Hello, I’m Zaid. I’m a person-centred and experiential psychotherapist based in Edinburgh. My work brings together person-centred therapy and emotion-focused practice.

I’m a third culture individual and grew up within the Arab diaspora and international communities, and that shapes how I listen and work with people in the therapy room. That particular “in-between” feeling isn’t abstract to me, and I know what it’s like to translate yourself in different places.

My work is grounded in empathy and deep respect for your autonomy. That means: I don’t push an agenda or tell you who you should become; I follow your pace, not the fastest or the one you think you “should” be at; I’m attentive to culture, identity, power, and the ways we learn to survive; and I hold space for complexity, contradiction, and all the parts you’ve had to hide. I’m influenced by liberation and queer psychology, and by anti-oppressive practice.

I’m also a musician. Listening is physical for me. I notice pace, pauses, shifts in tone, and when something tender shows up. We will sit together and notice what is already there, what is unsaid, or things you feel that can carry more weight than the words themselves. 

 

You’re welcome to bring your stories - your contradictions - your doubts - your imagination. I’m interested in who you are beneath expectations. People often come to me because they’re exhausted from holding everything together. They want a place where they don’t have to perform, and to explore who they are beneath all the adapting and survival.