Resilience in Action: Faryal Popal’s Story of Advocacy, Equity, and Amplifying Voices
Faryal Popal, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) student whose career spans more than a decade of service to individuals, families, and communities navigating trauma, crisis, and systemic inequities. From her early work counseling court-mandated youth in urban community mental health settings to providing trauma-informed care in under-resourced schools, she has worked extensively with refugee and immigrant populations, remaining deeply committed to expanding access to compassionate, culturally responsive care that honors clients’ lived experiences. Her dedication to mental health is rooted in her own story of resilience. After fleeing Afghanistan at the age of four due to war, Faryal spent her formative years navigating the complexities of assimilation across two countries. In seventh grade, she recognized the profound need for emotional support among young people, especially those whose lives are shaped by trauma, displacement, and cultural barriers. That early realization ignited a lifelong passion for mental health care, social justice, and human advocacy. Today, Faryal brings both professional expertise and deep empathy to her work, believing that healing begins when individuals feel truly seen and heard. She is dedicated to dismantling stigma, expanding access to quality care, and amplifying the voices of those often overlooked by traditional systems. Based in California, she continues to advocate for equity and reform in mental health through her role on a district-wide crisis response team, facilitation of family empowerment programs, and frequent presentations at conferences and community forums. In this interview, Faryal reflects on how the Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) program transformed her approach to integrated care, strengthened her ability to drive systems-level change, and deepened her lifelong mission to advance equitable, trauma-informed behavioral health for underserved communities.
How has the DBH program influenced your approach to behavioral health?
The Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) program has been transformative for both my professional development and my journey as a mental health provider. With more than a decade of experience serving court-mandated youth, under-resourced school districts, refugee families, and trauma-exposed communities, I entered the program with a strong foundation in direct service and crisis intervention. The DBH curriculum deepened my understanding of how behavioral health integrates into the broader healthcare landscape and enhanced my ability to design sustainable, system-wide change.
One of the most impactful aspects of the DBH program has been its emphasis on integrated care and population health. I have developed a greater appreciation for the interconnectedness of mental and physical health, particularly in underserved populations. The coursework prepared me to design and implement clinical pathways for conditions that often overlap with behavioral health concerns, such as chronic pain, diabetes, anxiety, and depression. This training strengthened my ability to collaborate with medical providers, school teams, and crisis response personnel, ensuring that care is both clinically sound and responsive to the cultural and socioeconomic factors that influence health outcomes.
As an EMDR-trained clinician and active member of a school district crisis response team, I have long engaged in suicide and homicide prevention efforts. The DBH program expanded this work by equipping me to analyze systemic gaps through a data-driven lens and to propose evidence-based interventions that can be replicated across communities. This has strengthened my contributions to district-level planning, where I assist in identifying service delivery gaps, implementing trauma-informed protocols, and developing preventative strategies to support both students and staff. In addition, I have grown more confident in presenting at conferences, leading parent workshops, and facilitating discussions on complex issues such as suicide prevention, post-crisis stabilization, and mental health equity.
On a personal level, the DBH program has brought full circle a journey that began when my family fled Afghanistan due to war when I was four years old. Growing up, I experienced the challenges of displacement, cultural assimilation, and the silence that often surrounds mental health within immigrant communities. My first realization of the importance of advocacy and mental health support came in seventh grade, when I recognized the profound need for services among individuals often rendered invisible within larger systems. The DBH program has enabled me to reclaim that early insight with academic rigor, leadership training, and a broader vision for systemic and individual change.
Today, I feel more prepared than ever to serve as both a clinician and a change agent. The DBH program has empowered me to step beyond the therapy room into roles of advocacy, consultation, and public health planning. It has strengthened my voice and expanded my reach, positioning me to contribute to a future in which mental health care is integrated, equitable, and accessible to all.
What are your future career goals, and how do you envision the DBH program contributing to your success?
My primary professional and academic interests in behavioral health center on trauma-informed care, crisis intervention, and the integration of behavioral health services within educational and community-based settings. I am especially committed to addressing the needs of underserved populations, including refugees, immigrant families, and youth in high-risk environments. These interests are rooted in both my lived experience and my decade-long work as a therapist supporting individuals and communities affected by systemic inequities, displacement, and generational trauma.
Trauma-informed care remains at the core of my clinical practice. I am EMDR-trained and have observed firsthand how unresolved trauma contributes to behavioral health challenges, particularly among youth and marginalized populations. My work in schools and community settings has demonstrated the importance of viewing behavioral symptoms as adaptive responses to adversity rather than as isolated disorders. Academically, I am committed to advancing evidence-based interventions that support healing while honoring cultural identity, resilience, and the social context of each individual. This perspective continues to shape my approach in therapy sessions, crisis response work, and educational environments.
