German Clinic for Psychiatry, Psychology and Family Medicine in Dubai

If you are having trouble functioning in daily life, eg. working, parenting, grooming etc., or you have lost your ability to sleep, seek psychiatric care.  For milder or more moderate feelings of depression psychotherapy from a psychologist will help you.  If you are uncertain, our psychologists are qualified to assess your level of depression and will make a referral for a psychiatric assessment if needed.

I feel fatigued, anxious, demotivated not enjoy things as I used to. I visited my GP and he recommended to visit a psychologist. Do you think the counselling can help me to get rid of the symptoms? 

You obviously suffer of depression. You can visit one of our psychologists. After an interview and short test, the severity of the symptoms can be assessed. If the symptoms are not severe and don’t last long, the counselling would be the method of choice. In some cases, the medication can be indicated at the beginning to increase the energy, motivation, and mood. Combined with counselling the medication can be gradually removed.

Treatment for Depression

Is depression curable or just treatable with medication?

Depression is a curable condition. However, untreated it can develop into a chronic life-long suffering. Therefore, it is critical for individuals with depression to engage in therapy as soon as possible. The state-of-the-art treatment for depression combines medication and psychotherapy. Medication can supress the symptoms withing few weeks creating a sound foundation for the psychotherapy. However, medication alone will lose eventually its efficacy. On the other hand, psychotherapy used without medication wouldn’t be able to “unwind” severe depressive symptoms.

Are drugs the best treatment for depression?

Medications helps to quickly restore person’s functioning but it’s not healing depression per se. The purpose of treatment with antidepressants is to alleviate symptoms of severe depression, such as feeling down and not being capable to deal with social and professional obligations. They help to restore the sleep, lift the mood, and suppress the anxiety. In most of the cases depression is the effect of psychological malfunction due to accumulation of conflicts the individual is not aware of or feels incapable to solve. However, using only medication will not solve such problems by default. The individual needs time and guidance to find a suitable solution. Once such solution is found and implemented in individual’s life, the medication would be obsolete.

What are antidepressants?

How the antidepressants work?

The common misconception about antidepressants is that they create an artificial state of mind and feelings. Properly applied the antidepressants can lift mood and energy to a normal level and regulate sleep. With more serious depression counselling/psychotherapy wouldn’t be possible without controlling depressive symptoms with medication. The antidepressants create a kind of protective umbrella, allowing the patient to keep the day-to-day routine giving him time to implement the changes ideally supported by psychotherapy. After gradual removal of the antidepressants the patient shouldn’t feel any difference compared to his feeling under the pharmacotherapy. An antidepressant used by someone who is not depressed will not have any effect.

Are pills the best way to get out of depression?

Medications can suppress the symptoms of depression and keep you functional, but it will not solve your problems. If you rely only on tablets without getting the insight of your problem, the symptoms will appear again even by keeping the same dosage of medication. It’s not only our personal experience that in moderate and severe cases of depression the combination of medication and counselling is much more effective that one of the methods applied alone.

Are antidepressants necessary for every depression?

For mild depression, low-intensity strategies such as use of psychotherapy, sport exercises and mediation should be tried first.

Patients with moderate and severe depression require a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy. Those patients also benefit from integrative treatment methods such as meditation, art and music therapy or acupuncture.

Antidepressants and side effects

Do the antidepressants create side effects?

Prescribed by an experienced psychiatrist, using the proper antidepressant, and titrating slowly the dosage, the side effects can be avoided. Starting with high dosage or wrong antidepressants the symptoms can be aggravated. We are aware of the worries and prejudices about the use of the psychiatric medication. Our aim is to remove the symptoms without creating side effects.

Do people feel numb taking antidepressants

This is a very frequent misconception related to the effect of antidepressants. A proper antidepressant in a proper dosage shouldn’t create any feeling of numbness.

Are antidepressants addictive?

