Today's Edition
BATOOL GHAITH (ABU DHABI)
Despite concerns around privacy, judgement and family expectations continuing to shape when and how people ask for help, more individuals in the UAE are beginning to talk openly about mental health and seek support before reaching crisis point, psychologists said.
Rita Figueiredo, a licensed psychologist and Managing Director at Peninsula Psychology, said recent developments such as integrating mental health care into primary care in Abu Dhabi are helping to make earlier support more accessible.
She cautioned against assuming everyone is seeking help sooner, but said people should not wait until daily life becomes unmanageable before considering therapy.
“Being able to keep going does not mean support would not help, people should not have to reach a crisis before they feel entitled to it,” Figueiredo told Aletihad.
Gordon Shaw, psychologist at Belle Vie Therapy and Wellness in Dubai, said he has seen a clear change in practice. “Not long ago, many people came to therapy only when they had run out of other options. Today, more of them call when something first feels wrong,” Shaw told Aletihad.
He pointed to Cigna Healthcare’s 2025 International Health Study, in which 31% of UAE employees said they had taken time off work for mental health reasons, compared with 17% globally.
Shaw said couples and men often still wait longer before seeking support, particularly where family privacy and expectations around being strong remain influential.
Psychologists also said younger people appear more comfortable using mental health language, although openness does not always translate into seeking care.
Nil Kartal, a child psychologist at Belle Vie Therapy and Wellness, said that compared with a decade ago, students are now more likely to openly describe anxiety and ask parents to help them find a therapist.
She noted that schools have contributed to that shift through initiatives such as the KHDA Student Wellbeing Census in Dubai.
Kartal also cautioned that greater familiarity with psychological terms can sometimes lead to oversimplification.
“Social media has given young people many new words, and some are used loosely,” Kartal told Aletihad, noting that 21% of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UAE described their stress as unmanageable in the same Cigna study. Figueiredo said public conversations have expanded, but asking for help can still feel exposing.
A study published in 2026, based on a 2023 survey of 491 University of Sharjah students, found that 65.6% reported confidentiality concerns about counselling services.
“That finding does not represent all young people in the UAE, but it illustrates why knowing support exists is not always enough to feel comfortable using it,” she noted.
Josephine Younes, another psychologist at Belle Vie Therapy and Wellness, said fear of judgement remains one of the most common barriers.
She added that some people feel they should manage difficulties alone through patience, faith or staying busy, while language, cost and concerns over confidentiality can also make support harder to access.
“Faith and therapy are not rivals. Many of the people I work with draw strength from both,” Younes told Aletihad.
The experts stressed that normalising psychological support requires more than awareness alone. Figueiredo said that campaigns can help people find language for what they are experiencing, but they should also make the next step clear, including where to seek help, what an appointment involves, what it costs and how privacy is protected.
Shaw said public initiatives in the UAE have already helped move the conversation forward, pointing to the federal mental health law, Dubai’s Dh105 million Mental Health Framework and Abu Dhabi’s 24/7 800-SAKINA support line.
“When a government body, a school principal or a respected public figure speaks openly about anxiety or depression, it tells families that this is part of health, and nothing to be ashamed of,” he added.
Younes said psychological care could become more routine by integrating basic questions about sleep, stress and mood into annual check-ups, workplace screenings and school medical visits.
For Figueiredo, easier access, financial coverage, continuity of care and supportive reactions from families and workplaces are all part of making that shift possible.
