Instructor
Contact Information
Office: 3023 Little Hall
Email: rthawer@ua.edu
Phone: 205-348-0206
Practice Areas and Expertise
- Addiction and Substance Abuse
- Sexuality and Gender Diversity
- LGBTQ+ Muslim Mental Health
- HIV Prevention, Treatment, Stigma Management Among gbMSM
- Social Justice and Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Social Work Clinical Education
- Clinical Supervision
- Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
- Cognitive Behavioral and Gestalt Integrated Therapy
- Systemic Sex Therapy
Education
- DSW Candidate, Organizational Leadership (University of Alabama – 2027)
- MSW Specialization in Addiction Studies (University of Toronto)
- BA Honours Psychology; Double Minor in Political Science and English Literature (University of Waterloo)
Bio
Rahim works as a, instructor, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, facilitator, public speaker, and writer. Rahim is invested all things mental health and is particularly interested in examining innovation in queer relationships.
Facilitator and Speaker
Whether in a classroom or therapy consulting room, he strives to operate from a harm reduction, sex-positive, anti-oppressive and trauma-informed approach. This is complemented by his vast public speaking portfolio, which is both thematically and regionally diverse, spanning from Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver) to the US (New York, Austin, Atlanta, Lexington, Washington) to the United Kingdom (London, Glasgow) and South Africa (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban).
Academia
Rahim is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Social Work program at The University of Alabama (2024-2027). Concurrently, he is on a three-year teaching contract as an Instructor in the School of Social Work in the same department.
Rahim has taught as a post-secondary lecturer at George Brown College, Centennial College, Toronto Metropolitan University, St Jerome’s University (at the University of Waterloo), and the University of Toronto. He developed the curriculum for several courses in Centennial College’s Addiction and Mental Health Worker Program (AMHW) before its launch in Fall 2016. He was appointed as a Fellow at the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto in 2021 for his contributions to the field of sexuality. Rahim was also appointed as an International Visiting Scholar with the South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP) for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Sex Therapy
Rahim developed and taught SMF 208 Introduction to Systemic Therapies and Anti-Oppressive Practice and SMF 309 Sex Therapy in the Department of Sexuality, Marriages and Family (SMF) Studies at St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo. He’s been a keynote speaker at a number of sexuality and sexual wellbeing conferences and is a Fellow at the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto. He completed the Professional Certificate in Psychosexual Therapy (2024) offered by the Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology (CICS) based in the UK.
Clinical Supervision
Nearly half of Rahim’s clinical practice has evolved into clinical supervision and consultation work. He has supervised graduate students from Ontario’s MSW and MA/MEd programs. He has provided consultations to provider teams in various settings within education, child welfare, housing/shelter and health service sectors. His relevant training in clinical supervision includes completion of the following training programs: The Supervisory Relationship (2022/2023), Gestalt Institute of Toronto; Clinical Supervision (2021), Institute for Self-in-Relationship Psychotherapy; Clinical Social Work Supervision (2017), University of Calgary.
Resource Development and Innovation
Community and research-based nonprofit organizations have hired Rahim to develop key resources and curricula that combine his clinical expertise and population-based knowledge. Over the years, he’s developed a nuanced guide for newcomer/immigrant GBTQ guys (2010), a 2SLGBTQ+ youth mental health group curriculum (2021), a mental health and system navigation guide for international students who are gender and sexual minorities (2022); and a group curriculum for GBTQ guys that are 50+ who are exploring connection in the age of online apps. In Rahim’s portfolio, resource and program development remain a strong passion and skill set.
Organizational Development and Training
Rahim has largely worked in community-based and healthcare settings with a focus on HIV and 2SLGBTQ+ services. He’s been providing training to teams and organizations since 2010. Rahim has sat on numerous hiring committees, conducted needs assessments, and mediated employee conflicts. He has offered external clinical supervision to teams and engaged them in stream mapping exercises to enhance workflow and patient flow procedures. While primarily offering direct client services throughout his career, Rahim is invested in providing teams with the support they offer their service users and communities. He has completed the Pittsburgh Balint Group Leader Intensive (2023) through the American Balint Society.
Community Work and Writing
Rahim dedicated over ten years to community organizing with Salaam Canada, a national volunteer-run LGBTQ Muslim organization. He is on the faculty team and advisory committee for the Contemporary Relationships Conference (2019 to present) based in Austin and the Board of Directors at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto (2023 to present). He was a co-editor and essay contributor in a local history anthology entitled Any Other Way: How Toronto Got Queer, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Toronto Book Awards.
Publications
Rahim currently has four books under contract with Thornapple Press, Blue Cactus Press, New Harbinger Press and University of Regina Press.
Books in Progress:
Title: The Politicized Practitioner
Publisher: Blue Cactus Press
Description: A collection my essays with response essays from practitioners in the field.
Audience: Social workers, psychologists, therapists, schools of professional studies
Title: Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys
Publisher: New Harbinger Press
Description: Drawing on the social determinants of health framework, this is a self-help guidebook that identifies and explores several determinants of mental health outcomes for cis and trans queer guys. The exercises draw on cognitive behavioural, psychodynamic, and gestalt therapy techniques.
Title: Seeking
Publisher: Thornapple Press
Description: A collection of short stories that explore the rewards and challenges of connection-seeking in gay men’s subcultures.
Working Title: Stories by LGBTQ+ Muslims on Madness, Love, Resistance, and Care
Publisher: University of Regina Press
Description: A collection of stories, interviews and poems, co-edited by Rahim and Maryam
Audience: LGBTQ+ Muslims; people interested in queer literature, Islamic literature