Hala is a clinical psychologist with a special interest in male and female Sexual disorders, maladaptive sexual behavior, sexual abuse, trauma, Infidelity, gender dysphoria, Marital conflicts, anxiety, and depression. 

 

Upon completing her diploma in clinical psychology, Hala pursued her professional training in both individual and group therapy for patients with psychotic features and mood disorders. She proceeded to continue her practice in clinical psychology at Al-Rakhawy/Dar Al Mokattam Mental Health hospital for 2 years. In 2015, Hala started working with sexual and gender-based violence projects to provide individual and group therapy for refugees.

 

During her clinical practice, Hala worked with a large number of torture and sexual violence survivors, Hala learned that the trauma they were subject to, has impacted their sexual functions and desires. Accordingly, it was crucial to address these challenges in order to restore the client’s self-esteem and confidence.

 

As Hala’s interest, passion, and enthusiasm in working on trauma induced sexual disorders increased, she opted to join the European Society of Sexual Medicine (ESSM) in 2018 to further research the plethora of available scientific literature in the field.

 

Hala believes that therapy is a collaborative experience between client and therapist and should take place in a compassionate environment where the client can start their journey of catharses and healing.

 

Her future goals are to further develop her competencies and skills in tackling sexual disorders by completing courses abroad.

 

Experience:

Hala has worked with both adolescents and adults and has experience in delivering individual therapy. Additionally, Hala has provided couples, family and group therapy. She has further worked with a large number of torture and sexual violence survivors, which has led to her specialization.

 

Therapeutic approach:

Depending on her client’s needs and goals Hala integrates various therapeutic approaches to personalize treatment, such as:

 

• Psychodynamic Therapy

Also known as insight-oriented therapy, psychodynamic therapists believe that bringing the unconscious into conscious awareness promotes insight and resolves conflict. But psychodynamic therapy is briefer and less intensive than psychoanalysis and also focuses on the relationship between the therapist and the client, as a way to learn about how the client relates to everyone in their life.

 

• Existential Psychotherapy

Is based on the philosophical belief that human beings are alone in the world, and that this aloneness can only be overcome by creating one's own meaning, and exercising one's freedom to choose. The existential therapist encourages clients to face life's anxieties head on and to start making their own decisions. Therapy sessions focus on the client's present and future rather than their past.

 

• Logotherapy

Is a term derived from “logos,” a Greek word that translates as “meaning,” It is based on the premise that humans are driven to find a sense of meaning and purpose in life.

 

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings. The therapist assists the client in identifying, testing the reality of, and correcting dysfunctional beliefs underlying his or her thinking. The therapist then helps the client modify those thoughts and the behaviors that flow from them.

 

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

Is an information processing therapy that helps clients cope with trauma, and phobias. During this treatment, the patient focuses on a specific thought, image, emotion, or sensation while simultaneously watching the therapist's finger or baton move in front of his or her eyes.

It's like being on a train; an emotion or a thought may come up and the client lets it pass as though they were looking out the window of the moving train.

 

• Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

Helps people who may be experiencing post-traumatic stress after a traumatic event to return to a healthy state.

 

• Feminist Therapy

Is an integrative approach to psychotherapy that focuses on gender and the particular challenges and stressors that women face as a result of bias, stereotyping, oppression, discrimination, and other factors that threaten their mental health. It helps empower clients understand the social factors that contribute to their issues, discover and claim their unique identity, and build on personal strengths to better their own lives and that of others.

 

• Attachment-Based Therapy

Is a form of therapy that applies to interventions or approaches based on attachment theory, which explains how the relationship a parent has with its child influences development.

 

• Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET)

Is a treatment for trauma disorders, particularly in individuals suffering from complex and multiple trauma. It has been most frequently used in community settings and with individuals who experienced trauma as a result of political, cultural or social forces (such as refugees). This treatment is conditionally recommended for the treatment of PTSD.

 

• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

To help clients rebuild their relationship with themselves and others.  IPT helps clients learn about their pattern in dealing with others and how it affects their relationship with themselves and others.

 

• Psychodrama

An experiential form of therapy, allows those in treatment to explore issues through action methods (dramatic actions). This approach incorporates role playing and group dynamics to help people gain greater perspective on emotional concerns, conflicts, or other areas of difficulty in a safe, trusted environment.

 

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

For clients with anxiety and depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT, is a two-part therapy that aims to reduce stress, and embrace the freedom to respond to situations by choice. MCBT blends two disciplines--cognitive therapy and mindfulness. Mindfulness helps by reflecting on moments and thoughts without passing judgment.