Farkhondeh (Farah) is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and an HCPC registered psychologist. 

Farah obtained her BSc (Hons) in Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Counselling in the 90s. She then embarked on further studies and whilst studying for her PsychD in Psychotherapeutic & Counselling Psychology at Surrey University, Guildford (2000-2003), she conducted a number of research on the migrant population which was followed by further research and publications in the field which she has continued to date. Farah has a special interest in and has written on topics including therapy and therapeutic considerations when working with refugee and asylum-seeking populations from a traditional culture and on refugee and ethnic minority clients’ experiences in therapy and the effects of ethnicity on the process and outcomes of therapy.

Farah has extensive experience working with refugees, asylum seekers and migrant communities in secondary and tertiary settings in the NHS including CMHRCs, Psychotherapy, Assertive Outreach, Acute Inpatient and Psychiatric Intensive Care units at West London Mental Health NHS Trust.  She had a key role in setting up the Ealing Assertive Outreach service in 2003 at WLMHT.  She was also the Trust's training coordinator and clinical supervisor for doctoral trainee counselling psychologists studying at the University of East London and City University for a number of years.

Though retired, Farah remains passionate about refugee-related causes and in 2016 researched and developed the entire content of the Resource Centre on the Refugee Mental Health & Wellbeing Portal which she updates annually, on a voluntary basis. As a member of the BPS's Presidential Taskforce on Refugees and Asylum Seekers, Farah contributed to the development of the 'Guidelines for psychologists working with refugees and asylum seekers in the UK' published by the Taskforce in 2018.

The BPS Division of Counselling Psychology 2019 award for diversity in practice was jointly awarded to Professor Tribe and Dr Farsimadan in recognition of their contributions to the field including the development of the UEL Refugee Mental Health and Wellbeing Portal.

In 2021, Farah contributed a chapter entitled ‘Therapy and Therapeutic Considerations with Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ to an internationally edited book by Moussaoui D., Bhugra D., Tribe R., & Ventriglio A., ‘Mental Health, Mental Illness and Migration’. This is a book in the Mental Health and Illness Worldwide series which offers the reader a broader perspective and deeper insight into mental health and illness worldwide and across cultures. 

Farah has co-edited a special issue on Forced Migration and Mental Health in the International Review of Psychiatry, (Tribe, R., Farsimadan, F., & Marshall, C., 2022) as well as a special issue on Forced Migration: Psychosocial Services and Interventions including the Role of Education in the Displaced Voices. A journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage (Marshall, C., Farsimadan, F. & Tribe, R., 2023). 

Email: farahfarsimadan@yahoo.co.uk