


Staff profiles
Neurodevelopmental Assessment Specialists
Gráinne Parish
Managing Director; Educational Psychologist
Gráinne (pronounced Grawn.ya) is an Irish qualified Psychologist with a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology from University College Dublin. Having worked in the UAE since 2009, she founded Insights Psychology, a small specialist psychology practice in Dubai in 2017. She is motivated to provide high quality and high integrity support services to the community in the UAE and wider Gulf region.
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Jolene Palmer
Head of Department; Educational Psychologist
Jolene Palmer is a South African national, and professional Masters Graduate, with over fifteen years experience in South Africa, US and UAE. She is a registered Psychologist with the Community Development Authority Dubai. Jolene is a senior and supervising Psychologist at Insights, with oversight of the assessment team and supervision of complex assessment cases. Jolene also holds a limited caseload of counselling clients.
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Kelly Pugin
Educational Psychologist
Kelly Pugin holds a professional Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology and is registered Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and the Community Development Authority, Dubai.
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Dr Leanne O'Brien
Educational Psychologist
Dr Leanne O’Brien holds a Doctorate in Applied Educational Psychology (DAppEdPsy) from Newcastle University, accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS). She is a registered Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the UK. She is a licensed Psychologist with the Community Development Authority Dubai.
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Jacqui Lawson
Counselling Psychologist
Jacqueline Lawson (Jacqui) holds a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology and an Honours Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the University of South Africa. Jacqui is licensed with the Community Development Authority Dubai and is registered with the British Psychological Society and the Australian Counselling Association. She is also qualified as an NLP Practitioner, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Time Line Therapist with the American Board of NLP.
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Dr Katie Kemp
Educational Psychologist
Dr Katie Kemp holds a Doctorate in Applied Educational Psychology (DAppEdPsy) from University of Nottingham accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS). She is a registered Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the UK. She is a licensed Psychologist with the Community Development Authority Dubai.
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Speech and Language Therapists
Sarah Wedel
Clinical Director and Head of Speech and Language Services
Sarah is on maternity leave until January 2024. Sarah Wedel is a DHA licensed Speech and Language Therapist with ten years clinical experience in Dubai and the UK.
In addition to her role as head of Speech and Language Therapy, Sarah is the designated DHA clinical director of services, responsible for implementation of DHA regulations, monitoring standards of care and safeguarding for clients and staff.
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Leah Karacinski
Acting Head of Department; Speech and Language Therapist
Leah Karacinski is a paediatric Speech and Language Therapist with a BSc. Honours degree from Birmingham City University in the UK. Since graduating in 2010, Leah has worked in both clinical and educational settings in Dubai. She is licensed with the Dubai Healthcare Authority.
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Steph Love
Speech and Language Therapist
Steph Love is a Speech and Language Therapist with a Bachelor of Science (BSc, Hons) from the University of Reading. She completed a Master of Education (M.Ed.) Degree in 2020 adding to her experience in the UK where she remains registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). She is licensed with the Dubai Health Authority.
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Annabel Whitcombe
Speech and Language Therapist
Annabel Whitcombe is a UK trained paediatric Speech and Language Therapist who completed her PGDip in Speech and Language Therapy in 2014 and converted her qualification to Masters of Speech and Language Therapy in January 2018.
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Mental Health Specialists
Leyli Afsari
Psychotherapist
Leyli is a UK trained Psychotherapist specializing in working with children, adolescents, and parents. She holds a Master’s degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of Strathclyde, a Bachelor’s Honors degree in Psychology with Counselling Skills from Middlesex University, and she is currently pursuing her PhD in Psychology at Hariot-Watt University. She has worked as a Counsellor in both Dubai and the UK and she is a licensed Psychologist with the Community Development Authority, Dubai.
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Lindi Nhlapo
Counselling Psychologist
Lindi holds a Masters degree in Counselling Psychology from South Africa. She is a licensed Psychologist with the Community Development Authority Dubai. She has 10 years experience working as a Counselling Psychologist. Lindi is a mental health specialist with a keen interest in family mental health, and competencies across age groups including adolescents and adults. As an experienced and flexible practitioner, Lindi uses a range of blended therapies to meet the needs of clients in her care including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Supportive Psychotherapy, Person Centered Approach and Systemic Approach.
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Remo Poulsen
Psychologist - CBT Specialist
Remo is a psychologist from Denmark who holds
a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the
University of Copenhagen.
He is a registered Psychologist with the Community Development Authority, Dubai.
