Staff profiles

Gráinne Parish (née Boyle) – Head of Department

Gráinne is passionate about providing services not only to the individual, but also to families, schools and the community.

As a psychologist practitioner, Gráinne specialises in the assessment of needs related to social
communication and autism spectrum across the life span. She is a qualified and experienced administrator of the ADOS-2, an assessment that is widely considered as ‘gold standard’ for the
administration of assessments related to these needs.

She is passionate about neurodiversity, and keen to ensure that people on the spectrum are equipped with the knowledge and tools that they want or need to lead full, happy and functional lives.

As a trainer, Gráinne aims to ‘give psychology away’– that means, sharing principals of psychology with individuals, groups and other disciplines. This allows the community to use psychology to guide
their own mental health and learning journeys. We all know that it’s important to learn how to keep us physically well and healthy, ‘psycho-education’ means that we understand psychology, in order to
keep ourselves mentally healthy and well.

Gráinne sees a small case load of children and adolescents for psychological assessment of learning needs related to dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, ADHD, developmental language disorders, executive function needs, intellectual disabilities, and other neurodevelopmental learning profiles of need.

Gráinne is a registered psychologist with the Community Development Authority Dubai and the Health Care Professionals Council (UK). In her spare time, she is a founding board member of All
Children Included, a CDA registered non for profit agency supporting the inclusion of children of determination in our community.

Dr Haneen Jarrar

During the three years pursuing her PhD, Haneen has worked as an ABA program supervisor at stepping stones center Dubai, as well as a regional director, where her role as director was to monitor screening tests, develop therapy plans, supervise speech therapy & occupational therapy planning, and conduct parental advisory sessions. In 2011 Haneen moved back to Amman, Jordan where she set up a clinic “Atfalona” that aims to provide high quality services to children with special needs. Such service included ABA therapy, developmental assessments, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and psychological counselling. Dr Haneen also helped develop special education sections in mainstream schools, train teachers on inclusion strategies, design and plan community-based intervention plans, and spread awareness utilizing workshops for parents.
Back in Dubai Dr. Haneen has over five years of experience in early intervention work, assessing diagnosing and planning early intervention strategies, as well as supporting children with mental health issues such as Anxiety and Depression. Dr. Haneen uses cognitive behavioural techniques and is patient centred in her approach. Dr. Haneen has an is hoping to share her expertise with families and children at Insights. Dr Haneen is a trained administrator for the ADOS-2.

Kelly Pugin

Prior to her most recent work as a school counsellor in Dubai, Kelly practised in the areas of psycho-educational assessment, individual therapy, play therapy and school readiness assessment.

At present, Kelly is working solely on psychology assessments and is a trained administrator of a wide range of assessments including Developmental and Psycho-Educational assessments such as WPPSI-III, WISC-V, WAIS-IV, WIAT-3, CTOPP-2, BASC-3, Conners-2, Beery-VMI and Griffiths III among others. Assessments she offers are for psychological assessment of learning needs such as Developmental Delays, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, executive function needs, Intellectual Disabilities and other neurodevelopmental learning profiles for ages ranging from early childhood through to adulthood.

Kelly is focused on providing comprehensive, thorough assessments in close collaboration with students, parents, teachers and school Inclusion specialists. Through the assessment process, she
aims to support, not only parents and teachers, but also the students, towards understanding their needs, but also their strengths and unique personal value. Her recommendations are personalised, honest and kindly delivered.

Cynthia Downey

She is currently a member of the National Association of School Psychologist’s (NASP) and the California Association of School Psychologist’s (CASP).

Cynthia Downey is an accomplished, practical, result-oriented psychologist with an extensive track record of assessing emotional, psychosocial and educationally related difficulties in children of school-going age. She is an expert in designing and evaluating standardized measures in order to assess students from diverse backgrounds. Cynthia also teaches assessment and counselling graduate level university courses in California, USA. She applies an overall holistic approach in supporting psychological well-being. Currently, she is working on an Integrative Psychology
certification in the U.S., concentrating on mind-body counselling methods.

Cynthia is trained and experienced in the delivery of a wide range of assessment tools including WISC-V, WIAT-3, CTOPP-2, Beery-VMI, Conners-3, BASC-3, ADOS-2 and SRS-2. She conducts assessments to explore such queries as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Language Disorders.

Jolene Palmer

Jolene is an Educational Psychologist, with professional registration in both Dubai and South Africa. She has over ten years’ experience of working with families, students and children in South Africa, the USA and the UAE. Jolene has a strong belief that everyone has the right to an education regardless of what difficulties they may be facing.

Psychology Assessments: Jolene has extensive knowledge in Developmental assessments, Psycho-Educational assessments and assessments of neurodiverse profile related to Autism and ADHD. She works with children, adolescents and young adults. She has worked extensively with children and families of children who present with general learning difficulties and Specific Learning Difficulties; including Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Autism, ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, delayed communication skills, delays in fine and gross motor development, emotional regulation difficulties, behavioural difficulties as well as complex genetic disorders.

Counselling and Therapy: In addition to Psycho-Educational assessments, Jolene provides Social, Emotional and Behavioral support for families, children, adolescents, and young adults through regular counselling and therapy sessions.

Jacqui Lawson

Over the last 17 years Jacqui has gained experience in a variety of settings including clinics, schools and hospitals.

Jacqui is registered with the British Psychological Society and the Australian Counselling Association.

She has helped clients of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities.

