Ali Haji

If you’re looking for someone who will accept you EXACTLY as you are, Ali Haji is your guy. Spend ten minutes with Ali, and his energy and kindness will immediately put you at ease. 

Ali Haji is a graduate from Northwestern University’s Family Institute, holding a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. He specializes in complex trauma recovery, PTSD and EMDR, buddhist psychology, mindfulness and meditation, domestic violence recovery and spiritual and multicultural identity integration. Ali is currently working with the Integrative Psychiatry Institute to  complete his training in psychedelic-assisted therapies and psychedelic integration to support the healing of his clients’ trauma.

After getting his Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance and Film Production, Ali moved to New York where he held a successful career in entertainment, working for the likes of HBO and Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions on his TV and Film projects. No. We’re not kidding.

Relying less on diagnostics and problem-solving symptoms, Ali uses evidence based theory, psychoeducation and neuroscience to reframe the entire way that his clients interact with the life within them and surrounding them. His theoretical approach is one of interpersonal and holistic psychology and draws from Buddhist psychology, internal family systems, acceptance and commitment therapy, feminist, and multicultural counseling work. He uses a holistic trauma model to ground his work and to allow his clients to find peace within themselves and feels strongly about equipping his client’s with the skills needed to continue their personal growth after therapy is complete. The work Ali does pairs a radical acceptance of Self and the predicament that we find ourselves in with an active commitment towards increased self-awareness.

Ali’s theoretical approach is one of interpersonal and holistic psychology that draws from Buddhist psychology, acceptance and commitment therapy, psychodynamic, existential, feminist, and multicultural counseling work. He uses meditative practice and applied mindfulness as well as a holistic trauma model to allow his clients to find peace within themselves while also equipping them with the skills needed to continue their personal growth after therapy is complete. The work Ali does pairs a radical acceptance of Self and the predicament that we find ourselves in with an active commitment towards increased self-awareness. Relying less on diagnostics and problem-solving symptoms, Ali instead hopes to help reframe the entire way that his clients interact with the life within them and surrounding them.

Additionally, Ali is committed to working with the LGBTQIA+ population using affirming therapy techniques and helping LGBTQIA+, as well as heterosexual individuals, recover from domestic abuse. Ali understands the unique risk factors that the LGBTQIA+ population faces with regards to DV or otherwise and pays close attention to how society stigmatizes who his clients are, helping advocate for both inside and outside of the counseling room. 

Ali’s ancestry comes from India but his ethnic background draws from Kenya and Tanzania. Born Canadian but now a dual-citizen to America and Canada, Ali enjoys working from a multicultural and feminist perspective, understanding the effect of cultural family issues and the integration of cultural identities into society’s fabric. In his free time, Ali enjoys playing classical piano, guitar, and singing 90s R&B, anything Destiny’s Child/Beyoncé, and show tunes. Ali loves yoga, movement and mobility work, meditation, and traveling with his husband, Scott, and their basset hound, Louis.