Today we’d like to introduce you to Kira Nashed.
Hi Kira, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello 🙂 I am a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP) & business owner of Kira Nashed Psychological & Educational Consulting Corporation. I am also the Creator/Vice President of Amal Center, Los Angeles Based Youth Diversion Program. While I was in college, I was very interested in psychology. I was intrigued by how the brain worked and how it affected behavior. At the time, my mother helped me get a job in education as an after-school program teacher. I would help students with their homework. One time, I noticed this little girl was writing her words backwards. I didn’t understand why and every time I asked her to write a word, she kept switching the letters around. For example, I asked her to write “cat”, she would write “cta.” It was then I was more interested in learning more about this. I learned this student had a learning disability and that school psychologists determine if a student needs support or not based on how they do on assessments. Fast forward, I decided to get my masters in school psychology with an emphasis in mental health. I started working in lower socioeconomic status schools in South Central LA/Watts. There, I conducted special education, assessments and supported at risk youth with counseling support. The school-to-prison pipeline was something I learned in college, but became very real as I witnessed good kids with difficult upbringing getting caught up in the system. That’s when I decided to start a nonprofit organization for youth diversion. I became licensed as an Educational Psychologist during the pandemic. Since schools were closed, I was able to study for the exam and ended up starting my own business/agency. Now, I support multiple charter schools in the LA area with the support of other school psychologists and school psychologist interns/students working alongside me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We always learn from the journey. It definitely had its ups and downs. For the diversion program, it has been a challenge in getting connected to juvenile clients or finding the right therapists that are committed/passionate about diversion work. Some people believe some kids should stay in the system for wrongdoing, which is far from my beliefs or what Amal Center represents. We believe without the right resources; youth will not be able to reach their full potential. In my business, it’s been difficult taking a step back as I’m used to doing all my assessments on my own. Trusting the process and trusting others has been something I’ve been learning. Letting go and letting God has always been my moto!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I started my own business recently, Kira Nashed Psychological & Educational Consulting Corporation. I was working with a colleague through his business/agency & he kept encouraging me to start my own business. I didn’t feel ready to take a responsibility like that on & never thought of running my own business. Then the pandemic hit & self employed employees were without work. At that time, I had time to study for an exam to become licensed & started the paperwork then. By the grace of God, I passed & now I have a private practice. However most of my work is still done within LA charter schools not private clients. Other psychologists work with within the business at other schools that I have contracts with. I am proud that I created my own business/agency. I never thought I would have my own business, but here I am. I have more autonomy and flexibility than working within a school district. I believe what makes me stand out is that there aren’t too many licensed educational psychologists that are working in the schools, LEPS usually do private practice solely, but I love working in schools. I also support school psychologist practicum students and interns. They shadow my assessments and I support them when they assess students. I try to support them and teach them everything they need to know about the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process and special education.
Running a business is a lot of work, but I also run my nonprofit organization. I absolutely love advocating for at-risk youth. I’m all about mental health and juvenile justice. My role as the director of the nonprofit is to connect Amal Center therapists and mentors to at-risk youth and diversion clients. I connect with social workers and probation officers on certain cases. If a client has a court case coming up, myself and the licensed marriage family therapist on my board will look at the client’s progress, goals, and write letters of recommendation to support the client continuing diversion and keeping them out of the system. Mentors are connected to clients to inspire their career goals and be like a big brother/sister as some of the clients don’t have the best role models in their lives. Having positive role models and feeling heard/seen/understood is part of supporting clients & helping them deal with trauma. Reversing generational trauma and cultivating relationships is the framework of what we do. We also have an ancient gates meditation coach supporting with wellness and mindfulness so clients can feel calm before they start therapy sessions.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
There’s many, but I will say this…sometimes you will want to help in more ways than you can, but your hands will be tied. I learned as long as you do the best that you can, that’s all that matters. Try not to be so hard on yourself or take life too seriously. Self-care is very important – if you can’t take care of yourself, it’ll be challenging to take care of others. With God, ANYTHING is possible- things that seem impossible can be turned around with faith & prayer. I have had many moments where I felt so much resistance in work or within the nonprofit, but with prayer it all changed. I believe in its power & know it has been a game changer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Amalcenter.org
- Instagram: @Amal_center_ & @kik0o0
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amalhopecenter/
- Other: https://knashedlep2.wixsite.com/knashedpsyched
Image Credits
@chaserrphoto
