
Staff profiles
Psychologists
Gráinne Parish (née Boyle) – Head of Department
Head of Department
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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Dr Haneen Jarrar
Dr Haneen is a specialist Child Psychologist at Insights Psychology DMCC. Having qualified with a Masters Degree in 'Cognitive & Clinical Neuroscience' at the University of London, she went on to complete her PhD project “Language acquisition in children with Autism”, whilst working at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
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Kelly Pugin
Kelly Pugin holds a professional Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology and is registered Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
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Cynthia Downey
Cynthia Downey holds a Master’s degree both in School Psychology and Education with an additional credential in Counselling Psychology from Azusa Pacific University, California, USA. She has over 22 years of professional practice experience as a Psychologist and she has lived in the UAE since 2018.
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Jolene Palmer
Senior and Supervising Educational Psychologist
Jolene Palmer holds a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology and has a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Teaching from the North West University in South Africa. She has gained experience by working as an Educational Psychologist in South Africa, United States of America, and for the past 8 years she has been working and practicing in the UAE.
She is a registered Psychologist with the Community Development Authority Dubai.
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Jacqui Lawson
Jacqueline Lawson (Jacqui) holds a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology and an Honours Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the University of South Africa. She is also qualified as a NLP practitioner, clinical hypnotherapist and Time Line therapist with the American Board of NLP.
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Dr Claire Lewis
Dr. Claire holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Exeter, UK. With over 17 years’ experience working with clients across the age range, she specialises in the area of Adult Mental Health and well-being. She is a registered Clinical Psychologist with the Dubai Health Authority.
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Ben Viljoen
Ben is a South African trained Educational Psychologist who has 5 years of experience working with children and young adults (3-18 years) within the field of education.
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Leyli Afsari
Leyli is a UK qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist with a Masters Degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of Strathclyde. She has worked as a counsellor in both Dubai and the UK.
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Therapists
Sarah Wedel
Head of SLT
Sarah Wedel is a paediatric Speech and Language Therapist with a BSc. Honors Speech and Language Therapy qualification from Leeds Becket University, UK. Since graduating in 2013 Sarah has worked in various paediatric settings in London and Dubai. She is licensed with the Dubai Healthcare Authority.
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Emily Alderson
Emily Alderson is a paediatric Speech and Language Therapist with a BMedSci (Hons) Degree in Speech Sciences. She graduated from the University of Sheffield, UK, in 2013 and has since worked across a range of health and education settings in Birmingham, Manchester and Dubai.
She is licensed with the Dubai Healthcare Authority.
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Natalie Reed
Head of OT
Natalie Reed is the Head of the Occupational Therapy Department at Insights. Natalie is a paediatric Occupational Therapist with an Honours degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She has worked in both clinical and educational settings in South Africa and the Middle East and has been in Dubai for the last 5 years. Natalie is Certified in Ayres’ Sensory Integration and is licensed with the Dubai Healthcare Authority.
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Ann Irving
Ann Irving is a Speech and Language Therapist with a BSc (Hons) Speech Pathology and Therapeutics from Glasgow University, UK in 1986. In 2009, she got her Masters Degree in Education of Children and Young People with Autism from Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
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Coaches and Wellbeing Educators
Ashely Green
Originally from Scotland, Ashley moved to Dubai 10 years ago to teach full time within the Emirate, spending the last 6 years teaching in an outstanding primary school. More recently, Ashley achieved a master’s degree in positive psychology and coaching and she is passionate about the wellbeing and mental health of children and those who care for them.
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Administration Staff
Swimmu Zacharias
Swimmu is the administration assistant at Insights. She is from Kerala, India, and she has an MBA in Human Relations
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Jeniffer Posas
Jeniffer is an administration assistant at Insights. She is from Manila, Philippines and completed Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
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