The MindTales Collective: Recent Episodes
Mindtales
The MindTales Collective Podcast invites mental-health advocates across industries worldwide for a bite-sized deep-dive into health affairs. We want to share the personal stories of leaders within our community to give you the essential insights to strengthen your personal development!
Instagram: @mindtalesofficial TikTok: @mindtalesofficialuae Website: mindtales.me
In this episode of the MindTales collective mental health and well-being counsellor Hashil talks mental health! He talks about how he became a counselor, mental health in the region, male mental health and last but not least his own mental health and how he deals with compassion fatigue.
Jay Sadiq has dived into entrepreneurship from a young age, failed three times and got back on his feet with more innovative ideas.
He became more motivated with each attempt. Together with his team he is now on a big mission- to cool cities around the world and to make them more resilient and livable. In this episode of the MindTales collective, he talks about what it takes to build an engaged and ambitious team, and the importance of having shared strong and solid core values.
In April 2020, Mohammad Absi-Halabi left his full-time job to become a founder. This journey was filled with countless up's and down's, rejections and uncertainties, but it has also helped him learn about his own mental health. In this episode, Mo elaborates on his experience and explains why being humble is an important quality for founders to have.
After having spent 10 years in the UAE, communications manager Saida decided to take the big step of moving back to her home country Tunisia. She is a Tunisian national who had started her professional career in Tunisia before she moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2012.
She recently made the big decision of moving back to Tunisia to work for an intergovernmental organization providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. In this podcast episode she shares her experience, and addresses how to overcome fear, take big decisions and what it really means when we say "with every challenge we encounter lies opportunity for growth".
"Autism is an ability and not a disability". This is the favourite quote of Maha Korchid. The early intervention specialist founded the Magic Mind Platform In 2020 to raise more awareness for autism and inclusion. She has come a long way since then- and developed both personally and professionally! Tune in for more!
Dr. Louiza (Pharm D, MBA, Ph.D.) has 10+ years of experience in Healthcare, Pharma, Biotech, and Digital Health industries in Asia (China) and the Middle East & Africa. She is presently the head of the MENA Health Tech Program at Plug and Play ADGM where, in Partnership with the Department of Health, she is working to develop the Digital Health Ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and across the MENA Region. We deep-dive into imposter syndrome, overcoming the entrepreneurship gender gap, Louiza's women empowerment initiative and how Gen-Z can cope with career uncertainty. Tune in for more!
Welcome back, MindTales Community! This World Mental Health Day, we're reviving our podcast series with a special feature from venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Brad Feld. Brad has been an investor and entrepreneur for more than 30 years. He manages the Foundry Group, a VC focused on early-stage tech investments. Prior to that, he co-founded Mobius VC, Intensity Ventures, and Techstars. Brad is also on the chair of several advisory boards pushing for representation of women in tech, social impact initiatives and more.
What do we chat about?
📣 A behind-the-scenes into Brad’s entrepreneurial journey
📣 Biggest takeaways and lessons for first-time entrepreneurs
📣 Breaking through stigma and normalising conversations about mental health
📣 Building self-care into your lifestyle as an entrepreneur
Website:https://foundrygroup.com/team/brad-feld/
Blog: https://feld.com
LinkedIn: Brad Feld
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What do we chat about?
📣 How understanding child psychology helps you become a better parent
📣 Self-care for parents and guardians
📣 Riham's journey from child psychotherapy into parental guidance
📣 Leveraging social media for mental health awareness
Follow Riham Monzer:
Instagram: @riham_monzer
LinkedIn: Riham Monzer
Clare has more than 17 years of experience in the field of psychology, from teaching and applying psychology within organisations to beginning her own organisation, Conscious Consulting!
What do we chat about?
📣 How Conscious Consulting creates change within individuals and teams
📣 Awareness and consciousness as tools for transformation
📣 Thriving in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambigious world
📣 Using mindfulness to anchor yourself into the present moment
Follow Conscious Consulting and Clare Stafford Taylaur
Website: https://www.consciousconsulting.ae LinkedIn: Clare Stafford Taylaur
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Naser is a certified hypnotherapist, life-coach, neurolinguist, psychotherapist, laughter yogi and the founding partner of ChangeWorks. Changeworks is an HR company that connects communities with hypnotists and wellness specialists to spread skill sets that empower choice and happiness.
What do we chat about?
📣 Transitioning from pediatrics and psychiatry into hypnotherapy
📣 Misconceptions about hypnotherapy
📣 Reiki, energy-healing & why laughter yoga works
📣 The ChangeWorks community
Follow Naser Al Riyami
www.thenasman.org Instagram: @thenasman_ LinkedIn: Naser Al Riyami www.changeworksad.com
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Dr. Ruchi Dana is an award-winning doctor, serial entrepreneur and social impact investor! She has led many startups and received multiple degrees from Stanford University, including her MBA. Presently, she is Partner at Dana Group in the UAE and President of Duluth Medical Technologies located in the USA.
What do we chat about?
📣 The intersection of medicine, technology and business
📣 MedTech trends and challenges to look out for in 2021
📣 How do the UN's Sustainable Development Goals shape the startup community?
📣 Impact of the pandemic on senior female leadership trajectories
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Dr. Tai Broach holds a dual-PhD in Organisational Psychology and Clinical Psychology. She's presently an Associate Professor of Practice at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi and an organisational effectiveness consultant! Dr. Broach has worn many hats throughout her career, from organisational development consultant, executive coach, and behavioral interventionist to program designer, trainer and educator.
What do we chat about?
📣 What is dysfunction? Why does it matter in the workplace?
📣 Respecting individuality and building team harmony
📣 Workplaces leveraging communication to create belonging
📣 Effective leadership and emotionally intelligent leaders
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This entrepreneurial duo combined their specialities in healthtech and fintech to build Let’s Rise, which brings together networks of educators, entrepreneurs, parents, innovators and other community leaders to celebrate their achievements, build up their mentorship and coaching skills and work towards personal transformation!
📣Challenges and inaccessibility of conventional coaching
📣The trajectory of mentored vs non-mentored startups
📣Mindful entrepreneurship and community-building
📣Sustainable transformation through coaching with LetsRise
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Fodhil Benturquia is a serial entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in the digital innovation space in MENA. He's the Founding CEO of Okadoc, the region’s first instant online booking platform that seamlessly connects healthcare providers and doctors with their patients!
📣 Managing overwhelm when embarking on new and uncertain ventures
📣 Letting go of control and building trust for greater governance at your start-up
📣 Leveraging a board of advisors to build a strong support system
📣 Establishing a healthy work and team culture that prioritises mental health
Keep up with Okadoc
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Aakanksha Tangri founded Re:Set, a unique, digital platform that brings together communities in inclusive, safe spaces to destigmatise and normalise conversations about mental health, education, inclusion, parenting, gender-based challenges and more!
📣 Destigmatisation of mental health, education, inclusion and gender-based challenges
📣 Building safe and inclusive digital spaces for connection, reflection and community-building
📣 Introversion as an advantage in leadership and innovation
📣 Moving from education and awareness-raising to action and empowerment
Keep up with Re:Set
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Podcast: anchor.fm/mindtales
Nur is an entrepreneurship and incubation specialist with Yildiz Teknopark Entrepreneurship Center based in Istanbul. She supports startups by coaching them through development and matching them with investors and mentors.
📣 What are technoparks? Based within Yildiz Teknopark, how did Yildiz Incubation Center grow to be the largest one in Turkey?
📣 Why are entrepreneurial university models successful and how do they build a larger thriving startup ecosystem?
📣 What is the future of Turkey's startup environment? What are it's main challenges?
📣 How can startup founders and entrepreneurs boost their mental health during uncertain times?
YILDIZ INCUBATION CENTER
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Dr. Justin Thomas is a psychology Professor and the Head of the Research Cluster for Culture Cognition and Wellbeing at Zayed University, United Arab Emirates. This research cluster focuses on exploring the interface between culture, society and mental health. Join us for an insightful chat as Justin shares his thoughts on how unique, community-based factors influence the way we interact with and perceive our mental health. We discuss how to honour experiences of wellbeing by bringing awareness to these concepts in culturally-informed and individualised ways.
📣 What are the objectives of theResearch Cluster for Culture Cognition and Wellbeing at Zayed University?
📣 How do social and cultural factors impact recovery rates for psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia? How does this differ in surprising ways between "developing" and "developed" nations?
📣 When it comes to destigmatising mental health, how can we bring awareness to mental health in culturally-informed ways?
📣 How can nutritious and meaningful connections boost our sense of belonging and act as a protective factor against deteriorating mental health?
