Feeling Guilty Isn’t the Same as Being Guilty
He is at home. He is completely fine. So why does one hour feel like something I have to explain? A new mother sits at a small café table. There is a cup of coffee going cold in front of…
The messy middle: when the worst is over and you’re not OK
When someone dies, the freezer fills up. People arrive with lasagne and banana bread and more soup than anyone can eat. Then, a year later, you are still grieving and nobody brings anything, because the casseroles stopped long before the…
Dink voor jy praat — woorde, stilte en herstel
Esther Perel stel dit eenvoudig: "The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships — which are basically a reflection of your sense of decency, your ability to think of others, your generosity." Dít is die…
What does becoming an expat feel like? Glamour and grief
The cups I drink my morning coffee from in Dubai were bought deliberately, to match the ones I have in South Africa. The cup in my hand has not changed. Everything behind it has — the view, the weather, the…
Sleeping in the Heat: Making Peace with Hot Dubai Nights
By the time June settles over Dubai, the nights stop offering much relief. The day's heat lingers long after dark, the room holds it, and sleep — which should come easily — becomes something you chase. You lie there, too…
Adjusting to Expat Life in the UAE: A Psychologist’s Reflections
By Christi Gadd · Clinical Psychologist & Neuropsychologist · HPCSA PS 0116947 · DHA 73418869 · Dubai via Thrive Wellbeing Centre, JLT. Moving to a new country is one of those life events that looks exciting on the outside and…
How to Make the Most of Your Online Therapy Session: A Clinician’s Pre-Session Guide
If you’ve booked an online session with me — or you’re thinking about whether to — there’s something I find myself saying to almost every client in the first few minutes. A few small things on your end shape what’s…
Online Therapy in Dubai: What the Research Actually Says — A Clinical Reading of Five Papers
A clinical psychologist in Dubai reads five research papers on online therapy in full. What the evidence actually shows — and where it genuinely runs out — for clients navigating life in the UAE.
Why War? What Einstein and Freud Knew and What It Means for Us Right Now
By Christi Gadd | Clinical Psychologist & Neuropsychologist | Dubai via Thrive Wellbeing Centre, JLT | Online across the UAE In 1932, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Sigmund Freud and asked one question: Why war? I read their…
Girlhood Isn’t a Life Stage — It’s a Feeling
I was recently invited to contribute to a feature in Emirates Woman on the “girlhood” trend — girl dinner, girl math, hot girl summer, and the quiet return to women calling themselves “girls.” Magazine features work by taking a line…