Muhammad Naushad Anjum · 2026-08-15
When people hear "career counseling," most picture something for confused university students trying to pick a major. In fifteen years of doing this work, that's actually one of the smaller reasons people end up in my office. Far more often, it's a working professional who's successful on paper and quietly miserable, or someone facing a decision they can't make alone because half of what's driving it isn't really about the job at all.
What career counseling actually covers
Career counseling is structured support for working through career-related decisions and difficulties — but "career-related" covers more ground than people expect. In practice, it includes:
Choosing a field of study or a first job, when the pressure of getting it "right" feels paralyzing. Feeling stuck or unfulfilled in a role you're objectively doing fine in. Burnout that's built up over months or years without a clear turning point. Considering a significant career change later in life, after everyone around you has already decided what you are. And — very commonly, especially here — navigating family expectations about what career you "should" have, versus what actually fits you.
How this is different from career coaching
Career coaching is usually practical: resume feedback, interview prep, networking strategy. Career counseling includes that, but goes further — it addresses the anxiety, self-doubt, or family pressure that's often the real thing keeping someone stuck, which no amount of resume advice actually resolves. If you've already tried the practical fixes and still feel no closer to a decision, that's usually a sign the real obstacle isn't practical at all.
Signs you might actually benefit from this
You dread going to work most days but can't quite explain why. You've stayed in a role well past the point it stopped feeling right, mostly out of fear of starting over. You're choosing a degree or job based on what your family expects rather than what fits you. You've had similar conflicts follow you from job to job. Or you're doing well by every external measure and still feel disconnected from the work itself. Any one of these is a reasonable enough reason to start the conversation — you don't need to be in crisis to benefit from it.
What a session actually looks like
The first session is mostly about understanding what's really driving the concern — external pressure, fear of failure, or a genuine mismatch between the role and what matters to you. From there, we work through it at a realistic pace, combining practical exploration of strengths and options with the psychological work of untangling the anxiety or family pressure sitting underneath. I've written more about what this looks like session-to-session in a separate piece here, if you want the fuller picture.
My approach
I've been doing this work since founding The Meeting Matters in 2010, with an MPhil and MSc in Psychology and UK/UAE clinical registration. What I've learned over that time is that career indecision is rarely just about the career — it's usually anxiety, family pressure, or fear of failure wearing a career-shaped disguise. Treating it as a practical problem alone tends to leave people stuck exactly where they started.
If any of this sounds familiar, you don't need to have it all figured out before reaching out. Learn more about career counseling at The Meeting Matters, available online across Pakistan or in person at our Islamabad clinic.
Career Counseling in Islamabad and Online
If you are a student choosing a subject group, degree or university, see our page on career counseling for students, with a Student rates available on every session. If you are a working professional considering a change or dealing with burnout, see our career counseling service. Sessions are available in person at our F-11/1 Islamabad clinic and online across Pakistan. You can also read about free and low-cost counselling options in Pakistan or book an appointment.
Based in the capital? Our psychologist in Islamabad page covers the F-11/1 clinic, the psychologists who see clients in person, their days and fees.
Free career guides: what to study after matric, career after FSc and a 10-question career self-check. Career counseling online: Pakistan, Lahore and Karachi.
About the Author
Muhammad Naushad Anjum
Founder & Lead Psychologist (HCPC Registered) — Couples, Marriage & Relationship Counselling
Muhammad Naushad Anjum is the Founder and Lead Psychologist of Meeting Matters Clinic, established in Islamabad in 2010 with the vision of bringing evidence-based, academically sound and internationally benchmarked counselling services to Pakistan and to Pakistanis abroad. He is a UK HCPC-registered practitioner psychologist (registration number PYL041126), is also registered in the UAE, and has 17 years of counselling and applied psychology practice. His specialist areas are couple, marriage and relationship counselling, family counselling, CBT, DBT and trauma. He works online with Pakistanis in the UK, the UAE and across the world, in English, Urdu or Punjabi. See our pages for Pakistanis in the UK (themeetingmatters.com/pakistani-psychologist-uk) and in the UAE and Gulf. Credentials and registration: • Registered Practitioner Psychologist, UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), registration number PYL041126 • Registered psychologist in the UAE • MPhil in Psychology • MSc in Psychology Experience: • Founder, Chairman and Lead Psychologist, Meeting Matters, since 2010: leads clinical standards, supervises and trains the clinic's psychologists, and carries a personal caseload in counselling psychology covering anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship and workplace issues. • CEO, Meeting Matters Global: leads its Employee Assistance Program, delivered for organisations including Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad. • Consultant psychologist to the employee assistance programmes of BBC, Optum and Workplace Options since 2012, covering workplace mental health, crisis support, stress, resilience and burnout. Professional memberships: • European Association for Aviation Psychology (EAAP) • International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) Note: Mr. Naushad has a busy travel schedule, so he sees clients online only. His booking is handled by our Client Facing Team through the normal booking lines, based on availability.
What Muhammad helps with: