A good salary and a thin support network
Long weeks, a visa tied to your job, and the friends who understood you living eight time zones away.
Online counselling : Middle East
Counselling across
the Gulf, with real
privacy around it.
The Gulf asks a great deal of people: long hours, family a flight away, and communities close enough that privacy takes a little planning. I work online from a UK qualification, with no connection to any clinic, employer or circle here, so what you bring stays entirely yours.
Qualified practitioner
CPCAB Level 4, UK
Registration No. 433TM4D-128-303701
UK CPCAB Level 4 qualification
Sessions in English, with real warmth
No link to local clinics, employers or circles
Strictly confidential
How do I find an English speaking therapist in the UAE or the wider Gulf?
Licensed clinics in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh offer English speaking therapists, though fees are high and privacy is a common worry in tightly connected expatriate communities. Online counselling with a practitioner qualified abroad costs less, adds distance from local networks, and continues if you move to another country in the region.
Who I work with
Who books from
across the Gulf.
Expatriate life in the region carries a particular set of pressures, and these are the ones that come up most.
Building a life for people back home
Remittances, expectations, and years of postponing your own plans so that somebody else can have theirs.
A community where word travels
Expatriate circles are small and interconnected. Working with someone entirely outside the region takes that worry off the table.
Half the family in another country
Children at boarding school, a spouse working elsewhere, or parents ageing on another continent while you hold a job here.
Performing at pace, for years
The region rewards relentless work. Therapy here is often about sustaining the performance rather than repairing a collapse.
Holding several roles at once
Career, household, extended family and the expectations attached to each. Space to think about what you actually want is rare.
Privacy is the usual reason people hesitate.
No local clinic, no employer, no records held anywhere in the region.
Privacy and practicalities
What to know before
you book from the Gulf.
Health authorities in the region, including the DHA in Dubai and the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, license clinics and practitioners operating locally. My qualification is British and I am not licensed by any Gulf authority, so these sessions are private and self funded and they sit outside local insurance. For medication, a formal assessment, or anything your employer or insurer needs documented, a locally licensed clinic is the right route.
Privacy is the reason many clients here choose to work with someone abroad. There is no local clinic to be seen entering, no receptionist who knows your company, and no records held anywhere in the region. Sessions run in English and Urdu, and many clients move between both.
Time zones are straightforward here. Gulf hours overlap most of my working day, so a session before work, at lunch or in the evening is usually easy to arrange, and we settle the time together in your own local hours.
Where clients are
Working across
the region.
Sessions run online, so the country you live in changes nothing about the work or the fee.
UAE
Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah
The largest share of my Gulf clients, most of them expatriate professionals and their families.
KSA
Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam
Growing steadily, with English speaking sessions and complete separation from local networks.
QAT
Doha
Often families on a posting, and partners who moved for someone else's contract.
+3
Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain
Smaller communities where privacy matters even more, and where local choice is thin.
Faith and culture
Room for what
matters to you.
Faith, family and duty sit close to the centre of life for a great many people in this region, whether they are Emirati, Saudi, South Asian, Arab expatriates or somewhere else entirely. Therapy that treats those things as obstacles tends to lose clients quickly, and rightly so.
I do not ask anyone to choose between their wellbeing and their commitments. If your faith shapes how you understand what is happening to you, that belongs in the room. If family obligation is the thing pulling hardest, we work with the situation as it actually is rather than with an imported idea of independence. You set the terms and I follow your lead.
My approach
Methods that respect
how you were raised.
Therapy imported wholesale from elsewhere often asks people here to choose between their wellbeing and their family. I work with the situation as it actually is, using whichever method fits the week.
Talking therapy
Unhurried sessions where you can say anything at all, and I help you find the shape of what you are feeling.
Stress management
Small, practical things you can use between sessions to ease the daily load and look after your energy.
Breathwork
Simple breathing practices that settle the nervous system when thinking alone will not reach it.
Mindful somatic work
Hakomi based approaches that follow what the body holds, useful when emotion sits below language.
Family therapy
Sessions that gently look at the patterns a family repeats together, rather than treating one person as the problem.
Couples therapy
Gottman informed work on communication, conflict, trust, and the friendship underneath the relationship.
A quiet hour in a very demanding place.
Early morning, lunchtime or evening Gulf hours, arranged around your work.
Nature, breath and the nervous system
Finding your footing
when something strong
is running inside.
How do you learn to stay calm when you feel something strong rising?
Calm is a skill rather than a personality trait, and it is taught through the body before the mind. Slow breathing, grounding through the senses, and contact with the natural world all lower the physical arousal that fuels panic and anger. Practised in ordinary moments, those skills become available in hard ones.
Most of us arrive wanting the feeling to stop. What tends to help more is learning to stay upright while it moves through, since a wave that is ridden passes far sooner than one that is fought. Nature does a surprising amount of this work on its own, and the Gulf rewards those who plan for it: an early morning walk before the heat, a corniche at dusk, a weekend in the mountains or by the water. In summer that often means early mornings and indoor light, and the principle holds either way.
Settling the body first
Simple breathing practices that lower arousal in minutes, so thinking becomes possible again.
Coming back to the room
Sensory techniques that interrupt a spiral before it gathers pace, usable anywhere and unnoticed by anyone.
Healing that draws on the outdoors
Daylight, green space and movement built into the week, because the nervous system responds to place as much as to insight.
Sessions and fees
A clear fee, and
complete privacy.
