MA Spotlight

Fatimah Mohammed-Ali 

Hometown: Baghdad, Iraq

Program: MA 

Book I would recommend: Detox Your Thoughts by Andrea Bonior

Favorite Quote: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” -Wayne Dyer

What would people be surprised to know about you? 

People might be surprised to know that I do weightlifting for fun, know a variety of languages, and enjoy listening to music.

Name a cause you are passionate about.

I want to support the cause of educating people from various backgrounds but especially Arabs about mental health and well-being. 

Why did you choose MSP?

I wanted to attend MSP because it has a PsyD program in clinical psychology. My goal is to become a clinical psychologist who helps others regardless of their background, beliefs and race. I believe attending MSP will get me one step closer to that goal. 

What do you want to do with your degree?

I want to work with people from various backgrounds; but I would also like to focus on Middle Eastern communities due to the lack of mental health understanding that I experienced in the community growing up. 

How did you first get interested in the mental health profession?

I was trying to understand my own feelings and I started to observe how people feel. I had so many questions about mental health and why a person’s past can lead them to process feelings and emotions differently. These questions kept being answered differently by various professions and people. I wanted to learn how to help someone express themselves and how to understand individuals better. This has led me to have a growing interest in the field.