Archives: Team

Lamar Kanafani

Lamar Kanafani, MA LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 19 years of experience practicing in the mental health field. Lamar obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Family Studies and Child Development from Arizona State University and continued on to complete her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of San Diego, California, in 2004. Lamar gained extensive training and supervision in the field before moving to Bahrain to continue practicing. Over the years, she has worked privately, as well as in hospital and center settings, before moving on to opening the Family Matters Counseling Center in 2018.

Lamar applies competency in the areas of evaluations, diagnoses, and treatment of presenting problems from a systemic point-of-view, which means that she strives to assess and treat clients’ presenting problems within the context of their system and its interrelated elements (i.e. members, beliefs, roles, rules, assets, limitations, goals, boundaries, etc.). She then works with clients to collaboratively formulate treatment plans tailored to each client.

Lamar provides therapy services to individuals, couples, families, and groups. She also conducts workshops, parenting courses, and provides internship supervision for aspiring candidates in the mental health profession.

Some of the most common issues Lamar deals with are relational problems, marital discord, infidelity, divorce mediation, depression, anxiety, trauma, life adjustment difficulties, child behavioral concerns, and parenting challenges. She also works with teenagers and the various struggles frequently faced during adolescence.

Lamar regularly collaborates with and receives referrals from other mental health professionals and physicians to ensure a necessary comprehensive approach to the clients’ overall health care.

 

Sabine Rizk

Sabine Rizk is a clinical psychologist with an M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology from the University of Rene Descartes-Paris V in France. She is the co-owner and assessments director of the Human Relations Institute & Clinics. She is licensed by the Dubai Health Authority since 2005.

Sabine has over twenty years of professional experience having worked in France, Egypt, Lebanon, and the UAE in a variety of clinical and counseling settings. For individual psychotherapy, she integrates diverse approaches such psychodynamic approach, attachment theory approach and trauma-informed approach to bring awareness to her client’s concerns and challenges while providing a nurturing and safe environment. She strongly believes in prioritizing the human element in psychotherapy and places great emphasis on the therapeutic alliance between client and therapist, as it is a key component for effective therapeutic process.

As a well-seasoned mental health professional, her expertise in psychotherapy spans over different cultural and social settings. She is recognized as one of the leading clinical psychologists in Dubai, with an emphasis in working with child, adolescent and adult psycho-educational assessments, forensic custody evaluations, as well as parent preparation sessions in adoption cases and post-adoptive counseling for parents and children alike.

Sabine’s trilingual fluency in Arabic, English and French has allowed her to work with several cultures and has built up a robust, culturally diverse experience working with Western expatriate families as well as Arab and GCC nationals.

Find Sabine on ExpatFinder here.

Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani

Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani is a highly experienced Dubai-based clinical psychologist specializing in adolescent, young adult, and couples therapy. With about 20 years of practice across Canada, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, she brings a global perspective to her work.

Holding a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Kanafani is licensed in Canada as a psychotherapist and a suicide interventionist as well as is dual-licensed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Community Development Authority (CDA). Her academic background includes degrees from Concordia University, McGill University, and the University of Ottawa.

As an adjunct professor at Middlesex University  and the Canadian University Dubai and previously at the American University of Sharjah and Heriot-Watt University, Dr. Kanafani is dedicated to educating the next generation of mental health professionals. She is a sought-after expert, frequently featured in media and conducting workshops on various psychological topics.

Dr. Kanafani’s expertise lies in helping individuals and couples with a range of difficulties, from clinical ones (depression, anxiety, trauma, personality disorders, eating disorders) to daily navigation of life’s challenges. She also provides psycho-educational assessments to students to evaluate learning difficulties as well as ADHD in children and adults. She provides compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to each client’s unique needs.

Nusrat Khan

Nusrat Khan is a highly experienced & qualified CDA Licensed Psychologist specializing in Holistic, Trauma-Informed Mental Health Care. She has done her Masters in Psychology with specialisation in Clinical Psychology.

Nusrat  has more than  20 years of experience, providing transformative and trauma-informed mental health care to a diverse, global clientele. With a specialization in trauma therapy and mental health challenges, Nusrat tailors her treatment plans using a dynamic, multi-modal approach to meet the unique needs of each individual.

Nusrat is competent in working  with individuals, couples, families, and groups. She caters to the therapeutic  needs of teenagers, adults as well as senior citizens. Nusrat is competent in helping clients with a broad spectrum of mental health conditions, including but not limited to: Trauma, Depression, Anxiety, Marriage & Divorce challenges. Her deep commitment to trauma resolution through Compassionate Communication helps clients enhance their resilience and overcome both past and present obstacles.

Nusrat’s expertise spans a wide range of evidence-based therapies, including but are not limited to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Brainspotting, and Mindfulness Techniques. Her holistic, culturally sensitive approach empowers her clients to achieve  sustainable and lasting emotional and psychological well-being coupled with resilience.

Fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu, and Marathi, she is well-equipped to serve clients from varied cultural backgrounds, making her practice highly inclusive and accessible.

Beyond therapy, Nusrat is an accomplished Executive Coach, helping individuals unlock their potential through insight-oriented approaches.  She is a seasoned speaker at international conferences and a fierce  advocate for creating safe childhoods in institutions, schools and communities worldwide through her unique  child safety programs that have benefited more than half a million parents & kids in the last decade.

Priyanka Bhatia Mahendru

Priyanka Bhatia Mahendru is a CDA-licensed psychologist with over a decade of experience supporting adolescents, adults, and couples in navigating life’s challenges and fostering personal growth. With a double Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in the U.S. and India, Priyanka combines her extensive academic background with real-life experience to offer a supportive and personalized approach to therapy.
Priyanka specializes in helping individuals manage and overcome depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, infertility, life transitions, and personal development. She employs a diverse range of evidence-based therapeutic techniques, including person-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and psychodynamic approaches, to facilitate meaningful, transformative change.
When working with couples, Priyanka integrates the evidenced based Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Gottman Method to help partners reconnect, communicate more effectively, and build stronger, more resilient relationships.
Fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi, Priyanka welcomes clients from all backgrounds and ethnicities, embracing their unique stories and perspectives. Whether you are seeking support for personal challenges or looking to enhance your relationship, Priyanka will tailor her approach to meet your specific needs and strives to be compassionate, and warm at a time when things feel challenging.

Jude Abudawood

Jude Abudawood specializes in marriage and family therapy. She is licensed as a social counselor in Dubai and has previously worked as a psychotherapist in Syracuse. She is an avid learner who has earned two master’s degrees: one in Marriage and Family Therapy from Syracuse University with an emphasis on trauma-informed care and her second in Special Education with a focus on emotional and behavioral difficulties from George Washington University.

Aside from her clinical training, Jude has over thirteen years of experience working with children, orphans, and refugees as a teacher and volunteer. She approaches therapy in a culturally and emotionally attuned manner. She utilizes a holistic, client-centered, and trauma-informed approach in the pursuit of her clients’ relational and emotional well-being.
Trained in evidence-based practices, she uses a blend of systemic, experiential, humanistic, and attachment-focused approaches in treatment. She has also had extensive training in couples and family interventions such as the Gottman method (Level 2), Emotionally Focused Couple and Family therapy, Relational life therapy, Structural Therapy, Contextual Therapy, Bowen Family systems, discernment counseling, Solution-focused, and Narrative Therapy. Jude has also had extensive coursework in EMDR, the Trauma-resiliency model, Polyvagal theory, Dialectical Behavior therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Havening techniques, mind-body-based interventions, and other empirically supported trauma interventions.

She works with individuals, couples, and families. She has a particular interest, prior experience, and training in working with complex and intergenerational traumas; in New York State, she worked with refugee trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief, infidelity, suicidality, family challenges, intimacy issues, domestic violence, and adjustment disorder. Her office is a safe space and welcoming to everyone wishing to enter.

Christina Rahme

Christina Rahme is a licensed clinical psychologist and a psychotherapist (CBT, DBT) with a demonstrated experience working with adolescents, young adults and adults. She has graduated from Université Saint Joseph de Beyrouth with a Master’s degree in Clinical and Pathological Psychology with a focus on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Her areas of expertise include: Depression and Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Anger Management, Eating Disorders, Personality Disorders, Trauma-focused CBT, Psychological Assessment and Testing.

Christina helps clients learn to empower themselves, build resilience, and work towards their health goals using CBT focused and evidence based techniques. She aims to create a therapeutic space based on respect, trust and sound ethical conditions and by being mindful about clients’ various life circumstances. By implementing innovative approaches, her goal is to guide people in their journey towards inner peace.

Christina is fluent in Arabic, French, English and Spanish.

Luna El Khaldy

Luna El Khaldy is a licensed psychologist in Dubai, with a specialty in Cyber-psychology and Digital Wellbeing. Her experience centers around stress, depression, anxiety, ADHD and parenting in the modern era. Luna uses her expertise in neuroscience and psychotherapy to guide, educate and help adults, teens, and parents find balance and connection, and to navigate a distraction-filled, fast-paced world.

Luna is a curious, lifelong learner with an MSc in Psychology (UK), a Consciously Digital (ICF-accredited) certification, and a Transformational Parenting certification. She is also a trained Brainspotting practitioner, where she encourages a thorough exploration of the somatic and emotional domains within her clients.
Her therapy style is holistic and attuned to each individual and their cultural background. Trained in evidence-based modalities, Luna follows an integrative style using elements from Psychodynamic, Attachment-focused, and Polyvagal approaches.
In her previous endeavors, she was the co-founder and co-host of the Middle East’s leading Arabic parenting podcast, Mishbilshibshib, which amassed over 2 million downloads and 100,000 monthly subscribers in its last 3 years. In the podcast, Luna and her co-host discussed the latest ‘psychology of parenting’ research, through the lens of an Arab sociocultural perspective, and aimed to help parents become more intentional, conscious, and peaceful.

