AI in Mental Health — Where Technology Meets Care
A landmark panel, a signed MoU, and research that speaks for itself.
The University of Birmingham Dubai hosted a timely and wide-ranging panel discussion on artificial intelligence and mental health, bringing together some of the region’s most prominent voices at the intersection of technology and care. The event was hosted by Dr. Afsana Faheem, Programme Director of the M.Sc Psychology programme at the University of Birmingham Dubai.
The panel featured Yacin Hadijat, Head of Innovation at Dubai Health; Bilal Awan, Founder and CEO of PsycReality; Amin Kuhail, Associate Professor at Zayed University; Muhammad Alhaj Ali, CEO of Psybytes; and Dr. Adenike Dairo, CEO of Mentra. Together, they explored how AI is reshaping mental health care — from clinical tools and diagnostics to accessibility and the ethics of automation in therapeutic settings.
The conversation reflected a growing consensus: AI is not replacing the human dimension of mental health care, but it is fundamentally changing what is possible — in reach, in personalisation, and in outcomes.
MoU Signed — PsycReality & University of Birmingham Dubai
At the event, PsycReality and the University of Birmingham Dubai formalized a research collaboration, opening a pathway for joint research projects and providing University of Birmingham researchers with direct access to PsycReality’s immersive technology platform.
The event also featured a compelling presentation by Hagar Awad, an M.Sc Clinical Psychology student, who shared the findings of her dissertation — a comparative study between PsycReality’s real 360° immersive content and conventional graphics-based VR for the treatment of anxiety and phobias.
80%+ Preferred PsycReality’s real 360° immersive content
Participants consistently cited greater realism and deeper immersion as deciding factors — lending strong empirical support to PsycReality’s content-first approach to VR therapy.
The findings add meaningful weight to the case for real-world immersive content in clinical settings — and underscore why academic partnership remains central to PsycReality’s mission.