Dr. Sheetal Kini

Having been raised in the Middle East as well as the United States, I have learned the importance of cultural context in understanding people’s experiences.  My curiosity for the human experience led me to pursue my doctoral studies in clinical psychology. My main areas of expertise are in the treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders as well as difficulties in Relationships.

I am a trained Cognitive Behavioral Therapist with over 8 years of experience in working with Anxiety Disorders such as Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety, Phobias and Health anxiety as well as Mood Disorders such as Depression and Bipolar Disorder. As much as we clinicians may be “experts” on mental health difficulties, I believe that the client is an expert on his/her own self and has to be an active part of deciding the course of treatment. Although I often conceptualize issues from a cognitive behavioral framework, I remain flexible to use other approaches such as person centered, psychodynamic and attachment focused frameworks in my treatment based on the needs of the client. 

When relationship difficulties are the focus of therapy, I work with individuals as well as couples. I received my couples therapy training at the internationally renowned Gottman Institute. Our modern, busy lifestyles can weaken the friendship within a marriage or relationship and leave room for conflict and miscommunication. My couples program focuses heavily on assessing your strengths and weaknesses as a unit, and then helping to rebuild your relationship. However, at times only one partner is willing to attend therapy (either because they wish to come alone or their partner refuses to attend). In such circumstances, my aim is to help the individual understand the relationship’s difficulties better and to learn communication skills to connect with the partner and/or involve the partner in the therapy process when needed.

The hallmark of effective therapy is a good working relationship between the therapist and client. As such, one of my main priorities in therapy is to build comfort and trust for the client. As I seek to provide an environment of unconditional acceptance, I help clients to nurture a self-acceptance for themselves as well. 

Expertise

• Anxiety Disorders
• Mood Disorders
• Pre-marital counseling
• Relationship Challenges
• Adjustment/ Life Transitions
• Neurocognitive Assessments

 

Tools

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Gottman Method Couples Therapy
• Psychodynamic Approaches
• Mindfulness and ACT-based approaches

Qualifications & Memberships

• Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology- University of Houston, US
• B.Sc. (Cum Laude) in Psychology- College of William and Mary, US
• Trained by Gottman Institute
• Licensed by Dubai Health Authority (DHA)