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Dr Claire Lewis
Clinical Psychologist
Dr Claire is a Clinical Psychologist, specialising in online therapy for adults, couples and family intervention. She holds a Doctorate in Clinical and Community Psychology from the University of Exeter, UK, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Plymouth UK. She is a registered Clinical Psychologist with DHA, Dubai.
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Dr Dina Bedair
Director of Mental Health Services; Clinical Psychologist
Dr Dina is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and she is registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council UK (HCPC). With extensive experience across public and private sectors in the UK and UAE, Dr Dina is the Head of Department and Director of Mental Health Services at Insights. In addition to management and supervision duties, Dr Dina has a small therapy caseload of complex cases.
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Dr Samir Pathan
Clinical Psychologist
Dr Samir Pathan is a Clinical Psychologist registered with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) UK and Dubai Health Authority (DHA). He has over 10 years’ experience across a variety of primary and secondary care mental health services in England. Samir completed a Doctorate in ClinPsyD, and qualified as a Clinical Psychologist at the University of East Anglia. Samir has a professional interest in neurodevelopmental differences including ADHD and Autism.
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Kati Mencer
Play Therapist and Parent Coach
Kati is a Counsellor, licensed with the Community Development Authority Dubai. She specialises in working with young children and their families, primarily using Play Therapy and Parent Coaching. She has a Master of Science in Counselling, Child, Family and Marriage Therapy from California State University, Hayward, USA. Kati is a seasoned practitioner with 20 years of experience working with children and adolescents.
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Occupational Therapists
Natalie Reed
Head of Occupational Therapy Services; Acting DHA Clinical Director
Natalie Reed is the Head of the Occupational Therapy Department at Insights.
Natalie is an Occupational Therapist with an Honours degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and has worked in both clinical and educational settings in South Africa and the Middle East. Having lived in Dubai since January 2016, Natalie has extensive multi-cultural experience and a deep understanding of the education and health systems in the UAE.
Natalie is Certified in Ayres’ Sensory Integration and is licensed with the Dubai Healthcare Authority.
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Miriam Mahdi
Occupational therapist
Miriam is an occupational therapist registered with The Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the UK and The Irish Regulatory Body for Health & Social Care Professionals, CORU. She is also licensed with the Dubai Healthcare Authority (DHA).
She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from University College of Cork, in 2011 focusing on Special Education and Psychology. Miriam went on to study Occupational Therapy at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh where she received a Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Therapy in 2014.
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Niamh Crofton
Occupational therapist
Niamh (pronounced Neev) is an Occupational Therapist from Ireland with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Trinity College Dublin. Niamh holds a licence to practice with The Irish Regulatory Body of Health & Social Care Professionals (CORU) and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
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Eamon Carr
Occupational Therapist
Eamon is a Licensed Occupational Therapist with the Dubai Health Authority, and he is actively registered with HCPC UK. With dual qualifications in both Primary Education and Occupational Therapy, Eamon graduated as a Primary Education Teacher with a Bachelors and Science in Education (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland), before he moved to the UK to complete a Masters in Occupational Therapy (Brunel University, London).
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Administration and Support Staff
Swimmu Zacharias
Back Office
Swimmu is a proud Keralite, and long-term UAE resident. She is an MBA holder and HR specialist. She has been working at Insights since 2018 and she has worked across all departments in her time with us.
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Jeniffer Posas
Senior Administrator
Jeniffer is a long-standing and dedicated member of the team at Insights. She is passionate about the development of quality services for neurodivergent clients and she has previously worked across all departments at Insights.
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Marga Belino
Administrator for OT and SLT Team
Marga is an Admin Assistant primarily assisting the SLT and OT department of Insights.
She is originally from Philippines and finished her Bachelor's degree in Finance.
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Kris Saberola
Administrator for Counselling and Mental Health Team
Kris is an Administration Assistant at Insights primarily assisting the Counselling and Mental Health Department. He is originally from the Philippines and completed Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
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Ankitha Francis
Administrator for Testing Psychology Team
Hailing from India, Ankitha holds both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Psychology, as well as a Bachelors degree in Education.
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Renu Johny
Accounts
Renu moved to Dubai in 2019 from Kerala, India. She holds a Masters Degree in Commerce - Finance. Since moving to Dubai she has worked in mental health clinics and she enjoys working in accounts and finance roles.
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Mickey Cuvos
Administrator for Testing Psychology Team
With over ten years experience in administration, Mickey has joined the administration team at Insights to support the assessment department. Mickey is a qualified nurse, with strong interests in health, wellness and spirituality.
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