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Who is on the Panel?
- Posted by Gulf News
- Published 1:42 March 20, 2012
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Suicide: Watch out for the telltale signs
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Meet the Gulf News In Mind panel of professional psychiatrists and psychologists
Dr Saliha Afridi
Clinical Psychologist, Director,The LightHouse Arabia, Dubai
Dr. Saliha Afridi grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She completed her doctorate degree in Phoenix, Arizona. She moved to Dubai in 2008 and has been providing psychological services within the region since then.
Dr Afridi has worked with individuals of varying cultures, ethnicities, religions, genders, and disabilities. She also has a rich exposure to a multitude of mental health issues including: childhood disorders, ADHD, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, addictions, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, and relationship problems. Her expertises include psychological and psycho-educational assessments, as well as psychotherapy for adolescents/ adults, and play and activity therapy for children. She has a special interest in parenting and has created and implemented parenting programs based on Adlerian child guidance principles. She also conducts Critical Incident Debriefings for clients across the GCC.
Dr Afridi is licensed both in the US and in Dubai, UAE.
Dr Sreekumar V. Nair
MBBS, M.D. Psychiatry, NMC Specialist Hospital, Dubai
Dr Sreekumar V. Nair, a UAE licensed psychiatrist, has worked as Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, (MAHE) Manipal, India. Specialist Psychiatrist, Government Taluk Headquarters Hospital, Kasaragod (Government Health Service, Kerala State, India.)
As a Specialist Psychiatrist, Dr Nair deals with all kinds of mental disorders and behaviour problems, including educational, medical, spiritual and interpersonal issues. Dr Nair involves family members as a part of the treatment programme. Dr Nair specializes in alcohol and smoking cessation and psychiatric problems.
Dr Raad Hayder Alkhaiat
MBChB , (MRCPsych) London, Member of Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr Raad Hyder Alkhaiat graduated in 1976 from MBChB College of Medicine in Iraq. In 1984, he completed his MRCPsych from the Member of Royal College of Psychiatrist in London.
He has been working in Dubai for eleven years. Before, he has worked as consultant psychiatrist in Qatar, Iraq and a short stint in Britain. He has also been involved in running one-month training programme in psychiatry for interns, teaching clinical psychiatric for medical students in Sharjah University and has been involved in the Ministry of Health programmes of integrating psychiatry to primary healthcare, by giving lectures and supervising clinical training for family doctors.
Carey Kirk
M.Ed, Counseling Psychologist at The LightHouse Arabia, Dubai
Growing up as an expat for most of her life, Carey has lived in England, Portugal, Kenya, Connecticut (USA), California (USA), The Netherlands, and Georgia (USA). She holds a Master's degree in Professional Counseling from The University of Georgia and has received additional training in dialectical behavior therapy and suicide risk assessment. With experience in both inpatient and outpatient mental health settings, Carey has provided numerous psychological services, including individual therapy, group counseling, family counseling, case management, treatment planning, crisis evaluations, psychosocial assessments, diagnosis, and resource referrals. She has facilitated groups and conducted individual interventions for anger management, mood disorders, mindfulness, self-esteem, emotion regulation, addictions, social skills, grief and loss, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, relationship problems, and crisis management.
Dr. Melanie C. Schlatter, PhD
Consultant Health Psychologist, Well Woman Clinic, Dubai
Dr Melanie Schlatter (PhD) is a Health Psychologist from New Zealand, currently working at the Well Woman Clinic, Dubai. She specializes in helping people overcome psychological issues, such as depression and anxiety, and she has a particular interest in major diseases affecting people in the UAE.
Karine Yazbek, Clinical Psychologist
American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, Dubai
Karine Yazbek, a licensed clinical psychologist, believes that well- being is a matter of mind. She has moved from Lebanon to Dubai and is specialized in tackling addictions, including drugs and alcohol, smoking cessation, internet addiction, sex addiction, gambling, shopping addiction, food addiction and eating disorders.
She has worked with The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes as a delegate to train other mental health professional to deliver addiction treatment in the MENA region. She has also done a lot of work with couples, using IMAGO therapy, which uses existing conflicts in relationships to bring about behavior change and resolve problematic issues. She has also done substantial work with people suffering from mood and anxiety disorders and with children as young as seven, who have learning disabilities.
Dr Tara Wyne, Clinical Psychologist
Clinical Director at The Lighthouse Arabia, a community psychology clinic in Dubai
Dr Tara Wyne, a licensed clinical psychologist, was raised and educated in Scotland, United Kingdom. Dr Wyne holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Glasgow. Her training is in both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches and Psychoanalytic techniques. Dr Wyne has 12 years of fully qualified clinical experience. She has considerable psychotherapeutic experience from both the UK and Dubai, working one to one with individuals, with couples, families and also groups across the spectrum of psychological disorders.
Dr Wyne’s specialist clinical expertise lies in working with early life and adult onset psychological trauma and crisis intervention. She particularly enjoys complex case work. She provides psychological assessment and therapy with complex presentations in diverse cultural and religious client groups.
Currently, Dr Wyne holds the position of Clinical Director at The Lighthouse Arabia, a community psychology clinic in Dubai. Alongside her clinical work, she and the other Lighthouse team members are dedicated to offering pro bono grief support services to anyone in the community who has suffered a loss of a loved one.
Disclaimer: This blog is a conversation and is not an alternative for treatment. The recommendations and suggestions offered by our panel of psychiatrists are their own and Gulf News will not take any responsibility for the advice they provide.
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