Formulation Before Technique
We start by mapping what is actually maintaining the problem in your life. The right therapy method follows from that, rather than being applied generically.
Clinical Psychology & Talking Therapy in Dubai
Clinical Psychology
Looking for a psychologist in Dubai or therapy near me? Our DHA-licensed clinical psychology team provides evidence-based therapy and assessment for children, adolescents, adults, couples and families — from anxiety, OCD, depression and trauma to ADHD and autism assessments — integrated with psychiatry and functional medicine at Dubai Healthcare City.
Department Snapshot
Department
Clinical Psychology
Approach
CBT, ERP, EMDR, DBT, ACT & Psychodynamic Therapy
Who We See
Children, Adolescents, Adults, Couples & Families
Care Delivery
In-Person at DHCC & Secure Telehealth
About Our Clinical Psychology Service
Our clinical psychology service in Dubai provides multidisciplinary mental healthcare that integrates evidence-based clinical psychotherapy with psychiatry and functional medicine. Operating under Dubai Health Authority (DHA) licensing, our team of clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, nutritionists and functional medicine specialists sees children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. If you have been searching for a therapist in Dubai, CBT near me or counselling in Dubai, this is where that work happens.
Clinical psychology and psychiatry are complementary but distinct. Psychological therapy works on thoughts, emotions, behaviour and the patterns that maintain distress, using structured methods with a strong evidence base. Psychiatry is the medical side of mental health and includes diagnosis and prescribed medication. Because our psychologists and psychiatrists work side by side, you can access either, or both, without starting again somewhere else — and where medication is needed, it is combined with lifestyle protocols to optimise outcomes.
Therapy here is goal-directed rather than open-ended. Your first sessions are used to understand what is happening, what keeps it going, and what you want to be different. From there you and your therapist agree a focus, a method and a rough number of sessions, and you review progress as you go — so you always know why you are doing what you are doing.
Our approach is root-cause focused: alongside therapy we look at how biological, lifestyle and environmental factors contribute to psychological wellbeing — including, where appropriate, laboratory investigation of hormonal imbalances (cortisol, thyroid), gut-brain axis disruption and nutrient or metabolic deficiencies. Sessions are confidential and available in person at Building 47, Dubai Healthcare City, or via secure telehealth.
What We Help With
Anxiety & Panic
Depression & Low Mood
Stress & Burnout
Trauma & PTSD
Insomnia & Sleep Problems
Grief & Loss
Relationship Difficulties
OCD & Repetitive Patterns
ADHD, Autism & Learning Difficulties
Child Behaviour & Emotional Regulation
Relocation & Cultural Adjustment
Our Approach
Three Principles That Define Our Psychological Care
Understand the pattern, use methods that are proven to work, and measure whether they are working for you.
Evidence-Based Methods
CBT, ACT, behavioural activation, exposure-based work and trauma-focused approaches — chosen because they have been shown to help with your specific difficulty.
Progress You Can See
Agreed goals and brief outcome measures reviewed during therapy, so improvement is visible and the plan can change if it is not working.
Our Services
Psychological Therapies We Offer
Structured, evidence-based approaches matched to what you are dealing with.
CBT & Exposure-Response Prevention (ERP)
Tailored CBT and ERP for generalised anxiety, panic disorder, phobias and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) — working on the thoughts and behaviours that keep a problem going.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Builds psychological flexibility: reducing the struggle with difficult thoughts and feelings, and reconnecting your daily actions with what genuinely matters to you.
Trauma & Mood Therapies (EMDR, DBT, ACT)
EMDR, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy and psychodynamic approaches for depression, PTSD and burnout — at a pace you control.
Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy
Support for developmental concerns, behavioural issues and emotional self-regulation, with play therapy and positive-parenting guidance.
Couples & Interpersonal Therapy
Focused work on relationship conflict, life transitions, and relocation or cultural-adjustment stress.
CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I)
The first-line treatment for chronic insomnia — sleep scheduling, stimulus control and cognitive work, without long-term reliance on sleeping tablets.
Diagnostic & Neurodevelopmental Assessments
Comprehensive evaluations for adult and paediatric ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, learning difficulties (such as dyslexia and dyspraxia), and personality and cognitive profiles.
Functional Psychiatry & Root-Cause Testing
Laboratory investigation of physiological drivers of mental health symptoms — hormonal imbalances (cortisol, thyroid), gut-brain axis disruption and nutrient or metabolic deficiencies.
Explore Our Care
A Closer Look at Our Psychology Service
From anxiety and burnout to trauma, sleep and low mood — tap any card to learn more.
Anxiety, Panic & Worry
- How It Shows Up — Constant worry, racing thoughts, physical tension, panic attacks, avoidance of situations, and reassurance-seeking that only helps briefly.
- Why It Persists — Avoidance and safety behaviours reduce anxiety in the moment but strengthen it over time. Breaking that cycle is the core of treatment.
- What Therapy Involves — CBT with graded exposure, worry management, attention training and practical work on the behaviours maintaining the anxiety.
- Physical Symptoms Are Real — Chest tightness, breathlessness and palpitations are genuine anxiety symptoms, though we make sure medical causes have been considered first.
- Typical Course — Many anxiety presentations respond meaningfully within 8–16 sessions of focused work.
Stress, Burnout & Work Pressure
- What Burnout Looks Like — Exhaustion that sleep does not fix, cynicism or detachment from work, and a sense of reduced effectiveness despite working harder.
- Common in Dubai — Long hours, high performance expectations, relocation pressure and distance from family support are a frequent combination in the patients we see.
- Not Simply Stress — Burnout has its own trajectory and often overlaps with depression and anxiety, so accurate assessment matters before deciding on an approach.
- What Helps — Recovery planning, boundary and workload work, values clarification, cognitive work on perfectionism, and rebuilding sleep and activity.
- Practical Focus — Sessions produce changes you implement between appointments, because burnout does not resolve through insight alone.
Depression & Low Mood
- More Than Sadness — Loss of interest and pleasure, fatigue, disturbed sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating, guilt, and hopelessness about the future.
- The Withdrawal Trap — Depression reduces activity, which reduces reward, which deepens depression. Behavioural activation reverses that loop deliberately.
- Therapy Approaches — CBT and behavioural activation, with work on self-criticism, rumination and the beliefs that keep mood low.
- When Medication Helps — For moderate to severe depression, combining therapy with psychiatric treatment is often more effective than either alone, and both are available here.
- Urgent Help — If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, contact emergency services on 998 or the UAE mental health support line on 800 46342 (800 HOPE) straight away.
Trauma & PTSD
- What It Can Follow — Accidents, assault, medical emergencies, bereavement, childbirth complications, childhood adversity, or prolonged exposure to threat.
- Common Symptoms — Intrusive memories or flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, emotional numbness, and avoidance of reminders.
- Stabilisation Comes First — Grounding and coping skills are established before any detailed processing work begins.
- You Set the Pace — Trauma-focused therapy never requires you to disclose more than you are ready to, and the pace is agreed session by session.
- Recovery Is Realistic — Trauma-focused psychological therapy is the recommended first-line treatment for PTSD and works for most people who complete it.
Sleep Problems & Insomnia
- Chronic Insomnia — Difficulty falling or staying asleep at least three nights a week for three months or more, with daytime consequences.
- First-Line Treatment — CBT-I is recommended ahead of sleeping tablets for chronic insomnia and produces longer-lasting results.
- What It Involves — Sleep scheduling, stimulus control, reducing time awake in bed, and addressing the anxiety about sleep that perpetuates the problem.
- Rule Out Other Causes — Sleep apnoea, thyroid problems, pain and medication effects are considered before treating insomnia as purely psychological.
- Timeline — Most CBT-I programmes run over roughly 4–8 sessions with measurable improvement in sleep efficiency.
Relationships, Grief & Life Transitions
- Relationship Difficulties — Recurring conflict, communication breakdown, trust issues, and patterns that repeat across relationships.
- Grief & Loss — Support through bereavement, including grief that has become prolonged or complicated and is not easing with time.
- Relocation & Expatriate Stress — Identity, isolation and adjustment difficulties that commonly follow a move to a new country.
