Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre

What Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre does

Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre is a UK-registered charity (number 287819) founded in 1983 by psychotherapist Jafar Kareem, headquartered in Islington, North London. The organization provides trauma-informed intercultural therapy in over 20 languages to racially minoritised, refugee, and asylum-seeking communities across four North London boroughs (Islington, Enfield, Camden, Haringey). Core clinical services include individual therapy, group therapy (including language-specific women's groups), family interventions, youth therapy, domestic violence support, and DASA (displacement/asylum) support. A Community Links & Social Justice team provides practical advocacy covering housing, welfare benefits, employment, and immigration alongside therapeutic care.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform; its core offering is the intercultural therapy methodology refined over 40 years, delivered by a multilingual clinical team and supported by standard clinical management systems plus Zoom/Teams for remote training delivery. Accreditations from the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) underpin clinical credibility.

Therapeutic services are provided free to clients. Revenue is generated through seven streams: (1) grants and charitable funding (notably a three-year National Lottery Community Fund grant for the Intercultural Therapy & Outreach Project starting June 2023, and multi-year funding from the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington for the Migrant Women's Group); (2) individual donations with Gift Aid reclaim; (3) corporate EDI/DEI training and bespoke intercultural awareness training; (4) self-paced online training courses and Eventbrite-hosted live workshops; (5) professional membership at £95 per year; (6) therapy and meeting room hire on evenings and weekends; and (7) shop sales of clinical resources and legacy giving. The GTM motion is community-led, relying on referrals from GPs, social services, and four North London community partner organizations, supplemented by word-of-mouth among minoritised communities.

Name

Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre

Legal name

Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre

Website

https://nafsiyat.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre is a UK-registered charity, founded in 1983, providing trauma-informed intercultural therapy in over 20 languages to racially minoritised and refugee communities across four North London boroughs, funded through grants, donations, and corporate training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

MHPSS & Trauma-Informed Support for Displaced Populations (BPADAHAJ)

Keywords

• Intercultural therapy
• Mental health services
• Multilingual counseling
• Trauma-informed therapy
• Culturally responsive psychotherapy

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Charitable Funding: Nafsiyat receives grant funding from charitable foundations including the National Lottery Community Fund for specific projects such as the Intercultural Therapy & Outreach Project (3-year partnership starting June 2023). The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington has provided multi-year funding for the Migrant Women's Group.
2. Donations: Individual donations at various levels (£5, £10, £25, or custom amounts) supporting the charity's mission. Gift Aid reclaim on UK taxpayer donations.
3. Training Services: Corporate EDI/DEI training, bespoke intercultural awareness training for organisations, and self-paced online training courses. Eventbrite-hosted live workshops on cultural sensitivity, inclusive leadership, and managing diverse teams.
4. Professional Membership: Annual professional membership at £95 per year for practitioners, including access to clinical policies and procedures.
5. Room Hire: Affordable therapy and meeting rooms available for evening and weekend hire, equipped with chairs, Wi-Fi, free parking, and accessible facilities.
6. Shop Sales: Sale of resources including the 'Core Intercultural Concepts and Principles for Working with Asylum Seekers and Migrants' toolkit at £10.
7. Legacy Giving: Gifts in wills programme allowing donors to leave legacy donations to support ongoing work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nafsiyat is a registered charity providing short-term intercultural therapy in over 20 languages to individuals, groups, couples, families, and young people from racially minoritised and refugee communities across four North London boroughs. It complements clinical therapy with a Community Links & Social Justice advocacy team addressing socio-economic drivers of distress, and generates earned income through bespoke corporate EDI/DEI training, self-paced online intercultural awareness courses, professional membership, therapy room hire, and resource sales.

Product overview

Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre operates as a unified mental health service platform offering culturally responsive therapy services primarily to racially marginalised and refugee communities across North London. The core offering consists of individual intercultural therapy, group therapy, and family interventions delivered in over 20 languages. These clinical services are complemented by a Community Links & Social Justice team that provides practical advocacy alongside therapy. The organisation also offers training services including Corporate EDI/DEI Training and Online Intercultural Awareness Training for organisations and individuals. The product portfolio includes a Group Empowerment Project, the National Lottery-funded Intercultural Therapy & Outreach Project, a Room Hire service, and an Online Shop for resources and publications. Professional membership at £95/year provides practitioners with clinical policies and ethical guidelines. The services collectively serve individuals, families, couples, youth, and organisations through referral-based, commissioned, and self-funded channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Multilingual Therapy

Quantifiable outcome

• Mental health scores (SWEMWBS) improved from 17 to 26 for one client (Ameen case study)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Islington Bangladesh AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for the Intercultural Therapy & Outreach Project, providing outreach sessions and referral pathways for culturally sensitive mental health support.
• Hopscotch Women's CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for the Intercultural Therapy & Outreach Project, focusing on women's mental health support in North London.
• Elizabeth House Community CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for the Intercultural Therapy & Outreach Project, extending reach of community-based mental health services.
• Kurdish Advice CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for the Intercultural Therapy & Outreach Project, providing referral pathways and outreach for Kurdish communities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• YoungMinds: UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health. Comparable on youth intercultural therapy offering but much broader remit; relevant for youth segment and policy partnerships.
• Mind (National Association for Mental Health): Largest UK mental health charity. Overlaps on mental health advocacy and service delivery, but offers broad-spectrum support rather than intercultural specialism; relevant for referrals and commissioning context.

Direct peers

• Refugee Therapy Centre: London-based charity providing psychotherapy for refugees and asylum seekers, founded in 1999 by Nafsiyat's former Clinical Director Lennox Thomas. Directly comparable on mission (culturally-responsive therapy for displaced populations) and operating model; most relevant peer given shared methodology and lineage.
• The Maya Centre: London charity offering free psychotherapy and group work, particularly for women from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities. Overlapping service portfolio including individual therapy, group work, and cultural-specific modalities; comparable scale and North London catchment.

Regional players

• Touchstone (Leeds): Leeds-based charity providing mental health services specifically for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities. Comparable mission and client cohort; operates regionally in Yorkshire rather than London.
• Mind in Haringey: Local Mind affiliate serving Haringey—one of Nafsiyat's four boroughs. Comparable on mental health service delivery and referral pathways; partially overlaps geographically and could be a commissioning partner or competitor.
• Islington Mind: Local Mind affiliate serving Islington—one of Nafsiyat's primary boroughs. Directly overlapping geography and referral base; comparable on mental health support services for the same North London population.

Emerging players

• Baobab Therapy: Therapist directory and platform focused on Black and minority ethnic therapists across the UK. Comparable on the matching of clients with culturally-matched therapists, but operates as a marketplace rather than direct service provider.
• Black Minds Matter UK: UK charity providing free 1:1 therapy with Black therapists for Black individuals, founded 2020. Overlaps on the cultural-match thesis and free-delivery model; growing digital-first GTM contrasts Nafsiyat's community-led model.
• African Caribbean Mental Health Association: UK charity advancing mental health support for people of African and Caribbean descent. Comparable culturally-specific mental health focus; operates more as advocacy/community model than Nafsiyat's clinical service model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NafsiyatTherapy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nafsiyat

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre