Islam Al-Aqeel has worked in the humanitarian field since 2012, providing mental health care for refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons in the Middle East. She received her MA degree in Psychology (2014) and her BA degree in Psychology (2011), both from the University of Jordan. Islam began working at CVT in March 2013 as a psychosocial counselor, providing trauma healing care primarily for Iraqi and Syrian torture survivors. She was promoted as senior psychosocial counselor, and later become one of the team’s first associate psychotherapist trainers.

In 2017, Islam helped CVT launch two major new initiatives in the region, and now in her role as resilience programming trainer, Islam has traveled to Iraq and then Turkey to further expand, design, implement and share CVT’s programming.

Currently Islam works in an initiative called SOTI, or “My Voice,” with a focus to expand trauma rehabilitation, provide staff support, train on trauma-informed approaches and techniques, and work for access to justice for Syrian torture survivors and civil society through the region. In addition, she supports other regional and global programs for CVT, including support for human rights defenders around the world.

Islam is an engaging and enthusiastic public liaison, representing CVT at the highest levels of local, national and international fora. Islam presents herself as a boundary-defying Bedouin woman.