The antidepressants are not addictive. The effect of an antidepressant appears gradually over weeks. In consequences there is no causal connection between the intake and the effect.

About anxiety

I feel constantly tense and anxious. There is nothing in my life which could explain such feelings. My mother suffered on anxiety, and she is taking an antianxiety medication. I don’t want to get addicted to any medication. Can psychotherapy help?

Psychotherapy is highly effective treatment method. It could be used alone if your anxiety is not constantly present or is not very severe. In case of severe anxiety affecting your private and professional life, we would suggest suppressing the anxiety with medication while doing in parallel the psychotherapy. It doesn’t mean that you must take the medication endlessly. In cases of severe anxiety such combined therapy method is the most effective strategy decreasing the total length of the treatment.

What are panic attacks

I feel frequently heart palpitation and anxiety while driving. I must commute but I’m getting increasingly more scared driving a car. Is there a medication which can help me to get rid of the anxiety?

The anxiety you describe is triggered by external circumstances (in your case is the driving). The anxiety which affects social or professional performance should be treated. The first choice would be the treatment with medication. Such treatment is highly effective in short and middle term. In most of the cases the right medication can suppress the symptoms completely. In the second step the counselling should take place. Combining medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment method. Simplifying the treatment strategy: medication allows to suppress/remove the symptoms and the counselling helps to remove the medication while keeping the patient still symptom free.

I’m getting chest pain and heart racing. I went twice to emergency. They checked ecg and took blood. I have been told that I’m fine and that I suffer of panic attacks. They suggested to visit a psychiatrist. Do you think they are right?

If you visited the emergency, a physical problem hast been excluded, then the advice from the emergency makes sense. The cluster of symptoms you described is matching the symptomatology of a panic attack.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

I have mood swing, sometimes feeling down. This happens even few times per day. After my “down phase” is over and fill fully normal. Do I have a bipolar disorder? If so how to treat it?

Also, people without bipolar disorder have mood swings. However, these mood swings usually last for hours, maximum few days, which seem to be your case. Nevertheless, for proper diagnosis a profound investigation would be necessary.

Can the bipolar disorder be cured?

Bipolar disorder is a chronic condition that can be managed with proper treatment, but it cannot be cured in the proper sense. The goal of treatment is to suppress the symptoms and improve the functioning. Under the condition of ongoing psychiatric monitoring with adjustment of the medication as well as psychotherapy the symptoms can be kept on bay. Ideally the symptoms can be suppressed lifelong allowing the individual a normal life. However even with adherence to a treatment plan relapse can occur.

ADHD

Sleeplessness

I developed during the pandemic sleeplessness. The sleeping tablets from my GP don’t help anymore. Since few weeks I have to drink wine to fall asleep. Can you help me?

Sleep deprivation is one of the first symptoms of disturbed psychological balance. Eventually symptoms of depression and/or anxiety will appear. Needless to say, that alcohol is not suitable substance to treat sleeplessness. Its regular intake will lead to dependency. Taking in consideration your circumstances psychiatric consultation would be highly recommendable.

I suffer of sleeplessness. It takes me up to 3 hours to fall asleep. Panadol night doesn’t work anymore. My GP advised me to visit a psychiatrist? Are you able to help me?

The sleep deprivation (problems to fall asleep or difficulties in maintaining the sleep), especially lasting longer than few days, are very frequently the first symptoms of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or other psychiatric condition. Sleeplessness can be caused also by some physical illnesses. We recommend visiting a psychiatrist. One of the first steps of psychiatric diagnostic is the exclusion of physical problems, before moving to a psychiatric treatment. Using sleeping pills such as Panadol night will not help in long run. The tablets usually have initially sleep regulating effect but after a while they lose their efficacy.

Sleep apnea

My wife noticed that during sleep I’m getting breathing brakes. Do you think that I have sleep apnea?