Another central area of interest is suicide prevention and postvention planning. As a member of a district-wide crisis response team, I regularly assess school environments following critical incidents and collaborate with administrators to strengthen protocols, address systemic gaps, and facilitate community healing. I am particularly drawn to the intersection of behavioral health and systems-level reform, specifically how school systems, healthcare institutions, and community agencies can work collaboratively to prevent crises and respond effectively when they arise. My focus is on moving beyond reactive care to establish structures that promote early identification, equity, and holistic recovery.
I am also committed to bridging the gap between behavioral and physical health in primary care and school-based settings. Many of the students and families I serve experience co-occurring medical and psychological challenges, often without access to coordinated care. Through the DBH program, I have gained the skills to design clinical pathways and advocate for behavioral health integration that is culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and financially sustainable. This aligns with my long-term goal of leading programs and initiatives that reduce stigma, improve access, and reshape the delivery of behavioral health services for vulnerable populations.
Ultimately, my career goal is to serve as a leader in behavioral health systems reform, providing direct care, training other professionals, influencing policy, and advancing systemic change. I aim to continue advocating for those whose voices are often unheard and to use my background, education, and passion to help build a more compassionate and equitable mental health system. Whether presenting at conferences, facilitating parent education workshops, or consulting on school district protocols, I remain committed to integrating research, lived experience, and community engagement into all aspects of my work.
Can you share an experience that shaped your understanding of integrated behavioral healthcare?
One of the most memorable turning points in my Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) journey occurred during a course module on integrating behavioral health into primary care systems. Having primarily worked in community and school-based settings, I initially perceived my role as somewhat separate from the medical field. However, as I deepened my understanding of the ways physical and mental health intersect, and how often behavioral symptoms are misdiagnosed, overlooked, or untreated in primary care, I began to recognize the urgent need for integrated models of care. This realization not only shifted my perspective but also redefined my role as a clinician, advocate, and systems thinker.
The pivotal moment came during a case study analysis of a patient presenting to primary care with chronic pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal symptoms. A more comprehensive behavioral health assessment revealed that the patient was experiencing complex trauma, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, none of which had been addressed because the physical complaints were treated in isolation. The case reminded me of countless students and families I have supported whose emotional pain manifested physically, yet who were left without appropriate care because the systems surrounding them were ill-equipped to address the whole person. I thought of refugee children with sleep disturbances, adolescents with somatic symptoms, and caregivers suffering in silence due to cultural stigma surrounding mental health.
In that moment, I understood the power of integrated care not as an abstract concept but as an essential shift in how health systems must serve individuals. It deepened my commitment to becoming a clinician who bridges the gap between mental and physical health, sees the whole person rather than the isolated symptom, and advocates for models of care that treat both dimensions as inseparable. The DBH program has equipped me with the language, tools, and vision to advance this mission with greater clarity and confidence.
This was also a deeply personal moment of healing. I reflected on my own family’s journey as Afghan refugees. Growing up, I witnessed loved ones struggle with physical illnesses that were never fully resolved, mainly because the underlying trauma remained invisible to providers. There was no space to acknowledge grief, loss, or the chronic stress of cultural assimilation. That silence shaped me profoundly, and through my DBH training, I now have the tools to break that silence for others.
Since that experience, I have become more engaged in conversations about care coordination, multidisciplinary collaboration, and behavioral health screenings in nontraditional settings such as schools and community clinics. I now view integrated care not as a privilege but as a human right that validates the whole experience of each individual. This insight has shaped my long-term goal: to lead initiatives that deliver trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and integrated behavioral health services to the populations that need them most. The DBH journey has not only refined my professional skills but has also reignited my sense of purpose.
What fuels your passion for advancing integrated behavioral health, and how do you stay motivated?
What drives me toward advancing behavioral health, particularly within integrated care, is the deep-rooted belief that every person, regardless of background, immigration status, or geographic location, deserves access to compassionate and holistic care. My own life story fuels this purpose. I left Afghanistan at the age of four due to war and displacement, and I grew up navigating the complexities of cultural identity, trauma, and the silence that often surrounds mental health in immigrant families. These early experiences shaped my understanding of the ways behavioral health is tied to belonging, safety, and dignity.
Professionally, I have spent more than a decade working with youth, refugee families, and school districts with limited mental health resources. I have witnessed the gaps firsthand: young people suffering from untreated trauma, families struggling to navigate complex systems, and medical providers overwhelmed by patients whose emotional needs remain unaddressed. In these settings, integrated care is not only a strategy but also a lifeline. My motivation comes from a sense of responsibility to bridge these gaps through direct clinical work and to advocate for system-wide changes that make behavioral health support more accessible, culturally responsive, and sustainable.
