Hakawati Psychotherapy is a relationally-oriented psychotherapy and training practice founded by Tala El-Achkar. The practice was created with two parallel intentions: to offer thoughtful, attuned psychotherapy to clients, and to provide meaningful, high-quality clinical training for emerging therapists.
The name Hakawati (حكواتي) is an Arabic word meaning storyteller. Historically, the Hakawati was a respected figure in Eastern Mediterranean and Arab communities - a keeper of narratives who gathered people together to share stories that carried memory, identity, and collective wisdom. Within this practice, the term reflects an understanding of therapy as a space where experiences are listened to with care and given language over time. The therapist is not the hero of the story, but a steady witness and companion in the process of meaning-making.
At Hakawati Psychotherapy, therapy is not approached as a quick fix or a rigid set of techniques. We see it as a reflective and collaborative process that makes room for complexity, context, and the full range of human experience. Our work emphasizes careful listening, emotional attunement, and psychological depth - creating space for people to pause, explore, and give language to experiences that may have long remained unspoken or fragmented.
Our Story
Clinical Approach
We approach therapy as an evolving dialogue rather than a one-directional intervention. Rather than positioning the therapist as an authority with answers, we work alongside clients with curiosity and care, attending not only to present concerns but also to the personal histories, cultural influences, and relational patterns that shape a person’s inner world. Our work draws from psychodynamic, relational, narrative, and somatic perspectives, and is always adapted to the individual in front of us.
We hold therapy as a place where stories can be examined, reframed, and reclaimed - where complexity is welcomed rather than simplified, and where insight and emotional safety develop together gradually.
Training and Supervision
Hakawati Psychotherapy is also an active practicum and supervision site for graduate-level counselling and psychotherapy students. Training the next generation of therapists is a central part of our identity. We believe strong clinicians are shaped not only through theory and technique, but through reflective practice, ethical awareness, and the cultivation of presence. We also encourage ongoing attention to power dynamics within therapy and supervision, recognizing the influence of role, identity, and institutional structures in shaping clinical relationships.
Students and supervisees are supported in developing their own authentic therapeutic voice rather than conforming to a single model. Our training environment is collaborative rather than hierarchical, inviting both confidence and humility as part of professional growth.
Accessibility & Range of Care
Hakawati Psychotherapy is intentionally structured to serve a wide and diverse community. Our clinicians and supervised student therapists work with individuals across varied cultural backgrounds, life stages, and financial circumstances. We actively design our practice to support multiple fee options and entry points, recognizing that meaningful mental health care should not be limited to those with the highest resources.
Maintaining both fully licensed therapists and training practicum clinicians allows care to remain sustainable while expanding accessibility. This mixed-tier model supports a subtle redistribution of resources within the practice, balancing professional integrity with social responsibility without compromising quality of care.
Our Values
Relational Depth & Agency
We prioritize genuine human connection while respecting each person’s narrative, autonomy, and capacity for choice throughout the therapeutic process.
Reflective Practice
Growth emerges through ongoing self-inquiry, dialogue, and accountability to both clients and communities.
Integrity and Ethics
Clear boundaries, self-awareness, and thoughtful decision-making guide our clinical and educational work.
Decolonizing & Anti-Oppressive Practice
We approach therapy with awareness of historical and systemic power, questioning dominant definitions of knowledge and healing while making room for diverse cultural understandings of wellbeing.
Power & Responsibility
We remain attentive to how therapist authority, professional roles, and institutional settings shape relationships, and we hold these positions with care and transparency.
Cultural Competence & Humility
We recognize culture as central to psychological life and approach each person’s background, migration story, and identity with openness, respect, and a commitment to ongoing learning.