Sessions run by secure video, so all you need is a quiet room and a pair of headphones.
Single session
One to one counselling
$99
one to one session
one to one session
- Zoom or Google Meet, with no local clinic involved
- Early morning, lunchtime or evening Gulf hours
- Nothing is recorded at any point
Ongoing work
Regular sessions
$99
each session
each session
- Weekly or fortnightly, by agreement
- The same counsellor throughout
- Reviewed together as the work goes on
Couples and family
Relationship sessions
On request
booked ahead
booked ahead
- Gottman informed couples work
- Family sessions for repeating patterns
- Partners are welcome to join from two places
Booking and payment policy
Payment
Payment comes through at least 48 hours ahead, and that is what holds your slot for you.
Currency
Charged in US dollars, at the same rate for every client wherever they are. Your bank converts at the day's rate.
Cancellations
Life happens. Let me know as early as you can and I will move your session. A last minute cancellation without a genuine reason is not refunded, because the time stays reserved for you.
Late cancellations
If a session is cancelled at the last minute without a genuine reason, I am not able to refund it, since the hour stays reserved and cannot go to anyone else.
Prefer to ask something first?
Message on WhatsApp and keep it as brief as you like. Nothing is shared with anyone here.
Two minute check in
Wondering whether
therapy is for you?
Six short questions about the last two weeks. Everything runs inside your own browser, so nothing is stored, sent, or visible to anyone here.
This check in gives you language for what you are noticing. It does not diagnose anything, and only a proper assessment can do that.
Question 1 of 6
Over the last two weeks, how often has worry stayed with you through the day?
About
A little about
who you would meet.
Mehwish Salman
Psychotherapist and Counsellor
I qualified as a psychotherapist and counsellor and I hold UK CPCAB Level 4 in therapeutic counselling, registration number 433TM4D-128-303701. I work with adults, couples and families, and I shape each session around the person in front of me rather than a fixed script.
My continuing professional development covers stress management, breathwork, Hakomi based mindful somatic approaches, family therapy, and couples therapy using Gottman methods. That range lets me bring the right tool to the right moment rather than stretching one method over every situation.
Clients across the Gulf often ask who else would ever know. The answer is nobody. I hold no local registration, no clinic affiliation and no records in the region, which is precisely why so many people here can begin at all.
UK CPCAB Level 4
Adults, couples, families
Integrative practice
Online worldwide
Questions
What clients across
the Gulf ask first.
Which countries do you work with?
Clients across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, and elsewhere in the region. Sessions run online, so the country you live in changes nothing about how the work runs or what it costs.
Are you licensed in the UAE or Saudi Arabia?
No. I hold UK CPCAB Level 4 and no Gulf licence, so these sessions are private, self funded, and outside local insurance. For medication, a formal assessment or documentation an employer or insurer requires, a locally licensed clinic is the right route.
Will anyone here know that I am in therapy?
No. There is no local clinic involved, no records held in the region, and no connection between me and any employer, insurer or community here. For many clients that distance is the whole reason they are able to start.
Can sessions run in Urdu?
Yes, and you can move between Urdu and English freely inside a single session. Many clients across the Gulf find that one language reaches something the other does not.
What time are sessions available?
Gulf hours overlap most of my working day, so early morning, lunchtime and evening are all usually available. When you message, we agree a time in your own local hours.
What happens in the first session?
We spend the hour getting oriented. You describe what brings you here, I ask about your history and current situation, and together we name what you want to be different. You control how much you share on day one, and you decide afterwards whether to continue.
How many sessions will I need?
Some people find that six to eight sessions cover a specific issue. Others stay longer for deeper work. We review progress regularly and you decide when to stop.
How do payment and cancellation work?
Payment reaches me at least 48 hours before the session and confirms your slot. If you cancel at the last minute without a genuine reason the fee is not refunded, because the time stays reserved for you. Tell me as early as you can when something genuine comes up and I will move your session.
Is online therapy with an overseas counsellor allowed in the UAE?
Health authorities here, including the DHA and the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, license clinics and practitioners operating locally. My qualification is British and I hold no Gulf licence, so these sessions are private, self funded and outside local insurance. For medication, assessment or anything an employer or insurer needs documented, a licensed local clinic is the right route.
How much does therapy cost in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?
My fee is 99 US dollars a session, and it is the same for every client wherever they live. There is no assessment fee and no separate intake charge, and your bank converts to dirhams, riyals or whichever currency you hold at the day's rate. Sessions are online and self funded, and they are not a substitute for a licensed local clinic if you need medication, a formal assessment or documentation.
Will my employer or my sponsor ever find out?
No. There is no local clinic involved, no insurance claim, no records held anywhere in the region, and no connection between me and any employer here. For a great many clients in the Gulf that separation is the deciding factor.
Can therapy respect my faith rather than work against it?
Yes, and it should. If your faith shapes how you understand what is happening to you, it belongs in the room and I will work with it rather than around it. I will not ask you to choose between your wellbeing and your beliefs, and I will not pretend to expertise in religious guidance that I do not have.
Booking
Two easy ways
to get started.
Send the form below or message me on WhatsApp, whichever feels more discreet. Nothing goes through a clinic, an employer or an insurer here, and Every message comes straight to me.
Book on WhatsAppNot sure yet? Ask anything you like first. There is no pressure to book, and questions are always welcome.
- thehealingtreepk@gmail.com
- WhatsApp, the quickest route
- Sessions by secure video, wherever in the world you are