Funding culturally-informed therapy for Queen's Park residents
Funding culturally-informed therapy for Queen's Park residents
24 July 2026
Through our Compassionate Communities grant programme, we funded Queen’s Park Community Council’s ‘Intercultural Therapy Project’.
This two-year pilot project is delivered by Shifaá Healing Hearts, a local organisation which offers counselling in a range of languages, including English, Arabic, Bengali, Pashto, and Urdu.
Programme manager Shifaá Ali said: “We offer free culturally informed counselling for people who may not otherwise engage with mainstream services.
“They have felt that their culture or their faith backgrounds were not really held within the therapeutic space. To meet this gap, we set up Shifaá Healing Hearts that offers a culturally informed space, as well as some core languages that feel familiar to our service users.”
The service is based in Brunel Estate’s Happy Hub and supports people who may not be able to access mental health support. One service user shared: “It was like talking to a friend, someone who had known me for years. I found they were very professional and very knowledgeable, and experienced. It was nice to have someone who understood you for a change.”
Adam Farah, one of the counsellors at Shifaá Healing Hearts shared how access to therapy has been transformative for local people.
He shared: “[You see] someone going from being depressed, being down, being sad, isolated, to being someone that’s part of a community again. Someone that is open, someone that is aware of their feelings and taking care of themselves a lot better.
“It’s very inclusive, and you really meet people, and give therapy to people that, usually, you wouldn’t really see in a therapy room.”
The project has been runningsince February 2025 and in its first year has delivered over 485 one-to-one therapy sessions.
Applications for 2026/27 Compassionate Communities funding are open until 3 September 2026.
If you know an organisation based in north west London that may benefit from this funding, please encourage them to visit our Compassionate Communities page.
