Sekneh Beckett

Macquarie University, Department of Psychology, Honorary Associate

Followers

Following

Co-authors

Public Views

Sekneh Hammoud-Beckett is a Senior Registered Psychologist (MAPS) and Narrative Therapist with over 20 years of experience. She has provided health promotion and therapeutic services to young people and their families at the NSW Department of Health (Youth Mental Health) for over a decade. Additionally, she has worked as a researcher with the Division of General Practitioners and as a Consultant Psychologist for Twenty10, a NSW community service for young people and their families who are navigating diverse identities. Sekneh is also part of the teaching faculty at the Dulwich Centre, Adelaide, and has been a casual lecturer with UTS Law and the Masters of Social Health, and Postgraduate Applied Psychology Courses at Macquarie University for ten years.

Sekneh has gained media and parliamentary attention for her innovative alternative concept to the coming-out discourse and has published papers exploring the relationship between sexuality, religiosity, gendered violence, and racism. She presents nationally and internationally on these topics.

Currently, Sekneh works in private practice providing therapy, consultancy, teaching, and supervision. When not engaged in the therapeutic space, she advocates for community causes.

Bolton, P., Hammoud,S., & Leung.J. (2002). Issues in Quality Use of Medication in two Non English Speaking Background Communities. Australian Journal of Primary Health, Vol 8, no. 3, 75-81.

Hammoud, S., & Dejvongsa, S. (2003). The Body Biz Booklet: A Guide for Counsellors Working with Young People Experiencing Bulimia. Sydney: CYHS.

Hammoud-Beckett, S. (2007). Azima ila hayayti: An Invitation to my life. Narrative Exploration into Sexual Identity. International Journal of Narrative therapy and Community Work, Vol 1, pp 29-40.

Beckett, S. (2007). Nurturing resistance and refusing to separate gender, culture and religion: Responding to gendered violence in Australian communities. In White, C & Yuen, A (Eds).Conversations about gender, culture, violence and narrative practice (pp 43-51). Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.

Beckett, S. (2008). Unveiling work at the coalface from a woman of Middle Eastern appearance. In Owen, J.R & Khavarpour, K (Eds.), Voices from the Coalface: Practitioner Perspectives about the Nature and Challenges of Community Based Work (pp.43-53). Australia: Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd.

Beckett, S. (2010). Azima ila hayayti: An Invitation to my life. Narrative Exploration into Sexual Identity. In Moon, L. (Ed.), Counselling Ideologies: Queer Challenges to Heteronormativity (pp201-219). UK: University of Warwick.

Beckett, S. (2011). Found in Translation. In Denbourough, D. (Ed). Narrative Practice. Continuing the conversations. Michael White. (pp 166-167). USA: W.W. Norton & Company.

Beckett, S., Mohummadally A & Pallotta-Chiarolli, M. (2013). Living the Rainbow: ‘Queerying’ Muslim identities. In Dr Abe W. Ata (Ed). Education Integration Challenges: The Case of Australian Muslims. (pp 96-107). Melbourne: David Lovell Publishing.

Kassisieh, G & Hammoud-Beckett, S. (2013). A World of Whispers: Life for same-sex attracted Muslims from Arabic-speaking backgrounds in Australia. In Dr Abe W. Ata (Ed). Education Integration Challenges: The Case of Australian Muslims. (pp 129-142). Melbourne: David Lovell Publishing.

Beckett, S. (2013). A Homecoming for Gay Spirituality. Journal of LGBT Youth, 10:4, 383-387.

Reynolds, V. & Hammoud-Beckett, S. (2012) Bridging the worlds of therapy & activism: Intersections, tensions & affinities. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. (4) 57-61.

Reynolds, V., “Bahman”, Hammoud-Beckett, S., Sanders, C.J., & Haworth, G. (2014). Poetic Resistance: Bahman’s resistance to torture and political violence. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. No.2, 1-15.

Explorations: E-Journal of Narrative Practice
Co-Editor – Clinical Practice
http://dulwichcentre.com.au/publications/e-journal/

Co-Editor - Special edition: International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work 2017, Issue 3
http://dulwichcentre.com.au/product-category/2017/2017-issue-3/

Walkley winning web documentary:
Cronulla Riots – “The day that shocked the nation”
http://www.sbs.com.au/cronullariots/

ABC Big Ideas: I am a Queer Muslim - In conversation with Alyena Mohummadally.

David Marr (2012) StoneWalled:The Good Weekend. http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/stonewalled-20120413-1wyec.html

SBS feature ‘The Feed”
Wed-locked: Fake marriages http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/30813763748/Wed-locked-Fake - marriages-in-Australia

One Foot In https://linktr.ee/Onefootin
ABC innies & outies

https://newmatilda.com/2017/10/06/why-the-yes-vote-has-to-embrace-the-postal-plebiscite/
http://www.csgsnyu.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/darnell-moore-talk.pdf
https://www.umflint.edu/sites/default/files/users/jensalam/hrc-muslim_guide.pdf
https://www.recordkeeping.unsw.edu.au/documents/S394-2008-Issue%208.PDF

less

Mariya Ivancheva

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

Paul R Carr

Université du Québec en Outaouais

Samia Hurst

Université de Genève

Martin O'Neill

University of York

Maxwell J Smith

University of Western Ontario

Melanie Sage

SUNY: University at Buffalo

Richard E. Watts

Sam Houston State University

Gilbert J Greene

Ohio State University

Richard Kearney

Boston College

Roberto Cippitani

Indepac

Interests

Uploads

Book chapter by Sekneh Beckett

Social Justice Activism and Therapy: Tensions, Points of Connection, and Hopeful Scepticism

