Celebrity clinic the Priory opens in Dubai with focus on mental health issues

It is known as the go-to retreat for rock stars and troubled celebrities, but the UK-based Priory clinic will offer specialist services from its first overseas branch in Dubai Healthcare City.

Dr Rasha Bassim, left, clinical director of the Priory clinic in Dubai, and Tanya Dharamshi, the clinic’s therapy services manager.

DUBAI // Children addicted to the internet, lonely expats drinking too much and couples facing divorce are among those a new mental health clinic will be seeking to help.

Known as the go-to retreat for rock stars and troubled celebrities, the Priory clinic in the UK will offer specialist services from its first overseas branch, in Dubai Healthcare City.

The London clinic has treated celebrity guests including supermodel Kate Moss, musicians Ronnie Wood and Eric Clapton as well as footballers George Best and Paul Gascoigne.

But doctors claim its reputation as a holiday camp for celebrities is unfair.

“When the phone rings we don’t know what the problem may be,” said managing director Will Goodwin. “It could be job loss, relationship problems or parenting.

“The Priory has a certain recognition for treatment for addiction, but we treat more than 70 different conditions. We are not envisaging a big demand for addiction issues here.”

The Priory is planning outreach services, workshops and educational programmes to reduce the social stigma associated with mental health issues.

Breaking down those barriers and vanquishing taboos will encourage more people to openly discuss their problems and seek help earlier, doctors hope.

Psychiatrist Dr Rasha Bassim, its clinical director, said mental disorders were often the same worldwide, but were viewed differently.

“It is a misconception that some areas have bigger issues. It is the more the way those issues are presented,” said Dr Bassim. “Culture can affect symptoms, and we are seeing depression and anxiety as the major issues here.

“Patients will first say that they are sad, lack energy, have body aches or are unable to sleep. They are often going to primary healthcare centres for scans and blood tests to find out what the problem is, when it could be related to mental health.”

The centre has seven rooms for one-on-one patient consultations, two group rooms and flexible consulting hours including evening appointments.

It offers treatment and therapy covered by private medical insurance, or self-funding for the local and expat community.

“There is a stigma related to mental health everywhere, we realise it is more in the UAE due to cultural and religious reasons,” said Dr Bassim.

“Mental health can be falsely represented. The words ‘mad’ or ‘insane’ don’t exist in psychiatry. We are hoping to work with schools, hospitals and companies to improve how these issues are viewed.

“It is normal. People need to be aware that the true numbers of those with some level of depression can be as high as 80 per cent in some populations.”

Dr Bassim said social media and the huge growth of internet had fuelled mental health disorders, particularly in young people exposed to extreme images and unregulated content.

Alcohol abuse and addiction remains a killer, but figures for the region show it to be rare.

The most recent World Health Ranking figures show 0.03 deaths for every of 100,000 people in the UAE, compared with 0.07 in Qatar and 0.05 in Saudi Arabia.

In the UK, the figures show there are 1.7 drink-related deaths for every 100,000 people.

“Often there is denial associated with mental heath problems and addiction issues we are treating,” said Tanya Dharamshi, the clinic’s therapy services manager.

“When we are looking at a stress perspective among the working population, those without a support network or family can fall into a drinking culture to provide a coping mechanism.

“It is important for us to recognise there is a population that struggles with that. People may not have their families close by, but there are others who they can talk to for advice.”