Booking the first appointment is the part everyone talks about. Nobody really mentions session four, when you walk out more tired than you walked in, or when you realise you've told the same story twice and it still hasn't gone anywhere. None of that automatically means something's wrong. Still, you're allowed to wonder whether this is the right person for you.
That goes for anyone, whether it's a Dubai psychologist you see in person every week or someone you talk to online. Therapy is where a lot of people say the things they don't tell friends or family. Some of them you might never have said out loud. Doing that with someone you're not at ease with is a lot harder than it sounds, and most people end up holding back without really noticing.
Some discomfort early on is normal. Often it's a sign the real work has started. Things you've kept quiet for years aren't meant to come out easily, and a good psychologist will now and then say something you'd honestly rather not hear.
When it's the person that isn't working, rather than the subject, it usually shows up in smaller ways:
● You catch yourself softening what you say so you won't be judged.
● Fifty minutes go by and you couldn't say what you actually worked on.
● The goals from your first session haven't been mentioned since.
● You brought up something central to your life (your faith, your family back home, a visa tied to a job you're worried about) and it seemed to land nowhere.
● Somehow you're the one managing their reactions.
Any one of these on a bad week doesn't mean much. Noticing the same few week after week is different, and worth taking seriously.
Bringing it up with your psychologist is usually the best place to start. It doesn't have to be a big conversation. Something as simple as "I'm not sure we're focusing on the right thing" gives them a chance to understand what's missing for you.
Then notice how they respond. A good clinician will respect the process, listen, ask questions, and talk through what could change. Feeling heard in that moment is a decent reason to give it a few more sessions before deciding anything.
Every psychologist practising in Dubai needs a licence from the Dubai Health Authority. You can look a clinician up by name on the DHA's online register of licensed professionals. It's worth doing before you commit to months of sessions, rather than after.
People come to Dubai from all over the world, and for a lot of residents English is a second or even third language. That's usually fine at work. Therapy is different. A lot of people find that the things they actually came in to talk about come out more easily in the language they grew up with, and there's decent research on the link between language and emotion to back that up. It also helps when the person listening knows where you're from without you having to explain it. Some people care about that more than finding someone nearby with a free slot next Tuesday.
Lots of people travel over the summer here, and psychologists take time away too. After several weeks without a session, coming back can feel a bit like starting over. Before you rebook out of habit, ask yourself whether you actually want to keep going with the same person.
Psychologists move on too. Some relocate, others leave one practice for another. If yours does, ask if there's someone at the same clinic you could switch to, and whether your current psychologist can do a proper handover. Nobody wants to tell their whole story again from scratch.
Changing psychologists doesn't mean therapy hasn't worked, or that you should give up on it. Sometimes two people just aren't the right match, and nobody did anything wrong.
Cost can make it harder to walk away, especially when you've already paid for a block of sessions. That money is spent either way, though. It isn't a reason to keep seeing someone who isn't helping. Once you've given it a few sessions and been honest about your concerns, trying someone new is a perfectly reasonable next step.
Finding the right person can take a little while. When you do, you'll probably notice it in the same small ways as before, only in reverse. You stop editing yourself, and the hour starts to feel like it's going somewhere.
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