Sukhan سخن - The Discourse

In the fifth episode, we talk to Geti-Ara Sayed about the value of strong friendships and social support, and what healthy friendships look like. We define healthy boundaries in friendships and talk about losing friendships, red flags, and friend break-ups (and how much all of these can hurt). In the later part, we define and discuss what makes a Community, and what role they play in individual and collective well-being, and more importantly why communities can be especially important as safe spaces for marginalized groups. You can watch the full episode here.

In the fourth episode, Tooba Qaiser explains the term "neurodiverse" and what neurodiversity looks like in children and its common presentation. We discuss how we can be more compassionate towards neurodiverse children and break the idea that they can be "fixed" or "should try harder". Recognizing the stress of parenting neurodiverse children, and providing some resources for managing oneself and the child. You can watch the episode here. Tooba Qaiser is a practicing Clinical Psychologist and a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (CBT). As a proud Autism Mom, she founded ‘team_neurodiversity’, an organization that focuses on creating awareness and acceptance for children with special needs, furthermore, giving them the regard and respect in the general public that they merit through engaging incorporation and inclusion.

The third episode with Daheem Din helps us in understanding childhood from the child's perspective and highlighting important socio-emotional skills that caregivers can foster, and how.  Daheem is a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor with over ten years of experience working with children, young adults, and adults in individual and group therapy. She has a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University (Long Beach), and is a certified Clinical Supervisor with COCAB, UK. You can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel here.

The second episode Maryam Suheyl identifies what a healthy marriage partnership look like, and its impact on one's socio-emotional well-being. We explore how can couples build supportive and equitable relationships and how parenting changes the dynamics of a marriage. We talk about advantages and challenges of marriage in collectivisitic and joint family systems and cultures. 

Maryam Suheyl is a marriage and family therapist and a Fulbright scholar practicing in Pakistan for over a decade. She also a supervisor, teacher, and a corporate consultant. She can be reached through her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/marriagetherapy | You can watch the episode here.

Taluqaat تعلقات  is a podcast series that interviews experienced therapists about attachment, love, conflict, communication, and grief among other relational topics.  The first episode explores Attachment as a blueprint for relational patterns, how attachment styles impact all our relationships, and pathways to identifying and healing attachment wounds.  Omar is an experienced psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and trainer. He has provided over 6000 hours of individual and group therapy accrued in Pakistan, the US, Australia, and through tele-health over the last 10 years.  Omar's clinical interests are in attachment and relationships, complex trauma, self-esteem, working with men, and processing difficult childhood experiences. He primarily works with adults between 26-65 years of age who don't present any risk issues presently. You can watch the episode here.

In today`s episode we talk to Isbah Khalid about stereotypes and challenges associated to Autism. She is mother to an amazing and loving young Ateeb who is one of the kindest souls you`ll ever meet. We talk about her life as a single parent to an Autistic kid and how as a society we need to understand their language and more importantly change our attitude towards them. You can watch the episode on our YouTube channel here.

In todays episode Adeel joins us for an interesting discussion on the challenges and stereotypes associated with desi men if they are involved fathers. Adeel (also known as Jellyman from his radio days) runs his own Instagram blog where he documents his experiences and creates awareness regarding the challenges and stereotypes associated with involved fathers. 

In this episode Hammad and Adeel talk about their experiences and exchange notes on parenting. Desi dads are often called names, ridiculed and discouraged from actively participating as it doesn't go with the image of a desi "man". We discuss how important it is to take breaks and give each other space, take collective decisions and the challenges of parenting in today's world. Is it really possible to an involved dad in a desi household? Who needs to take a stand and how? Listen to this less talked but very important coversation and share your views.

In this episode of Sukhan Unplugged, we have Dr Anita Wiess who will be talking about her latest book Countering Violent Extremism in Pakistan: Local Actions, Local Voices (available at https://oup.com.pk/all-titles/countering-violent-extremism-in-pakistan.html).   

Professor Weiss has published extensively on social development, gender issues, and political Islam in Pakistan. Professor Weiss is a member of the editorial board of Globalizations, has been a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Pakistan National Commission on the Status of Women, has been Treasurer and Vice President of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), and is on the Executive Committee of the Religion and International Relations as well as the IDSS sections of the International Studies Association. She recently stepped down, after seven years, from being Department Head of International Studies at the University of Oregon.  

The panel includes Raza Rumi who is a Pakistani writer and a public policy specialist currently based in Ithaca, New York, USA. He is Director at the Park Center for Independent Media, Ithaca College and visiting faculty at Cornell Institute for Public Affairs. He is also the founding editor of Nayadaur Media.  

Also joining panel is Gauher Aftab who has held leadership roles at companies involved in education, advertising, financial services, telecom, and various tech industries. He is currently the CEO of Generation Pakistan, a global non profit that operates training-to-employment programs for youth and adults in 14 countries, across 29 professions.

Watch the episode here

In this episode we are talking to Usman Tanveer Malik about his personal journey, speculative fiction in Pakistan, how to write, publish and sell stories and about his debut collection Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan which has garnered praise from writers such as Aamer Hussein, Brian Evenson, Joe Hill, Paul Tremblay, and Man Booker finalist Karen Joy Fowler. You can order the book at (www.usmanmalik.org).

Usman Malik is a Pakistani-American writer and doctor. His fiction has been reprinted in several year's best anthologies including the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy series and has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, the Million Writers Award, and twice for the Nebula. He has won the Bram Stoker and the British Fantasy awards. He is a co-founder of the Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction, which seeks to nurture science fiction writers of Pakistani origin.