Your description sounds like you might have sleep apnea. However, the diagnosis must be first secured. The standard investigation for sleep apnea is ENT examination and then sleep studies in so called sleep laboratory. In some cases, sleep apnea can be caused by physical block in the nose or throat. Sometimes its root cause might be the malfunction of a particular area in the brain responsible for sleep regulation. Based on the examination results you will know: 1.) if you need treatment 2.) and if so, which method should be used.

Do you treat sleep apnea?

Sleeplessness can be misinterpreted as sleep apnea. Sleeplessness is one of the leading symptoms of depression and anxiety. We don’t treat at CHMC sleep apnea but can do the preliminary diagnostics and if needed refer you to a sleep laboratory.

What is OCD?

My wife told me that I might have OCD. I agree that I’m perfectionist. How I can exclude that I might have OCD?

OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) can appear as variety of symptoms, such as washing compulsions, checking things countless times (e.g., locks on doors), performing rituals, arranging objects in a certain way, repeating words and phrases, or experiencing reciprocal thoughts often with disturbing content. The individual is not able to “brush out” such thoughts or urges for actions. At CHMC we can diagnose you and exclude or diagnose you with OCD.

My OCD is taking over, and I feel that I will never get rid of it.  I had therapy in the past, but it never went way, and I am feeling hopeless.  Is there anything you can do for me?

As you know, OCD is an anxiety-based disorder.  It will be through psychotherapy that you will be able to work through underlying issues.  There are also Exposure Response Exercises (ERP) that you can do to facilitate a therapeutic effect.  Lastly, when an OCD is debilitating, or in your words “taking over,” we are most likely looking at a combination of medication and psychotherapy to treat your symptoms.

Untreated OCD can lead to sever social od professional consequences and to full invalidism.

Burnout Syndrome

I don’t know what to do out feeling burned out at work.  Can you help?

Yes, we can.  After an assessment we will be able to make a treatment recommendation for you.  We encourage our patients not to quit their jobs until their mental health has been stabilized.  Then the patient is in the right frame of mind to make changes in how they work in their current job, or to possibly look for a new job or re-qualify in a new field.  We can help you on this journey of self-discovery.

Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

Do you provide hypnosis and how does it work?

Our psychologist also is trained as a clinical hypnotherapist and does hypnosis.  She works in 60-minute sessions and has written a detailed article on how she works.  Please see:  Is Hypnosis Effective?  Questions and Answers.  Our hypnotherapist carefully explains to her clients what to expect from the session.  She uses 10 minutes during the first part of the session to explain how hypnosis works and the remaining 50 minutes for the hypnosis.

I am really anxious and would like to know if hypnosis can fix that.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy is a very good treatment method for any type of anxiety.  As a mental healthcare provider, I suggest a careful evaluation to assess the level of anxiety and to ascertain that hypnosis is the best approach.  I my practice, I often find that a combination of treatment methods (eg. Hypnosis and CBT) is the best approach.   Also, if the anxiety is so severe that you are experiencing significant physical symptoms, a psychiatric evaluation would also make sense.

I’m worried that I can lose control in the hypnosis or do after something I don’t want?

During and after hypnosis the person stays himself without losing control or moral values. The hypnotized person during after hypnosis nothing which wouldn’t correspond with his/her moral standard. Despite a deep relaxation the person is aware of what’s going on. Hypnosis always is safe while under the care of an ethical and qualified hypnotherapist.

Dependencies 

My husband is an alcoholic.  Can you help him?

At CHMC we have the experience and training to treat alcoholism and addictions.  The thing to consider is that many individuals are in denial about their problem.  It is not until someone wants treatment that treatment makes sense and is effective.  We strongly recommend support group attendance for people struggling with addictions (AA) as well as their family members (AL-Anon).

Will I get in trouble with the law if I get addiction treatment?

We are a mental healthcare clinic, and all of our treatment providers guarantee our patients absolute confidentiality.  This is a private, discrete and confidential setting.