Team

At Al-Kindi Counseling Services, we are proud to serve as a training site for emerging mental health professionals. Our team includes highly trained clinicians and licensed supervisors with extensive experience across a wide range of therapeutic modalities, including psychoanalytic-psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, trauma-informed, expressive art, and culturally responsive approaches. We are committed to nurturing the next generation of counselors and social workers by offering enriching internship opportunities for graduate-level students. Interns receive close supervision, didactic training, and hands-on clinical experience in a supportive, team-based environment that values curiosity, cultural humility, and ethical practice. Guided by our mission to provide compassionate, evidence-based care to a diverse community, we ensure that interns are well-equipped to grow both personally and professionally while contributing meaningfully to the healing work we do.

Basel Zayed, LMHC, Founder & Clinical Director

Basel has been practicing as a psychotherapist since 2012, offering his expertise both locally and internationally. Basel is a professor of mental health counseling at Lesley University and a dedicated member of the research team at the Brain and Behavior Laboratory at Curry College. He leads his own research lab in music psychology, where he explores the intersections of music, identity, and mental health.

Francesca Vitale, LISCW, Director of Clinical Supervision

Francesca is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with many years of experience. Francesca uses a strength-based (SBT), person-centered therapy (PCT), collaborative approach to therapy. Francesca uses a holistic approach to collaborate with clients while also highlighting the benefits that physical activity, nature, nutrition, sleep, and mindfulness have on our overall well-being.

Teresa Dias, LMHC, LPC, RPT, Clinical Supervision Specialist

I’m currently accepting new online clients—teens and adults! As a Registered Play Therapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I offer a warm, creative space to address anxiety, depression, trauma, and more. Using play, art, sandtray, and mindfulness, I help clients of all ages build coping tools and deepen self-understanding.

Liz Swerdlow, Resident in Counseling

My work is grounded in an inclusive, strengths-based approach that embraces the transformative power of creative expression. Through trauma-informed talk therapy and expressive arts practices, I help clients cultivate resilience, navigate life transitions, and reconnect with a deeper sense of self. Each session is a collaborative space, rooted in attunement to your unique needs and creative process, where trust, curiosity, and possibility can grow.

Skye Hillel, Resident in Counseling

I offer a warm space to explore mind, body, and spirit. Drawing upon timeless wisdom and modern tools for self-inquiry and self-transformation, my approach is direct, intentional, and practical. It is my ultimate honor to help clients look and see within.

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