Dr Sabah Siddiqui is Associate Professor of Psychology at the School of Interwoven Arts & Sciences (SIAS), Krea University. She completed her PhD at the University of Manchester, where she studied faith healing practices in western India, focusing on how science and tradition intersect in mental health care. Her research spans critical psychology, psychoanalysis, the psychology of religion, gendered violence, and community mental health.

She is the author of Religion and Psychoanalysis in India (Routledge, 2016), which examined the role of faith-based practices in India’s mental health landscape. Dr Siddiqui is the co-editor of Islamic Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Islam (Routledge, 2019), which was nominated for the Gradiva Award for Best Edited Book. Her other editorial work includes A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement, 2020–2021 (Routledge, 2024); a special issue on “Psychoanalytic Perspectives from South Asia” for Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society (2024); and a special issue on “Sex and Power in the University” for the Annual Review of Critical Psychology (2018). Her next book is a co-edited volume titled Ageing and Wellbeing in India (Routledge, forthcoming in 2026).

In addition to her academic writing, Dr Siddiqui practises as a psychodynamic psychotherapist, drawing on Freudian, Lacanian, Object Relations, and Group Analytic frameworks. She is currently a member of the editorial boards of Psychoanalysis, Culture, & Society, and the Annual Review of Critical Psychology. She served as Discipline Coordinator for Psychology at Krea University from 2022 to 2024, and continues to teach and supervise in the areas of clinical psychology, history of psychology, psychoanalysis, disability studies, qualitative methods, and critical theory.

Research

Current Research (2025-2026)

Dr. Sabah Siddiqui’s current research continues to explore the intersections of mental health, care, and community. She is extending her project on community mental health in Maharashtra, where she served as Principal Investigator for Whither ‘community’?: Exploring community mental health within Adivasi society, supported by the Krea Faculty Fellowship. This next phase investigates how rural to urban migration shapes mental health and wellbeing.

She is also co-editing a forthcoming volume titled Ageing and Wellbeing in India (Routledge, 2026), which brings together perspectives from phenomenology, psychoanalysis, and critical gerontology to rethink the emotional and social worlds of ageing in India. The book examines experiences of loneliness, loss, melancholia, and generativity, interrogating how these are shaped by broader forces of patriarchy and neoliberalism.

In addition, Dr. Siddiqui is developing a new research collective called the Drift Lab, which explores how lived and felt experience is shaped through spatial context and design. The initiative challenges conventional, individual-centered models in psychology, and will serve as a space for interdisciplinary experimentation and collaborative thinking on space, subjectivity, and method.

2023 – 2024
Community Mental Health in Maharashtra. She is the Principal Investigator for a project titled Whither ‘community’?, exploring community mental health within Adivasi society

Psychoanalytic Perspectives from South Asia. She is co-editing a special issue for the Journal of Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society

Social movements and social change. She is co-editing a volume titled A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement, 202-2021;

Psychology and sociology of religion. She is working on the Sikh Langar as an interaction of food and revolution in the Farmers’ Movement.

Publications

In 2024, Dr Siddiqui saw the completion of two projects close to her heart — co-editing a special issue for Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society on “Psychoanalytic Perspectives from South Asia,” and a an edited book titled A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement, 2020–2021.

Select Publications:

1) Haq, S, Siddiqui, S., & Shukla, R. (2024). Psychoanalytic perspectives from South Asia: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 29, 469–480

2) Siddiqui, S. & Natesan, S. (2024). Loh langar tapde rahen: Revolution and food in the Farmers’ Movement. In A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement (2020-2021). Routledge

3) Singh, S. & Siddiqui, S. (2024). Why do we need a people’s history of the Farmers’ Movement? In A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement (2020-2021). Routledge

4) Siddiqui, S. (2022). Psychology in India: Knowledge, Method, Nation. In Mapping Scientific Method: Disciplinary Narrations (pp. 262-279). Routledge

5) Siddiqui, S. (2020). Faith healing: Haunted discourses of distress in India. In The Routledge International Handbook of Global Therapeutic Cultures (pp. 268-277). Routledge

6) Siddiqui, S. (2019). Faith Healing at a Muslim Shrine in Gujarat, India: Exploring the Site, Subject, and Ghost. The University of Manchester (United Kingdom)

7) Siddiqui , S. (2019). Non-Legal Modes of Redressal of Violence. In Training Manual for Legal Empowerment of Women and Girls with Physical Disabilities in India. Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi.

