Archives: Team

Sabine Rizk

Clinical Psychologist

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 has been 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, 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.

Certifications and Trainings:

  • EMDR (Phase One)
  • Mentalization Based Therapy-New Centre for Psychoanalysis
  • Jungian Psychotherapy: a therapeutic perspective
  • Compassionate Inquiry in Action: An Experiential Course for the Healing of Deep Traumatic Wounds
  • Brainspotting (Phase One)- Brainspotting MENA

Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani

Clinical Psychologist
Clinical Director

Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani is a highly experienced Dubai-based clinical psychologist specializing in young adult and couples therapy. With over 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 previously at the American University of Sharjah, Heriot-Watt University, and Canadian University of Dubai, Dr. Kanafani is dedicated to educating the next generation of mental health professionals. Dr. Kanafani has created and supervises over HRIC’s internship program available to students who have graduated from both their Bachelor’s and Master’s programs.

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.

Certifications and Trainings:

  • Brainspotting Level 1
  • Sex Therapy Informed Professional (CSTIP)
  • Working with the Pain of Abandonment
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Jungian Psychoanalysis
  • Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT): Basic Training at UCLA Faculty Centre
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)- EMDR Institute Singapore
  • Narrative Therapy
  • Binge Eating Disorder: Clinical Interventions to Treat Underlying Trauma, Body Shame, and the Diet/Binge Cycle
  • Disordered Eating: Somatic, Self Compassion, and Mindfulness Interventions for Lasting Recovery
  • Addictive Behaviors as Self Preservation: Key Insights from the Internal Family Systems Model
  • Shame Informed Treatment
  • CSTS Certification – Eating Disorders, Addictive Eating, Body Shame
  • Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: Breakthrough treatments for Complex Mental Health Disorders
  • Complex Trauma Treatment
  • Psychology of Leadership
  • Foundations of Clinical Supervision Course
  • Advanced Clinical Supervision Certification

Nusrat Khan

Psychologist

Nusrat Khan is a CDA-licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of experience, specializing in holistic, trauma-informed mental health care. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology with a specialization in Clinical Psychology and has dedicated her career to supporting children, teenagers, adults, couples, families, and senior citizens through diverse mental health challenges.

Nusrat is competent in working with a wide spectrum of conditions, including but not limited to Trauma and Complex PTSD, personality Disorders (BPD , Narcissistic, Histrionic), depression and mood-related disorders, anxiety, stress, and panic disorders, adult ADHD & executive functioning challenges, eating disorders, bariatric rehabilitation, relationships, marriage, and divorce difficulties, grief and loss, burnout and emotional exhaustion.

Her approach is psychodynamic and multi-modal, holistic, integrating evidence-based psychotherapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT) Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing, and Mindfulness techniques. Each treatment plan is tailored to the individual, helping clients build resilience, resolve trauma, and achieve lasting emotional wellbeing and growth.

Known for her warm, compassionate presence, Nusrat creates a therapeutic space where clients feel safe, understood, and free from judgment. Her client centric approach helps them to enhance their resilience and overcome both past and present obstacles. Her culturally sensitive practice makes her especially attuned to the needs of Dubai’s diverse, global community.

In addition to therapy, Nusrat offers specialized parenting sessions. As a Body Safety Expert and Digital Parenting Mentor, she equips parents with practical tools to raise confident and resilient children. Her programs cover consent, boundaries, online safety, cyber addiction, and open communication. Whether navigating single parenting, co-parenting after divorce, or day-to-day parenting challenges, she provides strategies that strengthen family bonds and create nurturing, connected childhoods.Through her unique programs, she has helped over half a million parents and children benefit worldwide, empowering communities and institutions to prioritize emotional health and safe childhoods.

Fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu, and Marathi, Nusrat ensures therapy is accessible and inclusive to clients from varied nationalities and cultural backgrounds.

Beyond her clinical practice, she is also an accomplished Executive Coach, international speaker, and child safety advocate. She has a strong experience in crafting and delivering impactful Corporate Wellness programs and consultations since almost 2 decades .

Certifications and Trainings

  • Psychodynamic & Psychoanalytic approach
  • Cognitive Behavior Therapy (ACT)
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Relational Emotive Therapy (RET)
  • Couples therapy – Gottman Level 1 and level 2
  • Narrative Therapy techniques
  • Trauma Focussed Narrative Exposure Therapy
  • Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
  • Mindfulness Based Cognitive therapy
  • Positive Psychology
  • Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
  • Art Psychotherapy
  • DMT – Dance Movement Therapy
  • Psychodrama
  • Somatic Experience 3 day Introduction programme
  • GTEP / TSR ( Traumatic Stress Relief ) training
  • Expert Strategies for treating Narcissim
  • Relationship Transformation Course for Couples(SE, Attachment, Gestalt and Imago work)
  • Conscious Parenting for Teenagers
  • Working with Shame
  • Psychiatry Essentials for non Psychiatrists
  • Brainspotting level 1 and 2
  • BPS approved certificate in Clinical Supervision

Priyanka Bhatia Mahendru

Psychologist

Priyanka is a CDA-licensed psychologist with over a decade of experience supporting couples as well as individuals (adolescents and adults) through life’s challenges. She holds dual Master’s degrees in Counselling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute (U.S.) and India, combining strong academic training with extensive clinical experience.