Twitter: @DrJustinThomas
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Jeanne Bédard, RD, HAAD is a registered dietician with Abu Dhabi's Perfect Balance Rehabilitation Center. Jeanne walks us through her approach to nutrition counselling that supports mental health. We chat about emotional eating, food rules, weight stigmas and more - Jeanne sums it up perfectly as "nutrition EQ". In this incredibly insightful conversation, Jeanne shares tips for parents, new mothers, young adults and children to build a well-rounded and balanced toolbox for healthy eating without forgetting their mental health.
📣 How is your mental health linked to your relationship with food?
📣 Why is it that exploring contexts and the ups and downs of people’s days is so tied in to Jeanne's approach when helping her clients explore their relationship with food and eating?
📣 How can parents teach body diversity and a healthy body image to their children from a young age?
📣 What tools can individuals use to check in on their relationship with food as they grow throughout adulthood?
Email: jbedard@perfectbalance.ae
LinkedIn: Jeanne Bédard
Instagram: @perfectbalancead
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Samar Alshorafa is the Founding CEO of She is Arab. This is an innovative platform that connects Arab women whilst enhancing and empowering their leadership and business acumen across a range of industries.
📣 How did Samar's past experiences in policy reform, education and international development lead her to build She is Arab?
📣 How does She is Arab use a community-building approach to magnify the achievements of Arab women?
📣 Why is women empowerment not a one-size-fits-all approach and what advice can help women find their authentic self?
📣 How has Samar's relationship with mental health changed significantly over the years? How can you take inspiration and reflect on your self-care?
Listen in to the full conversation here. We hope this was as inspirational and as insightful for you as it was for us.
On LinkedIn: Follow Samar Alshorafa and She is Arab
Check out She is Arab: sheisarab.com
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mentalhealth #womenempowerment #leadership #community #awareness #equality #diversity #inclusion #diversityandinclusion #business #womeninbusiness #mindtales #selfhelp #selfcare #internationaldevelopment #socialimpact #leadership
Chaza El Haj, translations, media and PR professional shares her inspirational journey coping with her mental health and beating breast cancer. Together, we explore how the relationship between physical and mental health is intertwined. Join us and discover more about the importance of leveraging self-care strategies to build pillars of strength during uncertain and daunting moments.
Mim Kleiberg, Co-Owner of THE ROOM Abu Dhabi and THE ROOM Online, uses integrative, non-traditional approaches to help her community boost their physical wellness. Join us to discover more about THE ROOM Abu Dhabi. It's a fascinating concept, with spaces built intentionally for physical wellness, mindfulness, community connection, sound bathing and more.
Visit THE ROOM Abu Dhabi
Jasmine is a certified family coach. She has been living abroad for over fifteen years. Her diverse background and experience has enabled her to relate to all walks of life. Join us as she chats about her work with teens and young adults struggling with self-confidence to find their place in society. Her mission is to create a safe space for teens and young adults to connect, share, and express through kindness, creativity and humour!
LinkedIn: Jasmine Navarro
Instagram: @withnava
Website: https://www.withnava.com
Dr. Deena Elsori joined us for a deep-dive into the dynamic nature of her passion and work at Abu Dhabi University. She is an academician, researcher, mother, educator and community-builder. Dr. Deena played a key role in building the Public Health department at Abu Dhabi University. She also shaped the idea for a Happiness course to equip students with essential tools to boost their emotional health. Ultimately, Dr. Deena boosts her students' academic success by prioritising their well-being. Tune in for the full-conversation!
LinkedIn: Dr. Deena Elsori
Zeina Daccache (MA, RDT, BCT) wears many hats... activist, film-maker, theatre director, drama therapist, university teacher, and more. She founded Catharsis, the Lebanese Centre for Drama Therapy. Her brilliant work in drama therapy has been used to share the stories of marginalised prison populations in Lebanon. And her widely acclaimed plays have played a key role in the revision of some of Lebanon's unjust prison laws. We hope this conversation was as inspirational for you as it was for us. Tune in for her full story!
LinkedIn: Zeina Daccache
Instagram: @zeinadaccachelebanon
Facebook: Catharsis - Lebanese Center for Drama Therapy
The Blue Inmates Trailer
12 Angry Lebanese on Google Play
Hafsa Ahmed co-founded Peer-Minded, a social enterprise focused on peer-education. Peer-Minded is based in the UAE and is affiliated with the Authority of Social Contribution - Ma'an. What is peer education and how can universities leverage peer networks to build a thriving student body? Hafsa walks us through the mission behind this impactful initiative and offers some of her own self-care insights! Tune in for the full conversation.
