What started as an idea to help people, evolved into becoming a healing space for those struggling with social isolation and past trauma. Tuhoon App is a
mental health application started by
Naif Al-Mutawa, who is a licensed psychologist as well as a professor of clinical psychology at the College of Medicine at Kuwait University. The app was launched as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and includes meditations, podcasts, masterclasses on topics like productivity, stress and mental wellness, and more. The app’s unique offering
is that it is research-based and is
backed by Al-Mutawa’s knowledge in clinical psychology.
خلال الفترة الأولى من الحظر والإغلاق، أجرى المطوع بحثًا شمل 14,171 شخصًا في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي، نصفهم من الكويت. أظهر البحث -الذي تناول تحديات الصحة النفسية أثناء فترات الحظر والإغلاق- أن %80 من الأشخاص الذين شاركوا في مقابلات الاستبيان كانوا يعانون الاكتئاب. قال المطوع: “هذا عدد كبير جدا… لكن لنضع في اعتبارنا أن ستة أشهر كانت قد مرت وقتها منذ بدأ الحظر، ولم يكن يبـدو يـبدو في الأفـق نهاية واضحـة. لقد عانى ثلثاهم القلق وثلثان آخران الأرق ومشكلات النوم”. قرر الباحثون في البدء معالجة التـوتر والأرق، ثـم الـتعـامل مـع الاكـتئـاب في وقت لاحق.
These findings were the basis of which most of the content was created on the Tuhoon App, including a podcast that Al-Mutawa hosts with support from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences called the Tuhoon Podcast.
Similar to other pandemics like the 1997 Avian Flu, Al-Mutawa noticed a repeated pattern of triggers caused by social isolation. He said that people he hadn’t seen at his clinic for many years had come back during the pandemic because the lockdown had triggered many past traumas. These vital issues were also discussed in season one of the Tuhoon podcast, which airs every two weeks on Monday on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Shopify and the Tuhoon App itself.
The podcast has featured many guest hosts like Sheikha Majda Al Sabah, founder of ASAP Initiative - a nonprofit organization for mental health awareness - Sheikha Intisaar Al Sabah - a social entrepreneur – who discussed topics like the meaning of happiness and coping with depression. While Al-Mutawa discussed personal issues about life-altering situations like divorce and death with his guest hosts, he
also ensured that the episodes also discussed mental health during
the lockdown.
قال المطوع: “لقد بدأنا للتو، وعلى الرغم من ذلك يستقطب البودكاست بضع مئات من الأشخاص يوميًا”.
The Tuhoon Podcast has been approved for season two and is gaining more listeners by the day.
Pearl Coutinho