Licensed Professional Counselor 
Mindfulness and Somatic Practices Teacher
National Certified Counselor 
Master Certified Health Coach
EMDR Certified Therapist & CIT

If navigating your personal and/or professional roles involved putting your real challenges “on mute”, you may at some point sense how overall health, bodily sensations and loss of connection with what really matters to you, will find ways to “speak on behalf of” your unspoken stress.

My interest in studying clinical mental health counseling evolved when my work and my lived experiences allowed me to see that even when there is access to quality care and resources for physical health; unaddressed or “skillfully masked” chronic stress may stand in the way of enjoying real and sustainable sense of aliveness and wellbeing.

I hope when people join me, their intentional engagement in strengthening their resilience, can help break those old cycles where attempts would be made to only “manage” the physical symptoms, while the suppressed psychological stress is left to silently feed many more imbalances.

With the help of your own strengths, your counseling and therapy with me can aim at long-term health, sustained psychological wellbeing, and mindful navigation of experiences including:

• Trauma (single incident, ongoing, intergenerational, systemic or complex trauma)
• Grief
• Loss
• Anxiety & Panic Attacks
• Chronic Stress related to professional and/or personal roles
• Depression
• Relationship Difficulties
• Sleep disruption
• Unsustainable Lifestyle
• Physical Manifestations of Psychological Stress

The loss of vitality is one of the sources of unspoken grief that can limit lives and impact relationships. 

The work that I do is grounded in the belief that despite years where misaligned or fragmented care may have impacted the sense of hope and where chronic stress and/or genetic vulnerabilities could have impacted different systems of the body cultivating new levels of vitality and real sense of aliveness is possible. 

You can expect to co-craft your experience with me based on your needs and goals. You can also expect to be regularly invited to share your feedback and questions to co-facilitate a human to human connection and a steady movement towards therapeutic outcomes.

Being part of dedicated teams of clinicians who showed deep care for clients and for one another strongly supported my learning and development. While completing my Masters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Portland State University, I offered individual counseling sessions in the Community Counseling Clinic. Later, I offered individual and group therapy sessions and facilitated psychoeducation groups  at The Center For Student Health and Counseling (SHAC) at PSU.  

^{-Advanced EMDR Protocols: Early Interventions for Groups and Community Members Following Acute Stress, Traumatic Experiences and Critical Incidents}  

^{-Integration of EMDR Specialized Protocols and Advanced Therapeutic Modalities with a Focus on Performance Enhancement in Professional, Athletic and Academic Settings} 

^{-Somatic Trauma Therapy Certification}

^{-Integrative Complex Trauma (CPTSD) Treatment with EMDR, IFS and Somatic Approaches} 

 ^{-Integrated Treatment of Chronic Pain and Chronic Health Conditions Utilizing Advanced EMDR Approaches} 

^{-Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional}

^{-IFS Therapy for Clinical Challenges: Trauma, Anxiety, Attachment Injuries and Addiction}

^{-Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Interventions for Chronic Pain} 

^{-Clinical Anxiety Treatment: Applied Neuroscience for Treating Anxiety and Panic}

^{-Interpersonal Neurobiology Informed Approaches for Attachment and Relational Trauma}

^{-Grief: Evidence Based Approaches to Care Across the Lifespan}

I see us as humans; within the contexts of our lives and as parts of larger structures and systems that impact our health.

Effectively working with the origins of current imbalances without “reliving the pain” of past distressing events can happen at an accelerated or a slow pace. 

Each person's hopes, capacities, strengths and vulnerabilities are considered before selecting the format and therapeutic modalities to be integrated into a collaboratively crafted care plan. 

 While working within a relational, integrative and culturally attuned framework, the following therapeutic modalities and interventions can be used: 

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), somatic interventions, mind body integration techniques, internal family systems (IFS), mental health education,  motivational interviewing (MI), solution focused brief therapy (SFBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), structural family therapy and emotionally focused therapy (EFT).

I acknowledge health disparities and invite clients to co-explore possible ways to exercise their own sense of agency to navigate systemic and psychological barriers to wellbeing.

• Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Academic & Professional Honor Society
• National Board for Certified Counselors - Registered as Noha Mostafa Balboul 
• Oregon Board for Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (C9005) - Registered as Noha Mostafa Balboul
• Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA) 

A bit about the path..

In 2001 and after a period of challenging transitions, I started to practice and study mindfulness based mind body modalities with the intention to discover new self care tools.

Until 2005, I served as an instructor and professional skills trainer as I taught and coached adults who were engaged in intensive professional development programs to actualize their career goals. In 2006, with a hope to help people access effective tools to enjoy the process of optimizing physical and psychological resilience, I started a mindfulness studio to offer individualized mindfulness based movement education for different abilities and diverse cultural backgrounds. It was a uniquely refreshing opportunity to work with group members from different parts of the world including Africa, Asia, Europe and the US as we cultivated a deeper sense of collective wellbeing through commitment and intentionality.

Whole Person Health and Wellness Oriented Counseling

What started it all..

My interest in how the body and mind connection can be leveraged to promote sustained physical and psychological health, started in 1999 as I was writing a paper on that topic during my undergrad years at AUC.

As a certified teacher of mindfulness based somatic approach since 2010, I customized mind-body tools so that people with different abilities, physical limitations and cultural backgrounds can use them as relatable, accessible and sustainably powerful self care tools.

I have worked internationally and across the US with professionals and families to cultivate enjoyable and consistent habits that aim at optimizing health and protecting against lifestyle chronic diseases. A background offering education and health coaching on nutrition, self nurturing sustainable strategies, joyful movement and resilient mindset, informs my current integration of a whole person mental health care approach.