LinkedIn: Hafsa Ahmed
Website: https://www.peer-minded.com
Instagram: @peerminded
Upcoming Webinar: Stay tuned
“Company culture has a significant role to play as an antidote to mental health struggles, not only in the health of individuals, but within our society as a whole.” Dani Hakim co-founded Safe Space, a CSR initiative focused on mental health support. Safe Space works with businesses and individuals to build healthy emotional work spaces! Safe Space Website: https://www.wearesafespace.com LinkedIn: Dani Hakim
Join us for a heartwarming chat with Reem Al Junaibi from Abu Dhabi's global tech ecosystem, Hub 71. Reem draws on her experience at Hub 71 supporting start-up founders to achieve their dreams. She gives entrepreneurs advice for embarking on fast-growing, long-terminitiatives. Our chat is a great reminder that rest and rejuvenation are essential elements of high-performance. Tune in for the full conversation!
Shainoor Khoja, CEO of Thrive Community and serial entrepreneur, tells us about her passion for leveraging technology to boost social impact initiatives. Shainoor's latest venture, the Thrive Community, is a digital platform specifically designed to boost the social and emotional support of elderly and aging patients. With just a tap, they can share their emotions with their support circle. How cool is that!? Shainoor also shares great practical advice for young change makers seeking guidance. Listen in to the full story!
LinkedIn: Shainoor Khoja
This week, we chatted with Zsuzsanna Berencsi, an inspiring professional with more than 13 years of experience in the finance industry. From adapting financial systems for remote work and adapting communication patterns to processing challenging emotions, Zsuzsanna walked us through the various impacts that the pandemic had on the financial sector. Zsuzsanna is also an avid traveller and has visited more than 140 countries to date. Give this episode a listen, we hope it was as enlightening for you as it was for us!
We wanted to start this New Year off on an empowering note. Our chat with Farah Foustok, CEO of Lazard Asset Management (Gulf Region), about women empowerment was perfect for this. Tune in to find out beginner tips for investing, early career advice and how the pandemic shaped Farah’s transition to remote work. Check out our full episode below - please leave us a like or rating, this boosts our aim of sharing these stories with the Mindtales community.
Farah's LinkedIn: Farah Foustok
REACH: www.reachmentoring.org
Tara: http://poweroftara.net
Tara's Impact of Investing Event: https://taragain.bbgevent.com
In this week's episode, meet some of the faces behind Mindtales: Viktorija Aksionova (Co-Founder of MindTales), Dalia Karpauskaite and Raeesa Omar, as they reflect on their personal journeys through 2020. From overcoming personal challenges with Zoom fatigue and irregular sleep schedules, learn more about building tools to help you cope with mental health challenges. Stay tuned for more episodes with the Mindtales team soon!
This week, we were honoured to chat with Dr Louise Lambert, a positive psychologist, researcher and educator with more than 20 years of experience. Louise shares her inspirational journey designing and implementing evidence-based interventions in educational settings and tells us more about the impact of the pandemic on student/teacher lives. She also shares her insights into the potential for positive psychology to shape the field of education following the pandemic. This was a meaningful conversation that serves as a reminder for us to keep championing equality and student well-being beyond the end of the pandemic.
Louise's Website: happinessmatters.org
Louise's LinkedIn: Dr. Louise Lambert
Mindtales Instagram: @mindtalesofficial
Mindtales TikTok: @mindtalesofficialuae
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02:00 Louise's personal journey
07:20 The evolution of positive psychology
09:30 Louise's interventions for schools and universities
13:20 Culturally inclusive mental health models
16:30 Impacts of the pandemic on students/teachers
24:50 COVID, inequalities within students, and looking ahead
For our first episode, Dr. Nahida Ahmed, consultant psychiatrist and adjunct assistant professor at UAE University, joined us for an insightful discussion about the stigmas around psychiatric disorders. We chatted about how they're perpetuated and how communities can play a key role in preventing the spread of stigmas. Nahida shares her admirable journey toward becoming a health advocate and offered advice to those individuals who are seeking help for the very first time. We hope this episode is as thought-provoking and insightful for you as it was for us!
Nahida's LinkedIn: Nahida Ahmed
Mindtales Instagram: @mindtalesofficial
Mindtales TikTok: @mindtalesofficialuae