Jacqui has supported clients in a clinical setting, as well as via online therapy. Interventions have addressed different challenges such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, ADHD, anger management, social communication difficulties, grief and learning difficulties. Having worked extensively in international schools, Jacqui also conducts psychological and educational assessments using tools such as the WISC-V, WIAT-III and WAIS IV. Jacqui uses an integrative approach to
counselling combining elements of Mindfulness – based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Solution – Focused Therapy (SFT). Jacqui recognizes the individuality of each client and thus tailors therapeutic interventions to suit specific needs. She enjoys working with clients holistically and discovering their unique strengths.

In addition to counselling and assessment, Jacqui has offered staff training on a variety of mental
health topics, such as: anxiety and stress management, resilience, growth mindset, post traumatic growth, executive functioning skills and behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. As a mother of two, Jacqui also enjoys delivering workshops to parents and teachers, such as teaching children coping skills, self - regulation strategies and mindfulness.

Jacqui’s ultimate goal is to help her clients gain insight and to equip them with practical and necessary tools, to feel empowered to make their own choices and positive changes.

Dr Claire Lewis

Dr. Claire has expertise in working with a range of clinical and nonclinical conditions including anxiety, depression and stress as well as alcohol and drug use. She is particularly interested in helping clients who are experiencing distress in the context of significant life events, including traumatic experiences and the impact of major life transitions such as childbirth, separation, illness, retirement and bereavement. She works within an individual therapy model as well as offering couple therapy and family interventions.

Working collaboratively with the people she sees to find the right therapeutic ‘fit’ for them. Claire is able draw on a range of therapy models. She has experience and training in a range of evidence-based treatments including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and mindfulness-based therapies. She also has training in trauma-focused interventions (Cognitive Processing Therapy) in addition to providing psychoeducation and skills training. Claire has trained to Level 2 with the Gottman institute for couples therapy.

Claire’s work is informed by many years of experience. During her Doctoral training she gained experience working within a range of services including Child and Family Services, Learning Disabilities Services, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Adult Mental Health Services and Forensics. She has been able to draw on these various aspects of her training throughout her career, initially working as a Clinical Psychologist within the NHS and later practicing as a Clinical Psychologist in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and most recently working for five years as a Clinical Psychologist in Australia. Over the course of her experience she has also worked in the corporate setting developing and running workshops aimed at improving employee’s well-being and resilience to stress in the workplace.

Ben Viljoen

He has worked at different levels of support provision on his journey to KidsFIRST, including working as a learning support teacher (both within a special educational needs center and mainstream school in Dubai), as a School Counselor, as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and as an Educational Psychologist. All of these different roles have helped him to appreciate the nature of difficulties that children and young adults experience within their home, school and social systems and how these all interact to impact learning and behavior. Ben strongly believes in inclusion and the utilization of an eclectic approach in order to find solutions and methods that best support the individual.

Leyli Afsari

Leyli uses the Person-Centred approach in sessions to offer a safe, warm, and confidential space for individuals to be able to speak freely and explore their experiences without judgment. Through the counseling relationship she hopes you can discover your inner strength to be able to manage life’s challenges and difficulties and reach your fullest potential.

Sarah Wedel

Sarah is experienced in assessing and providing interventions for children with a broad range of speech, language and communication difficulties including; Developmental Language Disorders, Language Delay, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Social Communication Disorders and Speech
Sound Delays/Disorders.

Sarah has a specialist interest in working with children and adolescents with social communication difficulties and autism.

Sarah is a key member in multi-disciplinary teams and her work focuses on collaborating with relevant professionals to assess, diagnose and provide specialist intervention plans.

Sarah’s clinical trainings include:

• Hanen ‘More than Words’
• SCERTS
• Michael Palin Stammering Training (school aged children)
• DIR Introduction to Floortime Therapy
• Auditory Processing Disorder
• Makaton
• Parent Child Interaction Therapy
• Social Thinking
• PECS
• ADOS - II
  
  

Emily Alderson

Emily has significant experience in providing assessment, diagnosis and therapeutic interventions to children presenting with a variety of speech, language and communication needs including Developmental Language Disorder, Language Delay, Dyspraxia, Phonological Delay/Disorder, Stammering, Autistic Spectrum Condition, Pragmatic Language Difficulties and Selective Mutism.

She is skilled in building trusting relationships with parents/carers and education staff to bring about positive change and help young people achieve their full potential. She is passionate about working with Developmental Language Disorder, as well as Phonological Delay/Disorder and stammering. She believes that coaching and empowering others is the key to success.

Emily’s clinical trainings include:

• SCERTS
• PECS
• Talking Mats
• Elklan
• Talkboost
• Shape Coding
• Michael Palin Primary School Children Who Stammer Realising Potential
• Michael Palin Parent Child Interaction 
• Makaton

Ashely Green

She has created many resources for educators and parents to share with children to encourage them to flourish. She has also recently published a children’s book which focuses on supporting children to discuss feelings and emotions.

Ashley believes that the absence of mental illness is not conducive to wellness; everyone can go beyond and flourish in life.

Areas of specialization include; primary education, positive psychology and coaching towards personal goals of clients.

Swimmu Zacharias

Swimmu has been living in the UAE since 2014, and she has been working with Insights since August 2018. She is a friendly, approachable member of the Insights team. She works from Sunday to Thursday at the Insights office in Dome Tower, JLT. You can call her or visit reception with any enquiries, and she will always be willing to help.

She deals with new client enquiries, client relations, payments and insurance receipts. Swimmu speaks English, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil. In her spare time, Swimmu is likes cooking, baking and keeping fit, always with a smile on her face.

Jeniffer Posas

She has been in UAE since 2012 and has been working with Insights since March 2020. She has worked as a customer service in her previous job and is confident to be able to deliver assistance to everyone with a smiling face. She mainly assists Psychologists at Insights and deals with Insurance forms, pre-approval letters and basic admin.

Whenever she is not working, she enjoys playing ukulele and guitar and watching movies/series.