Downey Resident specializes in Muslim Mental Health

Dr. Heather Laird, a 2017 graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s (The Chicago School) Los Angeles Campus’ Marital and Family Therapy Doctoral Program, has dedicated her career to working with the Muslim community in and around Los Angeles. Serving as the director of the Center for Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology at the University of Southern California, Dr. Laird also hosts the “Muslims and Mental Health” series on YouTube and is the managing director of HRL Consulting, LLC. She also serves as an adjunct professor for The Chicago School in both the Public Health and Marital and Family Therapy Departments.

In 2016, she was invited through a White House initiative to speak and participate in a listening session with the heads of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to discuss mental health issues facing the Muslim American youth and young adult community.

An active member of the community, Dr. Laird serves to make a difference in several capacities, including as a member of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s 2-1-1 committee, as a member of the committee for the Department of Mental Health in Los Angeles County and the Board of the American Muslim Fund. She also works with the Mayor’s office on its Safe Spaces program.

Dr. Laird has received numerous awards for her scholarship and community engagement. She was a 2015-2016 AAMFT Doctoral Fellow of the Minority Fellowship Program, and a 2016-2017 Albert Schweitzer Fellow where she developed a project aimed at reducing the effects of Islamophobia on children and reducing stigma toward receiving mental health services in the Muslim population. She has also been awarded the 2014-2015 Global Psychology Scholars & Start Ups Award and the 2016 Community Partnerships Award from The Chicago School.