Tauseef Akbar — Zaha Health

About

A chaplain who shows up with those he accompanies through presence and listening.

Chaplain Tauseef Akbar is the Associate Director of Spiritual Life and Coordinator of Muslim Life at The University of Chicago. In that role, he oversees support for religious and spiritual life on campus — addressing the needs of students across traditions and advocating for UChicago's vibrant Muslim community.

As a trained chaplain, Tauseef offers spiritual care and counseling — bringing Zaha the same presence he's built over years of walking alongside people through faith questions, grief, family tension, identity work, and everything in between.

Earlier in his career, Tauseef helped establish the Georgetown University Bridge Initiative Research Project on Islamophobia (2013–2015), working at the intersection of scholarship and advocacy.

Grief, doubt, questions of belonging — these aren’t problems to solve so much as weights to carry with someone beside you. I try to be that person.

Credentials & Training

Training & credentials.

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Master of DivinityAmerican Islamic College

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BA, English — Creative WritingNorth Park University

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University of ChicagoAssociate Director of Spiritual Life · Coordinator of Muslim Life

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Georgetown UniversityHelped establish the Bridge Initiative on Islamophobia (2013–2015)

What Chaplain Tauseef works with

What he works with.

Identity & belonging

Young Muslims, second-generation, converts, and anyone navigating faith across two cultures.

Faith doubt & dry periods

The seasons of feeling far. Re-anchoring iman without forcing it.

Grief, loss & qadr

Holding sabr and sorrow at the same time. The Islamic framework for bereavement.

Family & relational tensions

Intergenerational dynamics, marriage, parenting, in-laws — within a fiqh-aware frame.

OCD & religious anxiety

Working alongside the therapist to give religious permission to let go.

Spiritual support in recovery

Tawbah, shame, and the long return to self after addiction or hidden struggles.

Availability

Availability.

Time zoneCentral Time (US)

Session length45 minutes

FormatSecure telehealth

Available toClients anywhere in the US

Ready to begin?

Zaha's care is built around programs — a licensed therapist and a spiritual advisor on one shared plan, working together. That coordinated model is where the real change happens; it's the reason Zaha exists.

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