Sabeen Ahmed, LCSW

Responsibilities

As a clinical social worker at Simms Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, I provide emotional and psychosocial support to patients and families navigating the challenges and complexities of a cancer diagnosis. This includes individual counseling, family support, caregiver support, assistance with navigating the healthcare system, and connecting people to referrals and resources to meet their unique needs. I aim to provide a warm, safe, and supportive presence to patients and loved ones, a place to process and release the emotions and feelings that are part of the cancer journey. I work collaboratively with patients, and advocate and empower them as they work with their medical team.

Training and Professional Experience

I graduated with a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University in New York City. In New York, I worked with survivors of intimate partner and gender-based violence, and children at New York City public schools. I went on to work at a community mental health clinic in Pasadena, CA providing individual and family therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. My experience also includes serving as a clinical team leader and clinician in a residential home in Los Angeles, for men who had severe mental illnesses and were found incompetent to stand for trial. Most recently, I worked globally, and created a program alongside two NGOs in Lahore, Pakistan for sex workers to receive training in vocational skills and earn an alternative source of income. I am committed to serving populations that are marginalized and stigmatized, as I strongly value social justice and equitable healthcare.

What brings me to oncology is something inexplicable. My uncle was an oncologist, and before I wanted to be a social worker, I wanted to be an oncologist. I volunteered at The Children’s Hospital in Denver, CO on the oncology floor in the playroom on Saturday evenings during my last semester in college and truly enjoyed it. My love of talking to people and learning their stories led me to the field of social work, and 10 years later I came across Simms/Mann and joined the team!

Selected Professional Publications

Lynn Michalopoulos, Tina Jiwatram-Negrón, Sabeen Ahmed, Mario Diaz, Mah Asombang, Malorie Ward, Nick Nemphos, Nikita Aggarwal, Simpson Kamugisha, Melvin Mwansa, Utilising the ADAPT-ITT Method to Adapt an Evidence-based Intervention Addressing HIV, Trauma and Mental Health Risks among Female Fish Traders in Zambia, The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 53, Issue 7, October 2023, Pages 3344–3363, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad187

Personal Interests

I love music, baking, hiking and spending time outdoors. On the weekends, you’ll find me making tea in the mornings, reading poetry (especially Rumi and Hafiz!), spending time with my family and friends, whether in person or on video with people abroad, and exploring new neighborhoods around the city. I also love traveling to new countries and discovering and learning about people and different cultures.

Languages

Urdu, Hindi, Conversational Punjabi