- June 2026
ACT for Couples
Intensive Acceptance and Commitment Therapy training for work with couples. Online.
Led by: Heba Sobhy
- May 2026
DBT Skills for Professionals
Live online cohort that started on 8 May.
Led by: Dr. Hossam Hassan Kaseb and the training team
- April 2026
ACT for Chronic Pain
A workshop on ACT for chronic pain (17 April). Online.
Led by: Heba Sobhy
- 2019 · 2021 · 2023
Individual DBT training: 3 completed cohorts
An intensive program in case formulation, individual-session techniques, chain analysis and crisis intervention, following the Linehan protocol.
Led by: Dr. Mohamed Shafik, Dr. Eman Fahmy, Dr. Abram Fawzy
- 2021 – 2023
DBT skills group training
Training clinicians to lead the four skills modules: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
Led by: Massar behavioral therapy consultants
- 2020 – 2023
Clinical CBT workshops
Case formulation in Beck's model, cognitive restructuring, and exposure and response prevention for OCD, with clinical simulation.
Led by: Massar psychiatry consultants
- Since 2020
Multi-level ACT training program
One of the first specialized trainings in Egypt on the psychological flexibility model (Hexaflex) and cognitive defusion, at foundation and advanced levels.
Led by: Massar psychiatry and behavioral therapy team
- Training partnership
Joint courses for residents and specialists
With the Egyptian Middle Eastern Foundation for Training and Medical Services: diagnostic interviews, critical case management and supervised case discussion.
Led by: Massar Clinic
Historical record: December 2019 – September 2023
In this period the training programs ran through the Egyptian Middle Eastern Institute for Training and Medical Services (EMI) in collaboration with Massar. Dates are as announced at the time.
2023
- August 2023
DBT skills group training: starting 31 August
Announcement of an online training starting on 31 August with Dr. Mohamed Shafik, Dr. Eman Fahmy and Dr. Abram Fawzy.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik, Dr. Eman Fahmy, Dr. Abram Fawzy
- May 2023
Third individual DBT training
The training returned after a pause, with theory and practice: DBT in individual sessions, phone coaching and consultation meetings, with role-play and case studies. Booking was announced full on 22 May, and feedback from earlier trainees was shared on 9 May.
By: The training team
- March 2023
Booking opens: DBT skills training for professionals
Limited places in the institute's well-known DBT skills training for professionals.
By: The training team
- January 2023
“Inside Out”: mindfulness-based art therapy program
For the second time: 4 art workshops over 4 consecutive weeks using watercolor, pastel, acrylic, collage and clay, with no drawing experience needed. Led by Marlene Fam (art therapy and counseling practitioner) at Massar psychiatry clinics.
By: Marlene Fam
2022
- October 2022
Cooperation agreement with the Orthodox Church’s Mental Health Committee
An agreement between Massar and its training body (EMI) and the Mental Health Committee to train church service staff in current psychotherapy techniques. It was announced as Massar completed five years since its founding, with more than 600 trainees among doctors, specialists and counselors.
By: The training team
- September 2022
Lecture: Rules of ethical practice in psychotherapy
Friday 30 September, 9 pm, online, with Prof. Samir Abu El-Magd and Dr. Mohamed Shafik.
By: Prof. Samir Abu El-Magd, Dr. Mohamed Shafik
- September 2022
ACT for trauma
A training announced in September 2022 with Dr. Mohamed Shafik (consultant psychiatrist) and Heba Sobhy (assistant lecturer of clinical psychology and senior psychotherapist).
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik, Heba Sobhy
- July 2022
Booking announcement: DBT skills training for professionals
The booking announcement for the eleventh DBT skills group was posted again (the text is as originally published: August – September 2021).
By: The training team
- May 2022
DBT skills training for professionals: new group
Announcement of a new online group starting on 29 May to train professionals in DBT skills.
By: The training team
2021
- October 2021
Booking: third individual-sessions DBT training
Booking opened for professionals for the third individual-sessions DBT training (the Egyptian experience).
By: The training team
- September 2021
Open webinar: Introduction to Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
Presented by Prof. Hana Soliman, consultant psychiatrist (UK), online with prior registration.
By: Prof. Hana Soliman
- August – September 2021
DBT skills group training: the eleventh group
Booking opened (July 2021) for the eleventh group of DBT skills training for professionals, online.
By: The training team
- June 2021
Tenth DBT skills group training completed
Thirty professionals from Egypt, Syria and Sudan took 8 training days of 6 interactive hours each, for 29 training hours accredited by the Egyptian Association for Continuous Medical Education Development (EACMED).
By: The training team
- May 2021
Webinar: The third wave of PTSD treatment: what is new?
Saturday 8 May 2021 (postponed from April to avoid Easter), free for professionals. With Heba Sobhy and Dr. Mohamed Shafik.
By: Heba Sobhy, Dr. Mohamed Shafik
- February – November 2021
Individual DBT 2021: recognizing the standout teams
Winning teams were announced by training task: “Sapphire” took first place and most creative, “Opal” most interactive and dialectical, “Garnet” best at problem solving, “Amethyst” most cohesive and best at validation, and “Emerald” most creative and persistent.