She works with individuals facing depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, infertility, adoption-related challenges, and parenting concerns. Her approach is eclectic and integrative, drawing on—but not limited to—Person-Centered Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS), tailoring each session to meet your unique needs and goals. With couples, she incorporates Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method to strengthen communication, trust and connection.

Fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi, Priyanka provides a compassionate, collaborative and deeply respectful space for clients from all backgrounds to heal, grow, and thrive.

Certifications and Trainings:

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Emotional Focused Therapy (Level II) : ICEEFT
  • Connecting Sexually and Emotionally through Emotionally Focused Therapy
  • Gottman’s (Level II)
  • Brainspotting (Level II)
  • Circle of Security – Helping parents build secure attachments with children
  • Internal Family Systems (Introduction)
  • Working with survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
  • Polyvagal Theory
  • Grief Counselling
  • Fertility counselling
  • Mind body program for Infertility
  • Associate Certified Coach

Jude Abudawood

Marriage and Family Therapist
EMDR Therapist

Fluent in both Arabic and English, with Saudi, Syrian, and American roots, she offers clients a unique blend of cultural understanding and clinical experience that allows her to connect deeply with diverse individuals, couples, and families. She holds two master’s degrees: one in Marriage and Family Therapy from Syracuse University, where she focused on trauma-informed care, and another in Special Education from George Washington University, specializing in emotional difficulties. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Marriage and Couple Therapy. 

With over thirteen years of experience working with children, orphans, and refugees as both a teacher and volunteer, Jude brings compassion, patience, and dedication to her therapeutic work. She has previously practiced as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Syracuse, where she supported clients facing complex, developmental, and acute trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief, infidelity, suicidality, family challenges, relationship problems, intimacy issues, domestic violence, and adjustment disorders.

Jude is an experienced clinician whose approach is holistic, client-centered, culturally humble, and trauma-informed. She specializes in couples therapy and draws on a broad range of evidence-based practices grounded in systemic, humanistic, and attachment-focused frameworks. Her work is guided by the belief that meaningful change emerges through collaboration, safety, and respect for each client’s lived experience. She is also an EMDR practitioner, certified by EMDRIA.

Jude’s practice would be described as a secure, inclusive, and nonjudgmental environment that supports personal growth at an individualized pace. She is committed to creating a therapeutic space rooted in cultural awareness and emotional safety, helping individuals, couples, and families enhance well-being, overcome disconnection, and develop lasting relational health.

Certifications and Trainings:
  • Trauma Resiliency Model Level 2
  • Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
  • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
  • Gottman Method Level 2
  • Safe Havening Techniques
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Integrative Behavioural Couple Therapy
  • Relational Life Therapy – Level 3
  • Narrative Exposure Therapy
  • Discernment Counselling

Christina Rahme

Psychologist

Christina Rahme is a clinical psychologist with 10 years of experience in the mental health field across Lebanon, Paris, and the UAE. Having worked in diverse environments and countries, especially the UAE, she brings a culturally sensitive and empathetic approach to her practice. She works with pre-teens, teenagers, young adults, and adults, providing evidence-based, individualized care tailored to each client’s unique needs and background.
 
She holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Clinical and Pathological Psychology from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, with a specialization in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Fluent in Arabic, English, and French, with a basic understanding of Spanish, Ms. Rahme integrates her global perspective and multilingual background into her therapeutic work. Her specialties include helping individuals work through anxiety, depression, trauma, personality disorders, OCD, ADHD, eating disorders, stress and burnout, as well as life and career transitions. 
 
Certifications and Trainings:
  • Brainspotting Phase 1
  • Essentials of CBT, Beck Institute, USA
  • CBT for Depression, Beck Institute, USA
  • CBT for Anxiety, Beck Institute, USA
  • CBT for Personality Disorders, Beck Institute, USA
  • Intensive Clinical Training, Sainte-Anne Hospital, Paris
  • Training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Luna El Khaldy

Psychologist

Digital Wellbeing & Parenting Specialist

Luna El Khaldy is a licensed psychologist based in Dubai, specializing in cyberpsychology, digital wellbeing, ADHD, and parenting in the modern era. She works with adults, teens, and parents to address stress, depression, anxiety, and attention difficulties, helping them build balance and connection in a fast-paced, distraction-filled world. She is also a certified co-parenting mediator, helping couples going through divorce reach amicable agreements while keeping their children at the center of their conscious uncoupling.

In addition to her MSc in Psychology (UK), Luna is a certified Brain Health Professional through Amen University, a program that equips her to identify different brain types and ADHD subtypes, and to recommend evidence-based strategies, including nutrition and supplementation, that support mental health and cognitive function. She is also a certified Consciously Digital coach (ICF-accredited) and a Transformational Parenting coach.