- Major Life Transitions — Career change, divorce, new parenthood, illness diagnosis and retirement all place real psychological demands on people.
- Practical Support — Therapy provides a structured space to work out what you want, and how to move toward it.
Psychology or Psychiatry — Which Do I Need?
- Clinical Psychology — Assessment and talking therapy. Psychologists do not prescribe medication; their work is structured psychological treatment.
- Psychiatry — A medical specialty. Psychiatrists are doctors who diagnose mental health conditions and can prescribe and manage medication.
- Often Both — For moderate to severe depression, bipolar disorder, severe OCD or ADHD, combining medical and psychological treatment is frequently the strongest approach.
- Not Sure? — Book an initial appointment and we will help you work out which pathway fits. Our Psychiatry & Therapy Centre covers both.
- Your Choice — Nobody is placed on medication against their preference; therapy alone is a legitimate treatment plan for many presentations.
Confidentiality & What to Expect
- Your First Session — Around 45–60 minutes spent understanding what brought you in, your history, and what you want to change.
- Confidentiality — Sessions are private. The limited exceptions — serious risk to yourself or others, and legal requirements — are explained clearly at the start.
- Your Employer Is Not Informed — Attending therapy is your private medical care; we do not report it to employers or family members.
- Session Frequency — Usually weekly or fortnightly at first, spacing out as you improve.
- Changing Therapist — Fit matters in therapy. If the match is not right, say so — it is a normal request, not a difficult one.
Why Choose Our Therapy Service
- Integrated Mental Health Care — Psychological therapy and consultant psychiatry available within the same clinic, with no need to repeat your story elsewhere.
- Evidence-Based Methods — CBT, ACT, behavioural activation and trauma-focused therapy, selected for your specific difficulty.
- Goal-Led and Reviewed — Agreed focus, agreed methods, and regular review of whether it is working.
- Whole-Person Support — Access to dietetics, physiotherapy and medical departments where physical health is part of the picture.
- Insurance Friendly — Direct billing with major UAE insurers; our team confirms your mental health coverage before your appointment.
Your Journey
Your Therapy Journey at Chughtai Clinic
From first conversation to lasting change — every step designed for clarity, privacy and confidence.
First Appointment
Step 01
- What brought you in
- History & current situation
- Confidentiality explained
- Your questions answered
Assessment & Plan
Step 02
- Structured assessment
- Shared understanding built
- Therapy method agreed
- Goals & session estimate
Therapy
Step 03
- Weekly or fortnightly sessions
- Practical between-session work
- Progress reviewed openly
- Psychiatric input if needed
Ending & Maintaining
Step 04
- Relapse-prevention plan
- Skills to keep using
- Sessions spaced out
- Door open if you need us
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions we receive about psychological therapy at Chughtai Clinic Dubai.
1 What's the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who diagnoses mental health conditions and can prescribe medication. Clinical psychology focuses on psychological assessment and structured talking therapy, and does not involve prescribing. Many people benefit from one or the other; some benefit from both. Our Psychiatry & Therapy Centre provides both pathways, so you can start with an assessment and be guided to whichever fits.
2 Do I need a referral to book therapy?
No. You can book an appointment directly. A referral from your GP or insurer may help with reimbursement under some policies, but it is not required to start.
3 Is what I say in sessions confidential?
Yes. Sessions are confidential and are not shared with your employer, family or anyone else without your consent. The standard exceptions — a serious risk of harm to you or another person, or a specific legal requirement — are explained to you at the start of your first session.
4 How many therapy sessions will I need?
It depends on the difficulty and its history. Focused problems such as panic, insomnia or a specific phobia often improve within 6–12 sessions. Longer-standing depression, trauma or deeply rooted patterns generally need more. You will be given a realistic estimate after your assessment, with a formal review point built in.
5 Will I be put on medication?
Not by the psychology service — psychological therapy does not involve prescribing. If your assessment suggests medication would help, that is discussed with you and only arranged through our psychiatry team with your agreement. Many people are treated with therapy alone.