By: The training team
- February 2021
Second cohort graduates from the intensive individual DBT training
A preparatory phase with the teams and groups began on 16 December 2020; the training and the trainers' sessions began on 28 January 2021 and ran for 6 weeks: 59 therapists in six independent teams, with tasks between sessions that included a fiction-writing contest judged by writer and journalist Yehia Wagdy, and prizes for outstanding teams and individuals. Online.
By: The training team
- February 2021
Lecture: Ethical foundations of psychiatric practice
Part of the foundational lecture series for mental-health professionals, online on Zoom.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik
- January – February 2021
Registration opens for the 2021 DBT skills training groups
Early registration and interviews for the new cohort of “DBT skills group training: the Egyptian experience”. Attending it is a prerequisite for the rest of the DBT program.
By: The training team
2020
- November 2020
Lecture: Ethical foundations of psychiatry (practical part)
Friday 20 November, 1 to 4 pm, online on Zoom, with Inside Talk.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik
- October – December 2020
The second individual DBT training (online)
Announced on 30 October for professionals who completed the skills-group training; an advanced follow-on to the first. A preparatory phase with the teams and groups began on 16 December; the training itself began on 28 January 2021 and ran through February 2021.
By: The training team
- October 2020
Second online DBT skills training group
Started on Tuesday 20 October 2020 and ran for 4 weeks (Fridays and Tuesdays): a full 6-hour training day each week and 7 training days in total.
By: The training team
- October 2020
Lecture: Ethical foundations of psychiatric practice: challenges and dilemmas
Friday 16 October, 2 to 5 pm, online on Zoom, for mental-health professionals and support providers, including aspects of moral philosophy.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik
- September – October 2020
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): third training
Online over a month, covering control and Relational Frame Theory, ending with a group photo of trainees on 6 October.
By: Heba Sobhy
- September – October 2020
Couple therapy course: basic level
From 10 September to 16 October 2020: 72 hours over 12 days (Thursdays and Fridays), covering 12 topics, with neurology and psychiatry consultant Dr. Manal El-Daghar. Online, preceded by short videos on the challenges of couple therapy.
By: Dr. Manal El-Daghar
- August 2020
First online DBT skills training group
Started Tuesday 4 August 2020 (4 weeks, Fridays and Tuesdays, 7 training days, 6 hours a week). It was the first time the Massar team delivered this experience online, after seven in-person groups had graduated. It closed with a group photo on 25 August, followed by a live ACT certificate ceremony on 27 August. The training was accredited by the Egyptian Association for Continuous Medical Education Development (EACMED) for 25 accredited hours, open only to mental health professionals, and attending it was a prerequisite for the intensive individual DBT course scheduled for January 2021.
By: The training team
- July 2020
First online ACT training
Training days in July 2020 with Heba Sobhy, on control and psychological flexibility.
By: Heba Sobhy
- June 2020
Lecture: Dialectical philosophy
Saturday 13 June, 8 pm Cairo time on Zoom, open attendance.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik
- May 2020
Back online, with a free lecture
On 30 May the institute announced it would resume its scientific activities online because of the health situation. It was preceded by a free lecture on Friday 29 May at 8 pm, “On the speaking being: linguistics and psychoanalysis”, with Dr. Peter Samir.
By: Dr. Peter Samir
- April 2020
Congratulations to the first group of DBT therapists
To the trainees who completed the individual and group DBT training and attended consultation meetings for 6 months.
By: The training team
- March 2020
March workshops postponed because of COVID-19, and a lecture on depression
On 21 March two workshops were postponed to a date to be announced: “Eve and the gentle forbidden” (Dr. Alshaimaa Ismail) and “How to start and run your clinic or private practice” (Dr. Amina Mohamed Lotfy). Dr. Mohamed Shafik also gave a live, interactive lecture on depression with the Wjdan platform.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik, Dr. Alshaimaa Ismail, Dr. Amina Lotfy
- February 2020
Eighth DBT skills group and the 2020 course plan
The eighth group was announced to start 3 April 2020 for 7 weeks (one 6-hour day a week) to 22 May. The year's plan was also announced: two sexual-education workshops, clinic management, motivational interviewing, and basic-level couple therapy.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik, Dr. Eman Fahmy, Dr. Abram Fawzy
- February 2020
First ACT training cohort graduates
The first ACT course (a third-wave therapy) for doctors, therapists and counselors (January – February 2020).
By: Heba Sobhy
- January 2020
Mindfulness workshop at the Egyptian Group Therapy Society conference
Saturday 18 January 2020, 4 pm, Triumph Hotel, Fifth Settlement, New Cairo.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik and Dr. Eman Fahmy
2019
- December 2019
First cohort of DBT therapists graduates
On 7 December 2019, 30 trainees completed 6 days covering individual sessions, phone coaching, skills groups and consultation groups (part two of the DBT trainings), and continued for 6 months under the team's supervision. The first 2020 course was then announced: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
By: Dr. Mohamed Shafik, Dr. Eman Fahmy, Dr. Abram Fawzy
Reserve your seat for the 15 January 2027 cohort
Register your interest now for Individual DBT training, and we will contact you to confirm booking.