The LightHouse Arabia

The LightHouse Arabia Leading the way for mental health & wellness in the Middle East. A specialist team of psychologists & psychiatrists with community at our core.

22/02/2026

Why do some people thrive under pressure while others feel overwhelmed by it?

Pressure and stress are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Pressure refers to the demands placed on you, whether external expectations or internal standards. Stress is the physiological response to those demands.

What determines performance is not the absence of pressure, but how stress is interpreted and regulated. Research in performance psychology suggests that the goal is not to eliminate the “butterflies,” but to channel them effectively. The difference lies in coping strategies, nervous system regulation, and the meaning assigned to the moment.

In this conversation, our clinicians explore how pressure can either sharpen performance or spiral into stress, and what makes the difference.

Growth tends to happen at the edge of comfort, not inside it. When you stretch slightly beyond what’s familiar, your ner...
21/02/2026

Growth tends to happen at the edge of comfort, not inside it. When you stretch slightly beyond what’s familiar, your nervous system encounters uncertainty, effort, and mild discomfort.

That’s where new patterns get formed, new skills are learned, and capacity expands.
But growth does not happen in overwhelm.

If the discomfort is too intense-panic, shutdown, dissociation-the nervous system goes into survival mode. In that state, learning and integration stop.

The uncomfortable zone that supports growth is:
• tolerable
• paced
• regulated
• accompanied by skills or support

Ramadan isn’t just a change in schedule. It’s an invitation to re-anchor- to step out of distraction and back into what ...
20/02/2026

Ramadan isn’t just a change in schedule. It’s an invitation to re-anchor- to step out of distraction and back into what actually matters.

Daily life pulls us outward: productivity, urgency, comparison, noise. Over time, we can become busy yet unrooted.

Ramadan interrupts that momentum. Through fasting, prayer, and intentional pauses, attention turns inward again. Ramadan can be a time of return- a return to values. A return to perspective. A return to the self beneath the noise.✨

Human beings don’t actually calm down because they know what will happen.We calm down because we’re not alone while it’s...
19/02/2026

Human beings don’t actually calm down because they know what will happen.
We calm down because we’re not alone while it’s happening.

Psychologically and neurologically, safety comes less from answers and more from attunement- being seen, heard, and held in relationship.

You can have all the certainty in the world and still feel anxious if you’re isolated. And you can be in real uncertainty but feel regulated if you’re connected to someone steady.

That’s why:
• Children feel safer with a calm caregiver than with perfect explanations
• People tolerate grief, illness, and uncertainty better when they’re accompanied
• Reassurance works temporarily, but relational presence lasts
• Certainty is a cognitive attempt at control
• Connection is a nervous system experience of safety.

From our family to yours: we hope this month brings an abundance of opportunities for tranquility, reflection and togeth...
18/02/2026

From our family to yours: we hope this month brings an abundance of opportunities for tranquility, reflection and togetherness. 🌙✨

17/02/2026

Sometimes difficult seasons are framed as punishment or as something to endure until it passes. Another way to understand them is as an initiation.

An initiation is not meant to break the soul. It is meant to call it forward. When life becomes painful or disorienting, something deeper is often being summoned. A larger capacity. A truer expression. A more honest version of self.

When trauma meets constant exposure to suffering, the nervous system can slide into helplessness. And helplessness is wh...
16/02/2026

When trauma meets constant exposure to suffering, the nervous system can slide into helplessness. And helplessness is where trauma keeps its strongest hold.

The way out of the helpless state isn’t trying to fix everything or carry everyone. It’s choosing one place where you can act. One cause. One organization. One person. One piece of meaning you put back into the world.

Small, bounded action restores agency.

And agency is how the psyche digests helplessness and remembers it is not powerless.

15/02/2026

Performance psychology is not just for elite athletes. It is the science of how people think, behave, and respond under pressure.

Dr. Scott Whitfield, Sport & Exercise psychologist at The LightHouse Arabia, explains how psychological principles can be applied to help individuals, teams, and organisations perform more effectively across different contexts.

From sport to leadership to high-stakes environments, performance is shaped less by motivation and more by how well focus, stress, and behaviour are understood and managed. Excelling is not about pushing harder, but about performing with intention and psychological skill.

If performance matters in your role, whether in sport, business, leadership, or education, working with a performance psychologist can help you build the tools needed to sustain excellence without burnout.

You can contact us at +971(0)4 380 2088 to learn more about our performance psychology services and how we support individuals and teams in performing at their best.

To the nervous system, love is not fireworks.It is consistency, presence, and repair over time.
14/02/2026

To the nervous system, love is not fireworks.

It is consistency, presence, and repair over time.

13/02/2026

Relationships do not exist in isolation. Each partnership functions as a system shaped by patterns of communication, emotional responses, and shared history. When those patterns are understood, small shifts can create meaningful change for both individuals and the relationship as a whole.

Systemic couples therapy is available at The LightHouse Arabia for those looking to explore these patterns with professional support.

Hyper-independence often develops as a strength: learning to cope alone, relying on yourself, not needing too much. But ...
12/02/2026

Hyper-independence often develops as a strength: learning to cope alone, relying on yourself, not needing too much. But over time, it can quietly limit connection. When everything is handled internally, support is experienced as unnecessary or unsafe, and closeness can feel like a loss of control rather than a source of stability.

Interdependence is different from dependence. It’s the capacity to stand on your own and stay open to support. It allows care to move both ways, without collapse or self-abandonment. In interdependent relationships, autonomy and connection coexist - and resilience becomes something shared, not carried alone.

11/02/2026

When a teenager is struggling, the signs don’t always look like sadness. They can look like anger, isolation, or constant exhaustion, and it can be hard to know when to step in, or how.

Our Adult-to-Adolescent Mental Health First Aid training will teach you how to recognise the signs and respond with care and understanding. You’ll learn how to:
• Identify depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and panic attacks in young people.
• Approach a teenager in a way that encourages them to open up.
• Create supportive environments where they feel safe to express themselves.

Mental Health First Aid is the equivalent of physical first-aid training but for mental health. This 10-hour, evidence-based course equips adults (18+) with the knowledge and skills to respond to mental health difficulties in adolescents aged 12–18. No prior experience is required.

🗓️Next training:
Date: Wed. 25th & Thurs. 26th February
Time: 9.30am-2.30pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Investment: AED 1,595 + 5% VAT

Includes: Course e-manual, e-certificate, and accreditation valid for 3 years ( 8.5 CME/CPD points from DHA)
Register: lighthousearabia.com/events
Who Facilitates The MHFA Training:

The training is delivered by team members from The LightHouse Arabia. All clinical or counseling psychologists have received their education and training in the USA, UK, Europe, South Africa, and Australia.

Address

821, Al Wasl Road, Al Safa 2
Dubai

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 20:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 20:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 20:00
Thursday 08:00 - 20:00
Saturday 08:00 - 20:00
Sunday 08:00 - 20:00

Telephone

+97143802088

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