You can expect to be seen by an experienced professional, well versed in treating a variety of issues. 

We will ask you about the issue(s) that brings you to see us and will aim to establish the impact it is having on your life. We will help you to understand the problem(s), determine what caused it and think about what keeps it going and what needs to change. This assessment allows us to develop a diagnosis (if appropriate) and we will use our understanding of the problem to guide the sessions. We will also give you an idea of how many sessions we anticipate being necessary and will agree together on what we will aim to change or resolve in that time.

Before meeting with your psychologist, you will be asked to fill in a few forms. These forms are important because they provide a benchmark as to how you’re feeling. We will ask you to fill in similar forms at various stages of the therapy. This allows us to track progress and helps us to make sure that our psychologists are making a difference. 

Absolutely. It’s not always easy to get to that first appointment, and having someone with you might be the extra help you need. Spouses and family members sometimes like to have some input, and if that’s ok with you then that’s ok with us. We will always protect your confidentiality, even when talking to your family or friends, and will agree with you what you are happy and not happy for us to discuss with them.

You need to make sure your psychologist is licensed to work in Dubai and ideally registered with an appropriate professional body (e.g. the psychological society of the country in which they trained). Licensing and registration with the right authorities means your psychologist is subject to various checks and is held accountable to high standards of ethical practice and code of conduct. 

Once you know they are appropriately accredited, the most important thing is that you feel comfortable talking to her or him. Research shows that the best predictor of successful psychological treatment is the quality of the therapeutic relationship. So it’s important not to compromise on this.  Keep looking until you feel find someone you click with.

Sessions are 50 minutes in duration.  There may be points in the treatment where 90-minute sessions are recommended, but your psychologist will let you know if this is the case and explain the reasons why. 

People usually meet with a psychologist for a minimum of 4-6 sessions. For some people and some problems, this is enough to get a sense of things and to put strategies and better ways of coping in place. Sometimes, it is necessary to see someone for several months. Most problems can reach a good resolution within 6-12 sessions.

Usually once a week. This allows time for you to put in practice what you talk about in therapy, between sessions, while also maintaining momentum. As you start to make progress, sessions are usually more spaced out, for example, every couple of weeks or once a month.

We are used to working with expat and international clients and understand that weekly therapy isn’t always compatible with travel and other demands. We’re happy to work around your schedule. We sometimes offer Skype sessions to maintain progress while you’re away on business or travelling for other reasons. Sometimes taking a break from sessions while you’re travelling is a good idea too!

You and your psychologist will review progress every so often. This allows you both to keep your specific goals in mind and to make sure you are progressing in the direction you would like. If you are not making the progress you hoped, our psychologist will work with you to think about why this might be the case. The psychologist will be asking themselves why the client isn’t progressing as much as they should be, and they will be nimble to take a different approach if needed, or indeed to refer to another professional if they feel the client’s needs can be best met elsewhere.

We will ask you to complete some forms every so often, as this provides an objective measure of your progress. These measures mean that you and your psychologist can see the nuances of areas of improvement and your psychologist will use them to direct future sessions to address aspects that still need work.