Luna also enjoys spreading knowledge through speaking engagements at conferences, schools, and companies, and working with groups. She is passionate about connecting with people and her office is a welcoming, safe space of support and acceptance.

Ali Taqi

Bahraini by birth but a citizen of the world, Ali has been shaped by many cultures and experiences and brings with him a wealth of well-rounded perspectives to coaching.

Ali focuses on Purpose and Transformational coaching by “igniting others to lead the life they deserve” having completed his certification as a Professional Coach from the International Coaching Academy through an ICF accredited Program (ACTP).  His exposure to a network of multinational coaches across the globe, allowed him to open his horizons on a diverse range of principles and practices of coaching.

Other than his coaching experience, Ali graduated from Concordia University, Montreal with an undergraduate degree in Computer Science that lead him to a successful career in large corporate organizations, across various business functions over the last 14 years. His cross-cultural working environment and experience allowed him to work with many different nationalities around the globe which has been an invaluable asset to effective coaching.

Ali has since stepped away from corporate businesses and has embarked as an entrepreneur, where he specializes in coaching individuals towards their own personal and professional fulfillment.  With a strong proven track record of success, Ali has worked with over 100+ entrepreneurs from one to one bespoke transformational coaching programs, to seminars, workshops, and trainings.

His active charity work across Africa and East Asia has also been imperative in his coaching style. His involvement with a number of international programs is aimed at connecting with global citizens across various refugee camps and local villages – specifically building communities by helping them grow into living a sustainable future.

As a Transformational Coach, Ali uses a model that focuses on four key areas that help clients “ignite”:

  1. Awareness: Identifying the values that represent the individual; what are the main foundations that define their beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. Creating that awareness that assists the individual to understand themselves, offering clarity to define the direction they would want to move towards.
  2. Need: Setting their goals and envisioning the desired outcome.
  3. Transform: Identify the skills that need to be developed to reach the desired outcome.
  4. Target: Setting up a SMART plan with achievable milestones that empowers the individual to push past adversity and focus on fulfillment. To reach the END is simply to bridge the GAP between what the individual lacks and what they desire.

Lucien Ghanem

Organizational Consultant

Lucien Ghanem is a business, human relations, and financial consultant with over 18 years of varied work experience in the Middle East and Gulf countries. He holds a master’s degree in Strategic Human Resources Management from Wollongong University, Australia, and has proven success in developing and directing strategic plans designed to make a significant impact on the business, handling crisis situations, and restructuring organizations. His industry sector experience spans in Consumer Health Care, FMCG, Medical Devices, Hospital Management, and Human Resources training and development.

Professional Training

  • Talent Management
  • Succession and Workforce Planning
  • Team Building
  • Cultural Diversity in the workplace
  • The Self Image Psychology and its Impact on Leadership Roles
  • How true is it to say “Innovate or Die”?
  • Leadership in Healthcare
  • District Leadership

Key Achievements 

  • Chairman of MENA Geriatric Summit 2014, Dubai in partnership with Dubai Health Authority, Swiss Business Hub, Swiss Business Council, and Swiss Health, 2014
  • Elected Executive Committee Member of Swiss Business Council Dubai, UAE, 2012
  • Advisory Consultant to Swiss Business Council Dubai, 2011
  • Member of HR USA, SHRM USA, International Bar London UK, J.J Keller & Associate USA, 2008
  • Founder of Swiss Business Council Lebanon in partnership with H.E Ambassador of Switzerland to Lebanon, 2002

Jelainne Banga

Jelainne is the Administrative Head and Employee Assistance Program Coordinator at the Human Relations Institute & Clinics. She assists employees from different companies deal with problems that may adversely impact their job performance and well-being by coordinating with licensed psychologists and professionals.

Before joining the Human Relations Institute & Clinics, Jelainne worked for a business process outsourcing company in the Philippines and was fortunate to work with clients such as MCI and Verizon. She has over 8 years of experience in customer service and administrative functions. She received her bachelors degree from Saint Louis University in the Philippines.

Rhio Caiga

Working as an accountant for Human Relations Institute & Clinics, Rhio is responsible for checking all outgoing and incoming transactions; making careful records of every transaction by verifying all the financial documents to ensure accuracy and transparency for VAT return filing, audit purposes and in order to prepare reports on financial status during management meetings.

Rhio finished her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at Bataan Peninsula State University in 2015 and has worked with a reputable government bank in the Philippines as a bookkeeper for two years. Aside from Land Bank of the Philippines, she has also worked as a Customer Service Ambassador in First Abu Dhabi Bank allowing her to easily navigate into the financial world and be able to give sound advice for careful planning to fulfill the company’s long-term and short-term goals.