Luna is trained in Brainspotting (Phase 2) and continues advanced training in Internal Family Systems and Emotionally Focused Therapy. Her integrative therapeutic style draws from psychodynamic, attachment-focused, and polyvagal approaches, while remaining sensitive to each client’s cultural background and unique needs.

Her experience also includes co-founding and co-hosting Mishbilshibshib, the Middle East’s leading Arabic parenting podcast, which reached over 2 million downloads and 100,000 monthly subscribers in its final three years. Through this platform and her speaking engagements at schools, conferences, and companies, Luna has shared her passion for supporting parents and families with accessible, research-based knowledge.

Luna’s therapeutic practice is holistic, client-centered, and trauma-informed, offering a safe, welcoming environment that encourages emotional exploration and sustainable growth.

Certifications and Trainings:

  • Brain Health Professional Certification (Amen University)
  • Co-Parenting Mediation Certification
  • Brainspotting Phase One and Two
  • Internal Family Systems
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy
  • Consciously Digital Coaching
  • Transformational Parenting Coaching
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Diploma

Noha El Khatib

Noha El Khatib is of Middle-Eastern origins and spent the majority of her life in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the UAE, where she developed a deep fondness and affinity for living and working in a diverse cultural society. She is fluent in both English and Arabic, and always had a passion and curiosity for how varied cultural backgrounds influence and shape the lives of individuals. Beginning her career as a school counselor working with children and adolescents, she’s had a diverse background in corporate settings as well as clinical settings.

Noha takes a humanistic approach to help clients identify and facilitate their inner resources for achieving well-being in all areas of their lives. She aims to restore hope, confidence, resilience, and independence and tailors her approach based on the individual’s needs and goals, to help them find their voice and strength in their inner resources. Noha utilizes various supportive and exploratory counseling techniques and modalities, including:

  • Humanistic Counseling
  • Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapies (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
  • Gottman Method for Couples Therapy
  • Brainspotting for unblocking trauma, anxiety, phobias

She is experienced working with teens and adults, as well as couples seeking couple’s counseling. She offers therapy for a variety of presenting problems including emotional regulation, interpersonal conflict, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, identity struggles, borderline personality disorder, and phobias.

Humna Azhar

Psychologist

Humna’s experience spans across academia, psychological research, and clinical practice. She holds a Master’s degree in Mental Health and Psychological Therapies from Queen Mary University of London and works primarily with adults, young adults, and late teens.
Humna has a special clinical interest in anxiety-related disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, panic disorder, and health anxiety. She helps clients understand the root causes of their anxiety and works collaboratively to reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning. Her approach includes evidence-based techniques such as cognitive restructuring, exposure-based strategies, behavioral modifications, and emotion regulation skills.

Her work also encompasses support for a wide range of other challenges, including stress, burnout, depression, grief, adjustment difficulties, and relationship issues. She adopts a blended therapeutic approach incorporating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with emotionally focused therapy, somatic tools, brainspotting and mindfulness practices to support clients in building greater resilience and emotional well-being.

Humna has practiced extensively in Pakistan, offering therapy to individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Fluent in English, Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi, she integrates cultural sensitivity into her work, creating a safe and inclusive therapeutic space.
Her academic research has focused on cross-cultural psychology, schizophrenia, emotional regulation, men’s mental health, and CBT.

In addition to her clinical practice, Humna serves as Adjunct Faculty at Middlesex University Dubai and Murdoch University, where she teaches psychology and management. Her dual role in education and therapy ensures she remains grounded in both research and real-world clinical application, delivering informed and compassionate care.

Certifications and Trainings
  • CBT in Practice: Essentials II
  • Fundamentals of Emotionally Focused Therapy
  • Addressing Insomnia in Those with Depression: An Evidence-Based Approach
  • CBT for Anxiety
  • Brainspotting Phase 1 – September 2025

Micheal Salameh

Psychologist

Micheal is a licensed psychologist based in Dubai. He holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Glasgow, UK. His approach is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and practical strategies that support clients in making meaningful change.

Fluent in English and Arabic, Micheal provides therapy that is both accessible and culturally sensitive. He works with individuals facing a wide range of challenges, including: anxiety and stress, relationship difficulties, self-esteem and self-worth, identity-related concerns, burnout and workplace challenges, career uncertainty, and emotional regulation.

Before transitioning into psychology, Micheal worked in the corporate sector. This experience provided him with a deep understanding of workplace dynamics and the psychological toll of professional demands. This first-hand experience allows him to genuinely relate to the nuanced stressors his clients face, whether it’s the pressure to perform, the fear of stagnation, or the quiet exhaustion of burnout, and to offer support that is not only clinically informed but also personally attuned.

In addition to his clinical work, Micheal designs and delivers mental wellbeing workshops for organisations seeking to enhance employee wellbeing. These workshops cover topics such as stress management, work-life balance, and sustainable strategies to foster healthier and more productive work environments.

Certifications and Trainings:

  • Adlerian Therapy
  • Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional (CSTIP)
  • Basics of CBT: Essential I and II
  • CBT for Anxiety
  • CBT for Depression

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.