ISLAMABAD: Pakistani-American psychiatrist Dr. Farha Abbasi will be recognized by the US government as one of the top women faith leaders in the country during a ceremony this week, the Pakistan Embassy in Washington said on Wednesday.

Dr. Abbasi, who currently works as an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at Michigan State University and is a core faculty member of the Muslim Studies Program, is known for reinforcing the efficacy of faith and cultural-based solutions to address mental health issues among Muslims in America.

The psychiatrist, who works directly with the Muslim American community to encourage integration rather than isolation from mainstream society, is the founding director of the Annual Muslim Mental Health Conference and also launched a Global Muslim Mental Health Conference in Malaysia and Jordan.

“The US Department of Health and Human Services will recognize Dr. Farha Abbasi, a renowned psychiatrist and active member of the Pakistani-American community in Michigan, as one of the nation’s top women faith leaders,” the embassy’s statement said.

Abbasi will be among 15 women honored tomorrow, Thursday, at a “Women on the Frontlines: Celebrating Women Faith Leaders” event hosted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Masood Khan, congratulated Dr. Abbasi for making Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora in the United States proud with her achievement, the statement said,

Dr. Abbasi received the American Psychiatric Association’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Minority Fellowship in 2009. Her areas of interest include faith and cultural psychiatry and she teaches medical students how to provide culturally appropriate care to Muslim patients.

The latest figures from the US census show there are roughly 550,000 Pakistanis living in the US.