Hello – I’m Johanna

I am from the UK and have studied in London and Scotland. In Scotland, I worked in a rehabilitation centre for over 7 years where I gained an addiction counselling qualification. In Edinburgh, I completed a family therapy course on family systems. This has given me skills in family dynamics and counselling skills.

I have also completed a life line course which involved communications and counselling skills in South Africa.

I have worked in the National Health Service as a specialized counselor and educator in London. At Imperial College, London University I completed a Post graduation degree in Drugs and Alcohol: Policy and Intervention (theories of counselling). I have attended many counselling courses in the past 10 years which include motivational interviewing, reality therapy, brief therapy, and Family therapy.

Specializations

• Over 20 year of experience in doing workshops on Addiction
• Depression
• Relationships
• Life Skills
• Grief issues
• Student Personal Development
• Harm Reduction
• Substance Abuse
• Dependency
• Family issues

I have given university and school lectures on the specialized topics on Awareness and Interventions on substance misuse. I have had the unique opportunity to work in many different countries including Indonesia, South Africa, UK and Dubai which gives me a very good understanding of many diverse cultural and beliefs.

Through our workshops, we help clients identify the behavior problems and patterns associated with their addiction and work with individuals, families or groups of people who are somehow connected to the same problem. Unique programs have been developed specifically for the treatment of expatriates and young adults.

All our treatment programs are built by a professional to help facilitate the effective treatment of clients

We promise confidentiality, safety, and comfort at our Centre.

Hello my name is Susie Carr and I’m a Lifeworks personal development trainer. By training and profession I’m a relationship counselor and educator specializing in marriage counselling, family therapy and individual counselling and psychotherapy. I am also a qualified clinical supervisor to other professionals in this field. My skills and experience have come from my continued investment in tertiary education dating back to the 1980’s.

My wide ranging experience in these areas ideally places me to offer personal development consultations to individuals, small groups, families and couples who want to improve the quality of their relationships and relationship skills.

My goal at Lifeworks is to support people to get the best out of their lives by helping them improve the quality of their relationships, develop the skills which improve their communication and enhance connection. I help people to develop a deeper understanding of how they function in their intimate relationships and in themselves. I show people how to eliminate unhelpful and harmful behaviors which damage relationships. By helping people to explore difficult relationship issues in a safe environment, people are able to gain relationship confidence and experience a sense of well-being.

I believe that relationship happiness happens only when people develop the ability to create relationships that are healthy, respectful and loving. In my professional work I am passionate about helping people create authentic compassionate connections and relationship choices. I am very confident that my professional expertise can help people achieve those goals but ultimately I hold a deep conviction that it is people themselves who are the real experts in their own lives. In my work I always feel privileged to be able to hear people’s life stories and travel part of the way on their personal journeys.

My previous training and work experience has qualified me to work in the following areas:

• Personal development and relationship education
• Marriage guidance training
• Family relationship skills
• Anger Management
• Dealing with differences in relationships
• Creating safe and healthy relationships
• Developing self confidence and self esteem
• The legacy of family history on you and your relationship choices
• Being assertive
• Dealing with co dependency issues
• How to establish relationship boundaries and create healthier relationships
• Understanding jealousy
• How to cope with the loss of a relationship
• Dealing with challenges and difficult times
• Relationship losses, changes and endings
• Bereavement, loss and grief
• Problem gambling issues
• Dealing with trauma

About me:

I am an Australian citizen who migrated from England to Sydney in the 1980’s. I relocated to Dubai and have worked at Lifeworks since 2014.Through the completion of tertiary education I am a qualified relationship counsellor, a Gestalt psychotherapist and a personal development trainer.Over the years I have continued to invest in my education as a counsellor and educator with ongoing training and personal development. My counselling career began in London supporting families who had experienced significant traumatic events in their lives and advocating for parents whose children had suffered trauma. In Australia I’ve had extensive experience as a relationship counsellor and educator working in several large counseling organizations in Sydney and in Melbourne.

On a more personal note, I am the proud mother of three amazingly creative adult children. I have a married son who lives in Sydney Australia,my oldest daughter, her husband and their twin daughters live herein the UAE. I have recently become a grandmother again with the birth of a grandson to my youngest daughter and her husband who live in Queensland. For me, one of the unexpected pleasures of getting older has been the absolute joy of becoming a grandmother – it’s one of the best jobs in the world and I feel very blessed!

I very much look forward to meeting you at Lifeworks.

The services I offer

You may decide to come to see me for individual sessions but you can also attend one of my workshops which I run frequently. I have developed several courses at Lifeworks which reflect my enthusiasm for relationship building.I am an experienced and dynamic communicator, and I have a passion for motivating people to develop and prosper in their relationships and to support them to overcome the obstacles which prevent this.

Communication styles

Communication styles is a skill based communication course. This course is ideally suited for people who want to develop solid communication skills within their relationships. The ultimate goal of this course is to teach participants a set of high order listening skills which promote deeper understanding though empathic communication. Another goal is to raise people’s awareness of how their individual communication style can affect others. The skills learned in Communication styles allow participants to have difficult conversations without the need to engage or experience the damaging effects of conflict.