Th is writing invites a critique of the tenuous, strained, yet hopeful relationship between soci... more Th is writing invites a critique of the tenuous, strained, yet hopeful relationship between social justice activism and therapy (Reynolds & Hammoud-B eckett, 2012 ). It addresses the tensions of therapy replicating oppressive practices, and invites a critique of our practice with an aim to move us more in line with our collective ethics for justice-d oing (Reynolds, 2 009; Reynolds & polanco, 2 012) . Th is critique entails addressing our positioning in relation to power, privilege, and disadvantage; resisting neutrality and taking overt positions for justice-d oing; naming and beginning to respond to white supremacy and colonialism in our traditions of practice; problematizing our relationship to social control and social change in our work; and resisting competition as aff ronts to our solidarity. A critical engagement with refl ective practice will be off ered (Freire, 1970 ; Tomm, 1985 ), inviting a hopeful scepticism (Kvale, 1 996; Ricoeur, 1 970) about our practice enacting the ethics we espouse. Our hope is to breathe life into our ethical engagement with practice, and move towards justice- doing in our work.

Download

“Queerying Muslim Identities” written with Sekneh Beckett and Alyena Mohummadally in Abe Ata (ed) Education Integration Challenges: The case of Australian Muslims Melbourne: David Lovell Publishing (2014).

by Sekneh Beckett, maria pallotta-chiarolli, and Alyena Mohummadally

Download

Papers by Sekneh Beckett

Azima ila Hayati – An Invitation in to My Life

$Research paper thumbnail of Living the rainbow : \u27Queerying\u27 Muslim identities$

Living the rainbow : \u27Queerying\u27 Muslim identities

Poetic resistance: Witnessing Bahman's resistance to torture and political violence

The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, 2014

This writing presents an orientation to work alongside survivors of torture and political violenc... more This writing presents an orientation to work alongside survivors of torture and political violence centred in witnessing resistance and an activist informed ethical stance for decolonising and antioppression practice (Reynolds and polanco, 2012). This includes descriptions of what constitutes torture and political violence, and understandings of witnessing, and resistance as ever present and useful despite the fact that resistance is often not enough to stop oppression (Wade, 1997; Reynolds, 2010a). This writing highlights Bahman, a survivor of torture from Iran, and illuminates his poetic resistance to torture, including poems that Bahman wrote during our therapeutic work together. I will provide enough context of the political situation and particular acts of violence and torture so that the acts of resistance in Bahman's poems are understandable, and make visible structures of safety (Richardson and Reynolds, 2014, in press) and accountability practices. Bahman's poems ar...

Azima ila Hayati - an invitation in to my life : narrative conversations about sexual identity

The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, 2007

This paper describes a therapeutic conversation with a young gay Muslim man and his brother which... more This paper describes a therapeutic conversation with a young gay Muslim man and his brother which was shaped by the definitional ceremony metaphor. Through deconstructing 'games of truth' in relation to attitudes to homosexuality and the process of 'coming out', space was created for this young man and his brother to realign their relationship. In the midst of the current hostile climate affecting all Arab Muslim families, this paper describes the story of two brothers and their concept of loyalty.

Intersectional Narrative Practice with Queer Muslim Clients

Journal of Intercultural Studies

Living the rainbow : 'Queerying' Muslim identities

O people, we created you all from male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you... more O people, we created you all from male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. Acknowledging that the most noble among you is the one most aware of Allah.' The Holy Qur'an, Surah 49, Al-Hujurat, verse 13 The above Quranic verse echoes the pursuit to embrace unity within the diversity that exists within Muslim communities, and we learn through our differences that reconciliation of sexual and spiritual/religious identity is achievable. This chapter is another significant example of the increasing awareness in Australia and indeed internationally in relation to diversity within Muslim communities, which includes a 'faith-centered anti-homophobic reading of the Qur'an ... at the whens and wheres of how divine love has historically been interpreted as only present along straight lines, families, bodies and love(r)s' (Shannahan, 2010:680). Multiple marginalities and intersectionalities need to be negotiated and navigated when 'living the rainbow': interweaving religious diversity, cultural diversity, gender diversity and sexual diversity (Pallotta-Chiarolli, 1995; Shannahan, 2010). The establishment of the Australian GLBTIQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) Multicultural Council Inc (AGMC) and the many multicultural and multifaith GLBTIQ social and support groups are a testimony to the need to engage with people's lived experiences of negotiating and interweaving multiple identities, multiple group allegiances, multiple community belongings and the subsequent border dwelling (Pallotta-Chiarelli, 2005a; 2008).

Download

A Homecoming for Gay Spirituality

Journal of LGBT Youth, 2013