Building a Home Within Ourselves by Maram Barakat, M.A.

We often search for belonging, for a place in which we feel safe and protected. So, we tend to seek and find a home in other people, leaving us at the mercy of others, relying on their validation for us to feel validated ourselves. But why not build our own home within ourselves?

For our Lukin Center book recommendation this holiday season, we suggest Welcome Home by Najwa Zebian where she talks about how to build your own home within yourselves. It is a beautifully written book on healing as she shares what she learned in her own journey of coming home herself.

Thoughts on self-love, forgiveness, compassion, clarity, surrender, and more are discussed so eloquently and poetically that her words will touch your soul and speak to you.

Maram Barakat, M.A., is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She has a master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, with a special focus on global mental health and research methods. She is primarily interested in providing access to quality mental health services in low-to-middle income countries and vulnerable populations. She is especially passionate about working with survivors of abuse and violence. In fact, she has integrated her passion with her academic interests by focusing her master's thesis on culturally adapting and implementing cognitive processing therapy to Syrian refugee women who have experienced sexual violence during and post-displacement. Maram has worked as a mental health professional and advocate in Lebanon, Uganda, and New York for the past six years. At the Lukin Center, Maram will be taking on the role of social media manager. Her main responsibilities entail managing and monitoring the center's social media platforms, creating content, increasing engagement, and more. Apart from her professional interests, she enjoys acting, karaoke, and extreme sports.