8) Haq, S., & Siddiqui, S. (2018). Between neutrality and disavowal: Being Muslim psychotherapists in India. In Islamic Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Islam (pp. 60-69). Routledge.

9) Chandrashekar, K., Lacroix, K., & Siddiqui, S. (2018). Sex and power in the university. Annual Review of Critical Psychology, 15, 3-14

10) Siddiqui, S., & Davar, B. (2018). Devi Possession. In Psychoanalysis from the Indian Terroir: Emerging Themes in Culture, Family, and Childhood (pp. 19-36). Lexington Books

11) Siddiqui, S. (2017). Ways of Doing: The Mind and the Brain. Breaking the silo: Integrated science education in India (pp. 262-272). Orient BlackSwan

12) Siddiqui, S. (2016). Religion and psychoanalysis in India: Critical clinical practice. Routledge

13) Lacroix, K., & Siddiqui, S. (2013). Cultures of Violence: A Woman without a Past or a Future. Economic & Political Weekly, 48(44), 68-72.

Teaching Modules

General Psychology

• Introduction to Psychology: Introduction to Psychology covers core topics including perception, learning, emotion, memory, and personality, while introducing key studies and foundational concepts in the discipline. This course is essential for students beginning their academic journey in psychology.

• Thinking Like a Psychologist: This course introduces students to the many and often contrasting ways in which psychologists think about the mind and the brain, drawing on neuroscience, psychoanalysis, cognitive science, and cultural theory. This course promotes theoretical pluralism and introduces students to diverse ways of conceptualizing the mind.

• Writing Like a Psychologist: This course is designed to teach the fundamentals of writing scientific papers in Psychology. It will look at technical aspects including writing research proposals, reading published articles in peer-reviewed journals, journalistic pieces for public discourse, and writing fictional accounts of psychological experience. This course strengthens communication skills vital to both research and applied psychological work.

• History and Systems of Psychology: History and Systems of Psychology traces the development of psychology as a discipline through key schools of thought and paradigmatic shifts, situating the subject within broader philosophical and sociopolitical contexts. This course provides a strong foundation for students to understand and critically evaluate contemporary psychology.

Clinical Psychology and Mental Health

• Introduction to Clinical Psychology: Introduction to Clinical Psychology provides an overview of the field of clinical psychology, including its history, diagnostic frameworks, therapeutic modalities, and professional ethics. This course equips students with a foundational understanding of clinical work and prepares them for advanced training in mental health practice.

• A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis: A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis introduces key psychoanalytic concepts from Freud, Lacan, Object Relations, and Group Analysis, exploring the unconscious, transference, and therapeutic technique. This course offers students a grounding in psychoanalysis as a foundational and enduring tradition in psychological theory and clinical practice.

• Critical Disability and Inclusion Studies: This course engages disability as a political and analytical category, drawing on critical theory to examine inclusion, normativity, and care. This course equips students to question mainstream psychological models and engage with the ethics of access and representation.

• Theories in Counselling Psychology: This course looks at the history, nature, structure, and development of the field of counseling psychology. It examines the conceptual framework of the various theories and approaches in the field. This course builds conceptual understanding for students considering applied, therapeutic, or clinical pathways.

• Community Mental Health: Community Mental Health examines mental health concerns within community contexts, emphasizing structural determinants, participatory approaches, and the history of community psychology. This course prepares students for field-based, socially responsive mental health work.

Psychogeography

• Space and Psychology: Space and Psychology explores the spatial dimensions of psychological experience through interdisciplinary frameworks including geography, urban studies, and psychoanalysis. This course introduces students to emerging conversations on the role of space and context in shaping human subjectivity.

• Environment and Psyche: Environment and Psyche investigates the human-environment relationship through psychological and ecological lenses, including questions of space, wellbeing, and environmental change. This course encourages students to think critically about ecological contexts and their psychological implications.