA
saimasaif@iba.edu.pk

Saima Saif holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and her doctoral thesis focuses on the psychological aspects of HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Disorder in the context of Pakistani culture. Her paper ‘‘Importance of perceived family support for HIV/AIDS patients in Pakistan: A collectivist society” presented during the scientific session organized by World Health Organization (WHO) was awarded as the best research paper (2019). Previously she has worked as assistant to editor for the Pakistan Journal of Clinical Psychology (HEC recognized). She is an Internationally certified Addiction Professional and practices clinically, providing therapy/counseling sessions for mental health problems.

PhD thesis topic- Stigma of having HIV/AIDS in people suffering from Substance Use Disorder: Role of Perceived Social Support in Stigma and Depression

Published Articles:
1- Bint-e-Saif, S., & Shahzad, S. (2017). HIV/AIDS stigma and depression among injecting drug users in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of ClinicalPsychology, 16(2).
2- Bint-e-Saif, S., & Shahzad, S. (2019). Urdu translation and adaptation of the HIV stigma scale in Pakistani injectable drug users with HIV. JPMA.
3- Bint-e-Saif, S., & Shahzad, S. (2023). Importance of perceived social support for HIV/AIDS patients in Pakistan: a collectivist society. Journal of Substance Use, 1-4.

Grants Won-In progress:
September 2023 IBA CRG Grant: ‘Challenges of working mothers- exploring context-specific factors and designing suitable psycho-social intervention’.

Dr. Muhammad Shameel Khan

Medical Doctor and Psychiatrist
Assistant Professor, SSLA

Dr Shameel Khan is a medical doctor and Psychiatrist by profession. He is a graduate of Dow Medical College and undertook Postgraduate specialization in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy from England, UK. He did his specialist training in Psychiatry from East of England Deanery including Cambridge, Suffolk, and Essex regions. He holds a Masters in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust/University of Essex. He also holds a post-graduate diploma in group-work from the Institute of Group Analysis, UK, and a post-graduate certificate in Medical leadership from Birbeck College, University of London. He is also the current President of Balint society Pakistan.

His clinical experience includes both outpatients as well as inpatient work within the diverse contextual frameworks of both the UK and Pakistan. Due to his background in psychodynamic psychotherapy, he has a special clinical and research interest in personality disorders, trauma, and impulse control disorders. His areas of academic interest include exploring the interface between psychoanalytic, social, and cultural schools of psychology. He has co-facilitated support groups in London for people with eating disorders and currently also providing group psychotherapy services in Karachi.

Dr. Tehzeeb Sakina Amir

Assistant Professor, SSLA

Dr. Tehzeeb Sakina Amir has been teaching Undergraduate, graduate and PhD level courses; to name a few, Organizational Psychology, Psychological Testing, Research Methodology, Independent Study, Human Factors at Workplace, Consumer Psychology, Behavior Modification, Work Motivation, Measurement & Assessment. So far, she has supervised twenty master's level theses.

Research Interests: Organizational Psychology, Consumer Psychology, Human Factors at workplace, Psychometrics and Sustainability behaviors.

Hajrah Rahman

Lecturer, SSLA

Hajrah Rahman completed her MSc in Mental Health: Psychological Therapies from Queen Mary University of London. She has worked in organizations; specializing in psychiatric rehabilitation and illness management and recovery (IMR) in Pakistan and trained in Namaste Care for dementia from St. Joseph's Hospice in London. She has served as the internship lead at Compassion Couch since the programme's inception and provides therapy for various psychological concerns and difficulties such as depression, anxiety, stress, grief, relational issues etc.

Master’s thesis: 'The protective effect of meaningful social engagement on the development of dementia symptoms in older adults: A systematic review'.

Research Interest: Her areas of interest in future research are in culturally adapted interventions for mental health conditions as well as the differences in manifestation/presentation of mental health conditions across cultures.

Dr. Ayesha Zia

Assistant Professor, SSLA

Ayesha Zia has a PhD in clinical psychology and has been associated with IBA since 2021. Her research stands at the intersection of urban mental health exploring the reciprocal systems and the dynamic interplay between city level factors and psychological variables. Her research seeks to develop effective clinical interventions tailored to specific patterns in which psychopathology takes shape in the local context of Pakistan. Her doctoral work centered on the core features of Attachment theory to understand psychopathology in adolescents living with fathers diagnosed with substance use disorder. The integration of relational perspectives stays active in the supervision of undergraduate and graduate research supervision at IBA. She teaches courses on clinical psychology, urban mental health and behavioral statistics.

Ms. Afia Najmi

Lecturer, SSLA

During my MS in Clinical Psychology, I explored how Ego-State Analysis and Self-Compassion can help improve relationships among young adults. Through this research, I became increasingly interested in understanding how people relate to themselves and others, and how therapeutic interventions can create meaningful emotional change. Going forward, I am interested in research that focuses on relational patterns, self-compassion, emotional regulation, and practical, evidence-based approaches that connect clinical work with real-life settings such as education and community mental health.

Khadija Zehra

Lab Assistant

Khadija Zehra is a BS Psychology graduate from the Institute of Professional Psychology. Her passions lie in developmental research and the impacts of complex trauma, dysfunctional family systems, and early life adversities on later life outcomes. Additionally, she also finds deep fascination in the field of psycho-oncology, and the impact of psychosocial factors on health-related adversities. Her undergraduate thesis explored the impact of inter-parental conflict on fear of intimacy with social anxiety as a mediating variable.