Stress and negative ideas have fast been becoming an integral part of the modern day life. Psychological problems and ailments are becoming more frequent and common in all kinds of societies across the world.
Dr Naif al-Mutawa is an award winning Kuwaiti clinical psychologist, and hypnotherapist. He is the founder of The Soor Centre in Kuwait providing a broad range of psychological services. A member of the American Psychological Association and the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counsellors and Therapists, Naif is also a licensed psychologist in New York, Dubai, and Qatar.
The psychologist has recently started attending patients in Qatar at Queen Hospital. Community caught up with Dr Naif and interviewed about his expertise and different psychological problems faced by the people.
Talking about his field of work, Dr Naif said, “I am a clinical psychologist trained in New York. I have 25 years of experience in this field. I have been working with people of all ages regarding their individual or family problems. I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2006. After completing my education and working for some time in New York, I returned to Kuwait. I have been living and working in Kuwait since then. I specialise in cognitive behavioural therapy.”
He added, “Well Cognitive behavioural is an intervention that aims to improve mental health of a person suffering. It focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and the development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. If you are angry, depressed or anxious, your sympathetic nervous system kicks in and you are in mode of fight or flight. Neither of them is helpful for you. So the idea is how to increase the options. How can I go from being angry to being annoyed, from being depressed to being disappointed, from anxious to concern, and from guilt to remorse? That is what I do with 50 percent of my patients.”
“Hypnosis is actually very interesting. I have been using it for five years. Seven years ago, I did not believe in it. But I hired a hypnotist in my clinic and it did produce some outstanding results with people as they started to lose weight and quit smoking. I started learning it. It is not magic. You can change somebody, if one is not ready to change oneself. I have also been practicing therapy for sexual disorders,” he noted.
Asked if he had done some research work, he said, “I am more of a practitioner than a researcher. I am not particularly interested in research. I am interested in learning and applying.”
Speaking about the recognition he has received so far, Dr Naif said, “Most of the recognition that I have received has been for my work in applied psychology within media context. I created global superheroes on TV. I have worked with Geo TV in Pakistan. My superheroes have been broadcast in China, India, and US. My superheroes are based on Islamic archives but they are not religious. The idea was using values that the Muslims share with humanity to reach the world. For this, I have received a lot of appreciation. I did this between 2003 and 2013.”
Sharing his experiences, Dr Naif said, “I see a few thousand cases in a year. Things that seem to be complex are actually very simple. Sometimes improving life style can fix many psychological problems.”
About different psychological problems around the world, he said, “On a macro aspect, human brain is the same. For example, there are different ways people pray in different religions but all pray. So it’s actually a human issue and its manifestation rather than anything else.”
He added, “Sometimes people over-focus on outcome and not on the process. They just focus on the destination of their journey. Life is about journey and is not about where you get in. I advise my patients and my kids to focus on the process and not on the result. We should know that our targets can shift.
Regarding his experience in Qatar, Dr Naif said, “This is the first time that I’m attending patients here in Doha. However, I will be coming once or twice a week here. I got the licence for practice in Qatar recently and I’m very happy to be at Queen Hospital.”
“It is amazing to see the kind of medical services Qatar has been providing its citizens. It really has the opportunity to become a global hub. I have met a lot of young Qatari doctors here and in New York,” he concluded.


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