9 options for free or low cost mental health support in the UAE

In case you’re going through a tough time at the moment…

With World Mental Health Day (October 10) looming ominously on the horizon, it feels like a good opportunity to check in with each other.

How are you doing?

If you’ve been feeling consumed with negativity recently, please know you are not alone. With ongoing and escalating conflict in the region, unthinkable acts of barbarism being visited on innocents, and for some – on their friends and loved ones; scenes of the most intense form of human suffering broadcast on news channels, and across social media – the emotional shockwaves are understandably hitting home, hard.

And it’s not just the recent stuff, the journey of life is rarely smooth – we’re not all naturally hard-wired with the coping skills and tools to weather the storms of grief, anxiety, depression, guilt, bad news, neurodivergence or any number of other physical and psychological afflictions.

Know that it’s ok not to be ok, but if the impact of these feelings is manifesting in detrimental ways, it might be worth considering outside help in order to process your emotions and use them in a constructive way. With this in mind, we’ve compiled the best ways to access free or low-cost mental health services in the UAE. There is no shame, in seeking out help.

Online services

If you don’t have the time or capability to get out and meet with trained counsellors – there are now a number of services that can enable you to access their help from the comfort of your own home.

betterhelp.com is one of the better-known global hubs for this form help. You can match with therapists and choose your own schedule of appointments according to your own needs. Prices start at around Dhs240 per week.

icarewellbeing.com is a UAE-based community of practitioners that offers online therapy specifically for the GCC. You can access sessions from Dhs90, and there’s a free trial so you can check whether or not it’s right for you without any financial commitment.

Helplines

The UAE formally offered a mental health helpline, 800-HOPE (800-4673) but this service appears to have now been disbanded.

Counselling through your medical insurance provider

The best starting point for seeing what you conselling you can access through your insurance plan, is to speak to your provider. They should be able to advise you on what services are covered, at which facilities. But make sure you ask about the level of coverage. There may be limits on spend; the finances might be dealt with on a direct billing basis or by pay and claim; some suppliers may only offer partial cover or support for certain conditions. The important thing is to ask these questions early on so you can plan care accordingly.

Support groups

The LightHouse Arabia is a mental wellness hub that offers a number of different support formats. If one-on-one sessions with a member from their dedicated team of experts comes in a little over budget, there other ways to take advantage of LightHouse helmed healing journeys. One example is their support group service – which offers free and low-cost group therapy sessions across a range of topics. For more information on the timings and theme of the support group, email: events@lighthousearabia.com.

Meditate

What connects Bill Gates, Will Smith, Katy Perry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kendrick Lamar, Joe Rogan and Ellen DeGeneres? Nope, not that group selfie from the 2014 Oscars. They all meditate. See, it’s not just the preserve of beardy hippies and Tibetan monks. There are many forms of meditation, and some will be more beneficial to you than others depending on what you want to get out of it. You can find free guided meditation courses on YouTube and Spotify that cover everything from insomnia to transcendence. For complete beginners, we’d recommend finding a few minutes in your day to practice the basic techniques,

Your community

There are broad happiness factors that experts tend to align on. That is things that can help contribute to a baseline contentment; combat cases of sadness, depression or ennuis; and establish positive patterns of mental wellbeing. One of those is having a strong sense of community. Being well bonded with your community can foster senses of belonging, and purpose, it also expands your support network. And although in-person connections should always the priority for human interaction, the fact we’re living in an interconnected world means that ‘your people’ can live literally anywhere. And in those times you need help the most, your community is often the easiest place to find it.

Get some exercise

Another core tenament of those knowledgeable on the pursuit of happiness – is physical exercise. The mental health benefits of working out regularly are beyond dispute, exercise is linked to almost every happiness-stoking neurotransmitter and hormone in the body. Then there are the fringe benefits of physiological health, strength, routine and discipline, the commune and consort with other people exercising alongside you and just feeling a little but better about yourself. And you don’t need to run marathons to tap in to this wellness vein, rich benefits can be reaped from walking or whatever low impact activity your mobility level will allow.

Tracking apps like Apple Fitness and Strava, aren’t just great for keeping you accountable, they also make it fun. Earn trophies, chase personal bests, and share your milestones with your friends. A smart watch enhances the experience by offering better monitoring capabilities and progress metrics. Trust me, it’s a game changer.

Acts of selflessness

Name something that grows the more you give away. The answer, in the standard format of tenuously posed rhetorical riddles is: yourself. Again, the multiple studies on the subject are conclusive: acts of kindness make you a happier, more centred person. Take a look at this article in Nature, it’s based on a paper from a team of researchers in Zurich and establishes a direct link between generosity and happiness. If you fancy getting involved with acts of selflessness, there are a few approved UAE charities where you can donate your time or money. This weekend, there are donation drives for a cause that will be close to the hearts of many, humanitarian aid for Lebanon. Check out our full feature on how you can make a difference.

Read

We fully acknowledge that feelings of stress and over-thinking can be more than just ‘a mild case of the Mondays’. If you’re somebody who’s prone to prelonged periods of depression or anxiety, cognitive therapy has been clinically proven as a useful tool against such mental states. Booking in to see a therapist might not be an option right now, but there’s a library of ebooks available on Amazon, Audible and other eReading platforms, that are downloadable at the click of a button. One book that’s frequently lauded by mental health professionals is, Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks: A Workbook for Managing Depression and Anxiety by Gillihan, Seth. You can pick up a copy on Amazon.ae for around Dhs35.