Suitable for adults

Anger Management

This course helps participants identify, understand and ultimately manage the behavior patterns which cause anger and rage. This course will teach you how to manage your anger safely in a variety of settings such as the home, at work or when driving. Anger Management is a course which teaches participants to manage anger by remaining calm under pressure, be assertive rather than aggressive and respond rather than react to overwhelming emotions.

Suitable for adults

Self Worth

Self Worth is a personal development course which helps participants to understand and develop a stronger sense of their own identity and ‘self worth’. This course examines the differences associated with the concepts of ‘self worth’ and ‘self esteem’. By exploring the conditions in life which can enhance or deplete self esteem, participants gain deeper understanding of the effects of gender stereotyping, labeling, inauthenticity and unassertiveness on ‘self worth’. This is a course which explores through conversations what it is to experience ones own sense of worth and value.

Suitable for adults

Dr. Lavina Ahuja, is a Personal Development Trainer here at LifeWorks Foundation. She is a Chartered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), having done her Doctorate in Counselling Psychology from the UK.

Lavina is an Indian national and a Dubai-ite, being born and brought up in Dubai. She has lived and worked in different cities in the world, having studied and worked in Canada and in the UK. She offers consulting in English, Hindi, Urdu and Sindhi.

Lavina has worked in Canada, UK and in Dubai for nearly a decade. She has worked with individuals, couples and families with a wide range of mental health or relationship issues. In the UK, Lavina worked for several years in a primary health-care set-up, which means short-term cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for issues like anxiety, depression, relationship issues, self-esteem and self-worth issues. She also worked with couples, at Relate UK, using Systemic Therapy and Transactional Analysis models. She has trained in using and teaching mindfulness techniques, especially mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (MBCT).

In her work with individual clients, Lavina has specialized in dealing with anxiety issues and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). With couple clients, Lavina has worked extensively with relationship issues like communication, conflict, cross-cultural issues and infidelity.

Additionally, Lavina has worked with individuals and couples with the following issues:

• Stress and Anxiety
• Depression and low mood
• Negative thinking
• Self-esteem and self-worth issues
• Anger Management
• Relationship issues
• Communication issues
• Cross-cultural issues
• Healing from infidelity
• Grief and loss
• Commitment issues
• Bipolar Disorder

Lavina says:

“Personally, I think everyone could benefit with some personal development and sessions at some point in time! We could all do with some support, someone we could talk to, someone who will truly listen, especially when we are stressed or having a difficult time. Sessions can help an individual gain self-awareness and feel supported, so we can overcome most ongoing issues. I believe in a supportive, open and non-judgemental therapeutic environment in which we can learn, uncover and explore issues and move towards resolution and personal growth.

My practice comprises of an integrative therapeutic model, with a core philosophy of Client-Centred Therapy, which means, I believe that provided the right environment and a good therapeutic relationship, we can overcome most issues and grow. My core philosophy is integrated with psychodynamic models and other models, like Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused therapy, Transactional Analysis, Systemic Therapy, Mindfulness and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). This approach has allowed me the flexibility to tailor therapeutic interventions to aid the client to learn and grow, while keeping in mind the individual needs of the client.”

Articles

• http://www.timeoutdubai.com/community/features/57313-relationship-counselling-in-dubai
• http://aquarius.ae/specials/how-to-divorce-proof-your-marriage-1.1237221
• http://www.khaleejtimes.com/article/20121123/ARTICLE/311239897/1072
• http://m.gulfnews.com/news/uae/general/10-reasons-why-uae-marriages-fail-1.1227513
• http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/steer-clear-of-anger-for-a-cool-run-in-dubai
• http://www.ahlanlive.com/love-all-you-need-260157.html
• http://www.deccanherald.com/content/565641/is-my-child-dating-someone.html

Since her early childhood, El-Marie wanted to become a social worker. Her late mothers’ sister was her role model. She was one of the most compassionate persons she knew. What stood out for her, was that she was happy and confident. She thus linked doing good to others with being emotionally intelligent.

She studied Sociology and Philosophy (Those years in South Africa, courses in Social Work per sae, did not exist.) Needless to say, El-Marie knew what she wanted to be and enthusiastically launched her calling by enrolling at one of the best Universities in South Africa offering the 4 year course. Her training opened doors for her in the Government sector where she learned to respect the Law and the procedures and regulations following it. She worked for a private welfare organization where she discovered the importance of networking in the community and the value of working in a multi-professional team to best serve the interests of all citizens. She was asked to do Life skills training in Primary and Secondary schools to empower and protect our children from abuse. She also had numerous opportunities to be a guest speaker at school, church and community functions (mostly for fund raising and awareness purposes).

Through colleagues and local community leaders encouragement, she opened my Private Practice and was hired on a contract basis by 2 international companies in the field of Counselling: – Caraways (American) and ICAS (British). A South African owned company went in contract with me to be their Employee Assistant Officer for Barloworld.