6 Do you offer online or telehealth sessions?
Yes. Care is available both in person at Building 47, Dubai Healthcare City, and through secure telehealth consultations. Some assessments — particularly for children — are best done in person, so we will advise on the right format when you book.
7 What if I am not sure therapy is for me?
That is a common and reasonable position. A first appointment is not a commitment to a course of therapy — it is a conversation about what is going on and what your options are, including options that are not therapy. You decide what happens next.
8 Do you treat children and adolescents?
Yes. Our clinical psychologists work with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. For children this includes developmental and behavioural concerns, emotional self-regulation, play therapy, positive-parenting guidance, and assessments for ADHD, autism spectrum conditions and learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyspraxia.
9 Do you offer ADHD and autism assessments?
Yes. We provide comprehensive clinical evaluations for adult and paediatric ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, learning difficulties, and personality and cognitive profiles. Where a diagnosis may benefit from medication, our DHA-licensed psychiatrists are part of the same department.
10 Is therapy covered by my insurance?
We accept Daman, Thiqa, AXA, Cigna, MetLife, Bupa Global, GIG and other major UAE providers. Session limits and pre-approval requirements vary between policies, so our reception team will verify exactly what your plan covers before your first appointment.
Coverage
Areas We Serve in Dubai
Patients across Dubai come to us for psychological therapy. Tap to view our service areas in English or Arabic.
Service Areas (English)
Psychologist in Satwa Dubai
Psychologist in Deira Dubai
Psychologist in Jumeirah Dubai
Psychologist in Karama Dubai
Psychologist in Dubai Marina
Psychologist in Al Nahda Dubai
Psychologist in Al Wasl Road Dubai
Psychologist in Bur Dubai
Psychologist in Al Barsha Dubai
Psychologist in Al Qusais Dubai
Psychologist in Mirdif Dubai
Psychologist in Al Rigga Dubai
Psychologist in Oud Metha Dubai
Psychologist in Umm Suqeim Dubai
Psychologist in Business Bay Dubai
Psychologist in Downtown Dubai
Psychologist in International City Dubai
Psychologist in Discovery Gardens Dubai
Psychologist in Al Quoz Dubai
Psychologist in Arabian Ranches Dubai
Psychologist in JVC Dubai
Psychologist in DIP Dubai
Psychologist in Silicon Oasis Dubai
Psychologist in Palm Jumeirah Dubai
Psychologist in The Greens Dubai
Psychologist in Motor City Dubai
أخصائي نفسي في دبي (عربي)
أخصائي نفسي في السطوة دبي
أخصائي نفسي في ديرة دبي
أخصائي نفسي في جميرا دبي
أخصائي نفسي في الكرامة دبي
أخصائي نفسي في مرسى دبي
أخصائي نفسي في النهدة دبي
أخصائي نفسي في شارع الوصل دبي
أخصائي نفسي في بر دبي
أخصائي نفسي في البرشاء دبي
أخصائي نفسي في القصيص دبي
أخصائي نفسي في مردف دبي
أخصائي نفسي في الرقة دبي
أخصائي نفسي في عود ميثاء دبي
أخصائي نفسي في أم سقيم دبي
أخصائي نفسي في الخليج التجاري دبي
أخصائي نفسي في وسط مدينة دبي
أخصائي نفسي في المدينة العالمية دبي
أخصائي نفسي في ديسكفري جاردنز دبي
أخصائي نفسي في القوز دبي
أخصائي نفسي في المرابع العربية دبي
أخصائي نفسي في قرية جميرا دبي
أخصائي نفسي في مجمع دبي للاستثمار
أخصائي نفسي في واحة دبي للسيليكون
أخصائي نفسي في نخلة جميرا دبي
أخصائي نفسي في ذا جرينز دبي
أخصائي نفسي في موتور سيتي دبي
Talk to Someone Who Can Help — Confidentially
Whether it's anxiety, burnout, low mood or something you've never said out loud — book a first appointment with our therapy team. It's private, and it's a conversation, not a commitment. We'll respond within 24 hours.
Book by phone or WhatsApp
Our team books every appointment personally. Call us or send a WhatsApp message and we will confirm your slot straight away.