About our founder

Dr. Safina Naaz

Career Psychologist · Counsellor & Mindset Coach · Founder of Calmyra

Ph.D · Psychology · M.A. Psychology · MBA · Operations Research · Registered Professional (India) · 8+ Years Practice

Dr. Safina Naaz is a psychologist, counsellor, mindset coach, and the founder of Calmyra. With a Doctorate in Psychology, a Master of Arts in Psychology, and an MBA in Operations Research and Entrepreneurship, she occupies a rare intersection — equally fluent in the science of the mind and the demands of building something that lasts.

Over eight years of clinical practice and personal exposure to more than 26 countries through her family's entrepreneurial work have given Dr. Safina a perspective on mental health that is genuinely international in scope and deeply personal in its application. She understands the particular weight carried by high-achievers, expatriates, and entrepreneurs — and has built Calmyra to serve exactly those people, with exactly the depth of care they deserve.

Early Life

Dr. Safina's fascination with human behaviour developed early — shaped by an entrepreneurial family environment and formative exposure to over 26 countries through her father's business work. Travelling internationally while her peers were still navigating their home cities gave her an acute sensitivity to how culture, context, and circumstance shape a person's inner world — a sensitivity that now sits at the heart of her clinical practice.

Education

Her academic path was deliberate and demanding. After completing her MA in Psychology, Dr. Safina pursued a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology — specialising in child and adult counselling — while simultaneously developing expertise in operations and strategy through her MBA. The integration of these disciplines reflects a core belief: that sustainable, high-quality mental health care requires both clinical excellence and the organisational thinking to deliver it at scale.

Founding Calmyra

Dr. Safina founded Calmyra to address a gap she had observed throughout her training and early practice — the absence of a mental wellness space that treated clients as whole, complex, high-functioning people rather than a diagnosis to be managed. What began in Bangalore has grown into a Dubai-headquartered practice serving clients across the globe.

Her Practice Today

Dr. Safina specialises in anxiety and mood disorders, life transitions, trauma-informed care, and the psychology of high achievement. She draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), solution-focused approaches, and psychoeducation — adapting her methodology to each client rather than fitting clients to a method.

“The most important thing I can do for a client is make sure they leave every session with something real — a new understanding, a clearer perspective, a tool they can actually use. Progress should be visible. That is what I hold myself to.”

Dr. Safina Naaz