My involvement in crisis response teams and school-based behavioral health initiatives has only intensified this drive. Each time I support a school community after a suicide or counsel a family experiencing fear and uncertainty, I am reminded of the urgent need to embed behavioral health into the environments where people live, learn, and heal. Integrated care provides a framework for making this possible. It promotes early identification, collaborative treatment, and whole-person care. It transforms schools, clinics, and communities into spaces where mental health is recognized as an essential component of overall well-being rather than an afterthought.
Even in the face of systemic challenges, I find inspiration in small but significant moments of change. It is the student who once remained silent in sessions, beginning to advocate for themselves. It is the school team that recognizes the value of trauma-informed policies. It is the refugee mother who, after years of silence, expresses gratitude for having her pain validated. These moments reaffirm the importance of this work and the transformative potential of integrated care.
The DBH program has also been a vital source of growth and inspiration. It has provided me with new tools, language, and frameworks to approach behavioral health from a systems perspective. My peers in the program motivate me as well, serving as fellow change agents equally committed to reimagining care. I remain grounded by the communities I serve, continuously learning from their experiences and drawing strength from the purpose that led me to this field.
Ultimately, what drives me is hope. Through advocacy, education, and integration, we can create a behavioral health system that is equitable, empowering, and rooted in human connection. That hope sustains my commitment every day.
What advice would you give to prospective students or professionals considering the DBH program?
If I could offer advice to fellow students or professionals considering the Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) program, I would encourage them to begin with both their heart and mind open. The DBH journey is not only about expanding clinical knowledge, although that growth is significant. It is about transforming how you view behavioral health, systems of care, and your role within them. Suppose you are passionate about creating meaningful change in communities, advocating for equity, and bridging the gaps between physical and mental health. In that case, this program will expand your vision and provide the tools to bring it to life.
One of the most powerful lessons I have learned throughout this program is the importance of embracing the complexity of care. Behavioral health can no longer operate in silos. Whether working in a hospital, school, private practice, or community-based agency, it is essential to understand medical systems, communicate in the language of healthcare, and collaborate across disciplines. The DBH program equips you to build these bridges and challenges you to think as a leader, innovator, and systems advocate.
My advice is to lean into that challenge and grow beyond your comfort zone. You will engage with topics such as population health, clinical pathways, value-based care, and integrated models that may initially feel unfamiliar. Trust the process. Each module, assignment, and case study is intentionally designed to foster critical thinking, real-world application, and the confidence to lead systemic change, not just provide care.
I also encourage you to bring your story with you. Whether your background is in counseling, social work, healthcare, or community advocacy, your experiences are valid and valuable. For me, being a refugee who fled Afghanistan at the age of four and later becoming a trauma-informed therapist working in underserved schools, shaped how I see the world. The DBH program honored that lens and helped me transform lived experience into professional strength. Your journey matters. Allow it to guide your passion and deepen your empathy.
Finally, stay connected to your “why.” This program will demand much of you, but it will give even more in return. On the most challenging days, remember who you are doing this for: the youth who need advocates, the families who feel unseen, and the communities navigating trauma without adequate support. That sense of purpose will sustain you and keep your vision clear.
In short, say yes to the DBH program if you are ready to do the work and reimagine how behavioral health is delivered. You will leave with a stronger voice, broader skills, and a renewed commitment to advancing behavioral health in transformational ways.
Through her work and lived experience, Faryal Popal embodies the mission of the Doctor of Behavioral Health program, to prepare leaders who bridge systems, challenge inequities, and deliver compassionate, integrated care. The DBH program has amplified her ability to move beyond individual treatment toward systemic change, equipping her with the tools to analyze data, design evidence-based interventions, and influence policy across educational and community settings. Grounded in both empathy and evidence, Faryal continues to advance a vision of behavioral health that is trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and accessible to all, demonstrating how the DBH transforms not only careers, but entire communities.
Connect with Faryal Popal
Check Out Faryal Popal on the Disruptors at Work Podcast
Supporting Teens in a Hyperconnected World
In this episode of Disruptors at Work: An Integrated Care Podcast, guest host Faryal Popal, LMFT, Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) program student at Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies (CGI), sits down with Jes Aced, BA, EdSpec-MM, CLAD, AAAS, ELAE to explore how schools are uniquely positioned to address the complex relationship between teen mental health and social media use. Together, they discuss strategies educators can implement to support students navigating digital spaces, as well as innovative approaches for integrating mental health practices into classrooms. The conversation highlights the importance of collaborative efforts between educators, mental health professionals, and families in building resilience and emotional well-being among adolescents.
