Growth wit hout its growing pains—although a fallacy—appears an effortless possibility when represented by tenacious forces who have pioneered and moulded the landscape of female empowerment and leadership in modern industries, such as the healthcare sector.
One such character in the pantheon of pioneers is Dr. Uzma Raheem. The daughter to pioneering histopathologist, Dr. Mohammed Abdulraheem—credited for the founding of the first medical laboratory in the Kingdom—Dr. Uzma Raheem set out to create her own legacy in the fields of psychology and special needs during their infancy in the region in the 90s.
Although her journey began as most fresh graduates’: at an entry-level job, working under rigid industry standards of the time, it soon became evident to Dr. Raheem that the axion on which the special needs sector functioned was deficient in its stringent inability to adapt and collaborate with differing perspectives.
As a staunch proponent of holistic therapy, the more singular approach to treatment her workplace employed served as the launching-pad for her to finally stand up and strike out on her own, only 9 months after joining the workforce, in 1998.
Finding HOPE and Success
The genesis of HOPE for Exceptional Needs occurred in 1999, in two rooms, when Dr. Raheem decided to treat private clients as a matter of supplementing her income. Soon thereafter, demand for her services increased—as they were inevitably wont to do in a landscape of untapped potential dependant on word of mouth advertising.
This unforeseen growth led to the venture’s expansion from a home-based operation to the apartment next door in 2000, where Dr. Raheem’s initial capacity of 6 clients grew to 9. 2004 saw another growth spurt as HOPE moved to its first independent building with a capacity of 50, and in 2007, they moved into two buildings with a capacity of 238.
Through all its years, HOPE, and by extension, Dr. Uzma Raheem, innovated through the creation of Saudi Arabia’s first multilingual and multicultural centre for special needs, employing novel and holistic therapy programs hitherto unseen in the Kingdom, such as occupational, play, hydro, and hippotherapy; and the use of SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, plan) notes to ensure quality control and the furthering of research. HOPE has also been the first to provide free counselling for parents, and free screenings for disabilities and disorders across four major cities of the country: Riyadh, its home-base, Jeddah, Al-Khobsr, and Madinah.
Over its 25 years of existence, HOPE’s excellence, and its founder’s prowess and leading expertise have been recognized by multiple significant bodies, totaling at 41 nominations, and 15 wins, including—but not limited to—the UNDP and the EU’s Challiot Award for Human Rights.
Almaseerah and the Woman at its Helm
From psychologist, to founding director of HOPE, to PhD in clinical psychopathology, to CEO at Almaseerah center, Dr. Uzma Raheem has maintained a standard of operation that distinguishes all her ventures with her proverbial Midas’ touch.
As with HOPE, under Dr. Raheem, Almaseerah centre has grown into a business that upholds values of ‘healing from the root’.
“Unlike other centers, where the focus is placed on symptoms, we seek the root, to heal from the root. We assess brain functionality and the nervous system and tailor therapies accordingly,”- explains Dr. Raheem. “Every two months, we host free training, awareness, and counselling for parents, and mothers and parents (as couples) separately. This program is called Learning to Repair the Wound.”
Almaseerah functions with the level of excellence it is renowned for due to its proactive and diligent staff, all of whom are trained under Dr. Raheem’s tutelage, and who are thereafter entrusted with the integral task of SOAP note-taking for the sake of research and quality control.
Its greatest distinction is as a consolidated entity that provides ‘comprehensive solutions in behavioral science’ in an industry that is largely focused on pediatrics, autism, or Down syndrome, and does not address co-morbidities or other disabilities and disorders.
In the ever-evolving world of technology, the way Almaseerah stays ahead of the curb is through the use of AAC (Augmented and Alternative Communication) with children who struggle, especially with verbal communication, and Dr. Raheem hopes for greater technological implementations to fuse with her nature and learning-based approach as the venture expands.
Picture of the Future
On the subject of expansion, the inevitable conclusion for a new venture such as Almaseerah is the double-sided coin of physical and service expansion.
Dr. Raheem recognizes the gap of consolidated services that still remains in the Kingdom’s healthcare industry, and as is evident by her career and efforts thus far, the goal post only keeps moving forward.
With an aim to expand not just its facilities, through Almaseerah, Dr. Uzma Raheem hopes to initiate Saudi Arabia’s first center that will accommodate both special needs, and general mental health, thus offering therapies and services across the board.
About the Author:
Marwa Hussain is a fiction writer and freelance book coach/editor specializing in character work. She is currently working on her debut novel: a YA Urban Fantasy and fairytale retelling that blends everyone’s childhood favorite stories, but with a dark twist. You can learn more about her writing and services via @inkpotandpages on Instagram.