Rahima Schmall, PhD, RN

Rahima Susan Schmall, PhD, RN, is a clinical psychologist, registered nurse and a master teacher and healer in the Sufi tradition. For over 30 years, she has successfully blended psychology, spirituality and medical knowledge to bring loving and compassionate care to individuals, couples and groups. She received her BSN from the University of Wisconsin and both her MA and PhD in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Rahima has been a therapist and healer in private practice, a family therapist in alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers, and a consultant for a locked psychiatric unit. In the 1990’s, she was the department chair for the MA in Counseling Program at Southwestern College as well as the director for the Southwestern College Counseling Center. Recently, she has been named the assistant counseling program chair for Southwestern College.

In 2000, Rahima left Southwestern College to help start a Sufi Retreat Center and community in California. There she trained as a healer in the Sufi tradition and became the director of both their retreat and healing programs. She is currently the department chair for the Spiritual Healing and Counseling MA at the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism. 

Always having been a spiritual seeker, Rahima is guided by the Prayer of St Francis and strives to be “an instrument of God’s peace.” She is a former Buddhist teacher and director for Shambala Training. She has studied traditional Sufi healing in Morocco and Europe, did a month long Qigong retreat in China and has a 30-year yoga practice.  She has also been a student of Process Oriented Psychology studying with Dr. Arnold Mindell.

Rahima’s passion lies in teaching and mentoring future counselors and healers. She delights at seeing each student’s natural abilities and gifts come forward in the service of others.