Micheline Maalouf Therapist

When colonialism touches food, this is what it looks like. Hummus (حمص) is an Arab word. An Arab dish. With Arab roots. It existed long before the state of Israel and no rebranding will change that. This isn’t a “fun fact” about chickpeas. It’s an example of cultural appropriation used to whitewash occupation. If you love hummus, love the people who made it #hummus #ArabVoices

Shawarma didn’t start in Israel. 🍢 I meant to say tahini = ground Sesame! It was a slip. Tag someone who loves shawarma but needs to know where it really came from. #shawarma #shawarmalovers #ShawarmaHistory #ArabFood #CulturalAppropriation

Falafel isn’t Israeli and watching rebrand it while Palestine is starved is complicity in violence #falafel #arab #arabfood #palestine🇵🇸

I’m tired of people pretending that there is only one way to be Arab! Representation isn’t about perfection. It’s about disrupting the lie that there’s only one way to be Arab. Saint Levant and Huda don’t need your approval to uplift the Palestinian and Arab people. They already are. #FreePalestine #ArabVoices #SaintLevant #HudaOnLoveIsland #arabrepresentation

Knafeh is a beloved Arab dessert with deep roots in Palestinian, Syrian, and broader Levantine traditions. The name itself comes from the Arabic root k-n-f, meaning “to encase or cradle,” a perfect description of how the dough wraps around the cheese. Watching people in Israel rebrand it as theirs while Palestinians are being displaced, silenced, and starved is not just tone-deaf. It is colonial. Food carries history. And history matters. #Knafeh #PalestinianCuisine #ArabFood #FoodHistoryMatters #DecolonizeYourPlate #StopCulturalAppropriation #Palestine #AntiZionist #MiddleEasternFood #ThisIsArabCulture

From a decolonial perspective, “blank slate” therapists, those who remain neutral, expressionless, and emotionally distant, can cause harm, especially to clients from marginalized or historically oppressed communities. Here’s why: 1. Replicating Colonial Detachment and Power Imbalances Colonial systems often positioned the colonizer as the objective observer, denying the humanity of the colonized. When therapists stay emotionally removed, they can unintentionally mirror this dynamic, reinforcing a hierarchy where the therapist is the all-knowing expert and the client is a passive subject. 2. Invalidating Cultural Expressions of Emotion and Connection Many non-Western cultures value empathy, warmth, and relational presence as essential to healing. The blank slate model comes from a Western, often white and patriarchal tradition. Clients from relational or collectivist cultures may experience this approach not as safety, but as disconnection, coldness, or judgment. 3. Reinforcing Silence and Suppression in Trauma Survivors Survivors of colonialism, war, or systemic oppression are often conditioned to suppress emotions to survive. Therapists who do not model emotional presence may reinforce this suppression, preventing clients from breaking through dissociation, numbness, or silence. 4. Blocking Co-Regulation and Somatic Safety Healing trauma requires co-regulation—the nervous system calming in response to another safe, emotionally present human. A blank slate therapist denies this biological need, leaving clients dysregulated or alone with their pain. 5. Prioritizing Theory Over Relationship Blank slate therapists often prioritize psychoanalytic theory or clinical neutrality over real human connection. Decolonial therapy centers relationship, cultural humility, and mutual presence. Many clients come to therapy not just for insight but to feel seen, mirrored, and emotionally accompanied. #decolonialtherapy #MentalHealthAwareness #traumainformedcare #decolonizehealing

If you don’t like this video, Toz #toz #arabicwords #ArabVoices #arabic

A real conversation I had with a white man #daughter #arab #ArabTikTok