She has worked in the Educational field in the UAE for six years which exposed her to the Culture and Customs of the Arab world. This background served as the preparation for her work as a trainer at Lifeworks. She has developed an Emotional Empowerment Curriculum and presented it in group- and on individual basis. She has written various articles for newspapers and magazines on FOMO, bullying, anger etc.

She believes that everyone has the right to develop their personality and live at their highest potential. She respects all life and treats it with care and adheres to her professions’ ethical code of conduct. Confidentiality is part of her ethos.

She is passionate about strengthening family life and advocate sober values. She plans to pursue Parenting courses in 2017.She strongly believes that – ”Life is precious, and to contribute towards the Health and Wellbeing of All in the Dubai Emirate is a privilege.”

Dr Anna Grazia Lecca is an Italian trained Psychologist with a UK training in Clinical Psychology. She has more than 20 years of experience in health and clinical settings working with a variety of clients.
Dr Anna Grazia Lecca works towards achieving a steady emotional balance and a progressive life transformation in a gentle process that focuses on the energy of acceptance and compassion and on the power of forgiveness and love.

Specializations

• Young and adult individuals who are experiencing temporary life crisis that may lead them to anxiety, apprehension, feelings of worthlessness, anger or emptiness, difficulties in maintaining stable and close relationships, feelings of detachment and people avoidance, low mood levels, excitement, or mood swing and other kind of distress.
• Couples and families aimed at improving their relationships by rebuilding trust, setting boundaries, develop their communication, alleviate their tensions and divergences, decries conflicts and enhancing connection between members.
• Adolescents and their families dealing with the emotional turmoil as the children move towards his/her independence. I support them in their search for identity and new experiences, while helping them in developing control over their impulses, taking responsibility for their own actions, decisions and consequences.
• Groups, particularly group art therapy, to help people to reduce stress and manage their emotions. The creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to develop interpersonal skills, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve their personal insight.

Board Certifications or Equivalent

• Italian Professional Body of Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist (Chartered).
• Italian Professional Body for Behavioral Mental Health Practitioners.
• European Association of Transactional Analysis.

Education

• PhD in Clinical Psychology – School of Psychology – Faculty of Medicine and Health and Life Science University of Southampton (UK)
• PsyD Transactional Analysis School of Clinical Psychology – Pontifical Salesian University of Rome (Italy)
• Master Degree in Clinical Criminology and Forensic Psychology IFOS – Postgraduate Institute for Health Professions in partnership with “La Sapienza” University of Rome (Italy)
• First Honours Degree in Psychology – Psychology Department – University of Urbino (Italy)
• First Honours Degree in Behavioural Mental Health Practitioner – Health Professional Training School – USL 21 Cagliari (Italy)

Languages

• Italian, English, French, Learning Arabic

Dr Kuchibatla is a British trained Psychiatrist. He has been a member of Royal College of Psychiatrists, U.K. since 2010. Dr. Kuchibatla is Consultant Psychiatrist and the Medical Director of LifeWorks Holistic Counselling center.

He brings more than 10 years’ experience and expertise in the management and treatment of Mental health and psychological issues and complex medication management issues related to the field of Psychiatry.

Specializations

• General and Adult Psychiatry.
• Sub specialization in Substance misuse psychiatry.
• Special interest in adolescent Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatry and complex medication management (treatment resistant conditions).

Board Certifications or Equivalent

• Royal College of Psychiatrists.
• Advanced Study in the field of Clinical Psychiatry.
• Certificate of Completion of Training from General Medical Council, UK.
• Associate member of International college of Neuropsychopharmacology.
• International Member of American Psychiatric Association

Education

Medical School – Kakatiya Medical College, NTR University of Health Sciences, India.

Residencies

Psychiatry – Yorkshire School of Psychiatry, Leeds, U.K.

Fellowships/ Higher specialist training

General and Adult Psychiatry – School of Psychiatry, Northwest, Manchester, U.K.

Languages

English, Hindi/Urdu, Telugu.

Dr. Thompson is a UK trained, Clinical Psychologist. She has been working in the field of mental health for almost 20 years. She is experienced at working with people with mild, moderate and severe mental health problems.

In the UK, Dr. Thompson worked for the National Health Service (NHS) in a community mental health team and in the Traumatic Stress Service at St George’s Hospital, London. She established a private practice in London, which has now expanded internationally. In The Netherlands, Dr. Thompson was Head of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Department at Webster University, Leiden. She worked for an NGO in Amsterdam, specializing in treating trauma in victims of human rights’ violations (such as war, torture, sexual violence). She has been working in Dubai for 4 years, assisting the local and expat population.

Specializations

• Mild, moderate and severe adult mental health.
• Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Board Certifications or Equivalent

• Chartered member of the British Psychological Society, Division of Clinical Psychology.
• Registered with the Health and Care Professionals’ Council (UK).
• Registered as an approved supervisor with the British Psychological Society.
• Licensed with the Dubai Health Authority.

Education

Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology, University of Surrey, UK.

Fellowships/ Higher specialist training

• Achieving Excellence in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
• Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. The Tavistock, London, UK.
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Levels I, II and III. London, UK.

Languages

English.