Assistant Professor
Dr. Asif is a licensed Clinical Psychologist registered with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at IILM. He holds a PhD in Psychology from Christ University, Bengaluru, supported by a full-time ICSSR scholarship, and an M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology. His academic, clinical, and research work focuses on psychotherapy processes, clinical assessment, and evidence-based psychological interventions, with particular interests in obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, mindfulness-based psychotherapy, and process-based approaches to psychological change. His research centres on understanding the mechanisms through which psychotherapy produces meaningful and enduring change. He has developed and empirically evaluated Mindfulness-Based Exposure and Response Prevention (MB-EX/RP), examining the roles of obsessive beliefs, mindful awareness, and mental well-being in treatment outcomes. His broader scholarship explores process-based psychotherapy, capacity cultivation, digitally delivered interventions, and the ethical and philosophical foundations of mindfulness-based therapies. Dr. Asif also works at the intersection of psychology, culture, and public mental health.
His scholarship examines culturally grounded approaches to psychological theory and practice, including the contribution of Kashmiri intellectual traditions, indigenous knowledge, and contemplative thought to contemporary clinical psychology. More recently, his work has extended to digital environments and their influence on attention, behaviour, agency, and psychological functioning. He has published research and scholarly work in journals including Scientific Reports, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, Mindfulness, Journal of Transport & Health, and Journal of Social and Political Psychology, among others. He serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Public Mental Health (Emerald Publishing) and the Journal of Patient Experience(SAGE Publications).Alongside his academic work, Dr. Asif maintains an active clinical practice, providing evidence-based psychotherapy and psychodiagnostic and neuropsychological assessment for adolescents, adults, and couples. He has also completed training in mindfulness-based practices through Palouse Mindfulness/UMass Mindfulness Center and is certified in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through IM2/UMass Mindfulness Center.”