Tricia Pethic '19 Bridges Faith and Healing

Islamic Chaplaincy alum Tricia Pethic ‘19 answered the call to be a Chaplain when she observed that, frequently, people confided in her personal matters that they hadn’t told anyone else. Now, she is the founding director of a nonprofit called Muslim Prisoner Project and the owner of a private pastoral counseling practice, Naseeha Pastoral Counseling LLC.

Tricia recalls a pivotal class at HIU with Reverend Watts, which she still recommends to students of all faith backgrounds. “We would do scenarios, fishbowl counseling, they called it,” she said. “We would practice counseling someone in a situation. That helped me with one-on-one counseling.”

Those skills were put to the test during her six-plus years as a prison chaplain, where she counseled incarcerated women daily. Later, she took on a different kind of caregiving role as a family support person for an organ procurement organization (OPO), assisting families through end-of-life decisions, a position that, she notes, is distinct from chaplaincy but draws on the same skills of compassion and presence.

When she left prison work, Tricia missed the closeness of one-on-one counseling. So she decided to become entrepreneurial. She launched Naseeha Pastoral Counseling. Naseeha means “sincere advice” in Arabic. In the sessions, she offers spiritual care that integrates faith with emotional support.

Her practice, listed on Psychology Today, serves a range of clients, with a particular focus on Muslims: “I also welcome people who work in hospitals, people who have gone through a healthcare episode, and people who have been in prison, whether they are formerly incarcerated or a correctional officer,” she said.

Tricia is careful to distinguish her work as a pastoral counselor from that of a mental health professional. “I’m not a mental health counselor,” she said. “If I feel that there is an undiagnosed or untreated mental health issue, I encourage the client to seek mental health care, and I make a referral.” She notes that many clients come to her precisely because they wanted God to be part of their counseling experience, something they may not have found elsewhere.

Her pastoral counseling practice operates separately from her nonprofit work with the Muslim Prisoner Project, through which she provides Islamic books and materials to incarcerated individuals. “These are two separate things for me,” she said. “In one area, I counsel people directly. In the other, I’m on the outside of the prison looking in, trying to provide Islamic books and materials. It’s a different way of serving God’s people.”

For those balancing such demanding work, self-care is essential. Tricia credits her husband, Ahmed Veknach '23, a prison chaplain also trained at HIU, as a key source of support and debriefing, always while respecting client confidentiality. She believes that prevention is a form of self-care. “Don’t take on too many clients. Don’t push yourself farther than you can go. Leave time for hobbies. Be humble about your capabilities,” she reminds herself.

She offers a final word of encouragement to current HIU students, particularly those in Islamic chaplaincy. “Think outside the box,” she said. “Be entrepreneurial. Think of ways that you can put your skills to use. Having a remote pastoral care practice is, I think, one of those ways.”

Congratulations, Tricia!