“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”

- RUMI

Meet Saliha Kozan, Ph.D.

I am a Boston-based licensed psychologist who has a passion for promoting social justice and equity through supporting psychological well-being among culturally diverse communities. I believe mental health is a human right, and I am dedicated to using my expertise in order to improve access to this essential right. I currently serve as the Director of Clinical Services at the Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute at Boston University where my team and I provide clinical, research, training, and community education services.

I was born and raised in Konya (Turkey), as known as the city of Rumi, a 13th-century poet and Sufi teacher. Rumi’s teachings have immensely shaped my understanding of human experience including life, relationships, suffering, and healing. Values of unconditional love, caring, acceptance, connection, and compassion guide me through my personal and professional life.

My strong commitment to education brought me to the United States in my twenties. Here, I had the opportunity to work with life-changing people who have trained me as a scholar activist. For over 15 years, I have been engaged in various professional activities including individual and group psychotherapy, supervision, teaching, research, consultation, and community outreach. My life-long goal has been to infuse social justice advocacy into each of my roles as a psychologist.

Clinical Background

I earned my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Boston College and my master’s degree in Counseling from Michigan State University. I received several years of practicum training at Brookline Community Mental Health Center and Boston Medical Center focusing on psychotherapy and neuropsychological assessments. Subsequently, I completed a clinical psychology internship at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services and a post-doctoral residency at UC San Diego Counseling and Psychological Services.

I’ve recently served as the director of the Mental Health & Wellness Department at Fawzia Sultan Healthcare Network, a multidisciplinary organization in Kuwait, where I also provided therapy as well as psychoeducational/ neuropsychological assessment services and coordinated clinical training program for over three years. 

 

LICENSURE, EDUCATION & TRAINING

  • Massachusetts Licensed Psychologist (PY 11965)

  • California Licensed Psychologist (PSY 28511)

  • Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, Boston College

  • Master’s in Counseling, Michigan State University

  • Pre-Doctoral Internship, University of California Los Angeles, Counseling & Psychological Services (UCLA CAPS)

  • Post-Doctoral Residency, University of California San Diego, Counseling & Psychological Services (UC San Diego CAPS)

    • Specialty Areas: Urgent Care/Crisis Intervention, Stigma Reduction & Suicide Prevention

  • Psychology Practicum, The Brookline Community Mental Health Center

  • Neuropsychological Assessment Practicum, Boston University School of Medicine,  Department of Neurology

 

I have broad clinical experience helping teenagers and adults with varying psychological concerns including:

  • Mood & anxiety disorders including depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, & health anxiety

  • Developmental or complex trauma (C-PTSD)

  • Family & other relationship concerns

  • Life & career transitions

  • Work-related concerns (e.g., job dissatisfaction, burnout, imposter syndrome, & performance anxiety)

  • Identity, sexual, existential, spiritual & religious concerns

  • Discrimination & identity-based marginalization including BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ mental health

  • Muslim mental health

  • Immigrant and expat mental health, cultural adaptation & adjustment issues

  • Personality disorders

  • Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

  • Academic concerns

 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • American Psychological Association (APA)

    • Division 17 (Society for Counseling Psychology)

    • Division 35 (Psychology of Women)

    • Division 52 (International Psychology)

  • American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Psychological Association (AMENA-Psy)

  • Work Intervention Network (WIN)

  • Global Organization for Humanitarian Work Psychology (GOHWP)