Sharifa Al-Emadi

Dr Sharifa Noaman Al-Emadi is Executive Director of the Doha International Family Institute, a Qatar Foundation member organisation responsible for family policy and evidence-based awareness; a licensed psychotherapist specialising in addiction, behavioural disorders and family therapy; a member of the United Nations informal committee of addiction-treatment specialists; and a researcher in family policy.

She was born in November 1969 in New Doha, the fourth of nine daughters and two sons. The family home stood near Souq Waqif, where her father and uncles owned shops, and the neighbourhood was animated by close relationships. Girls gathered in the evenings, particularly during winter, to share her mother’s baking, including the regag bread she enjoyed making herself. Friendships with neighbours of different nationalities gave her an early ease with people whose backgrounds and outlooks differed from her own.

Although balanced in temperament, she was shy and reserved and sometimes struggled to express feelings until they emerged in raised emotion. Her father understood that character, believed in her ability and called her ‘Dr Sharifa’ long before she earned the title. Dialogue, discussion and freedom of expression shaped the siblings’ independent personalities, while regular family gatherings remained important despite his commercial work and frequent travel.

Those gatherings convinced her that purposeful time together could resolve problems and strengthen families. Her mother had not received an education, yet insisted that her children pursue advanced university degrees and taught her daughters generosity, social conduct and the distinction between expressing a strong opinion and respecting a spouse. A precise and firm uncle added lessons about language, behaviour and attention to detail that later proved valuable in personal and professional life.

Her father took the children to Arab countries to learn their history, customs and cultures and made libraries and museums central to every journey. He wrote words to accompany the instrumental Amiri salute—‘O Doha of glory and pride, my homeland Qatar, may you live under Al Thani forever’—and recorded his daughters singing them. These experiences fostered Arab belonging, patriotism and an interest in history. His habit of directing her towards psychology books quietly strengthened a field of interest she had held since childhood.

She belonged to a generation for which education was central to national renewal and to changing women’s place in society. Her achievements made her mother a witness to several graduation ceremonies. When her mother could not attend the doctoral graduation in Britain, she sought another occasion to share that pride: in 2009, she entered the Scientific Excellence Award, won its platinum distinction and received it from Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, then Crown Prince.

In her second secondary year, she studied Arabic and English typing and secretarial skills. She did not intend to become a secretary, but the training taught her time and file management. Psychology was her preferred university subject, yet it was unavailable in Qatar and her family would not permit study abroad. Social work was her second choice, but the intake was full. She therefore entered Qatar University with sociology as her major and social work as her minor. Extensive research, work beyond the required hospital placements and an analytical resistance to rote learning helped her achieve high marks over four years and confirmed the ambition—first voiced by her father—to complete master’s and doctoral study.

While continuing to teach, she earned a postgraduate diploma in psychological counselling at Qatar University and practised at Al-Rashed Center under Dr Salah Al-Rashed, whose support helped establish her public reputation as a therapist. After several attempts, she received a scholarship in 2001 and travelled alone to Britain during the difficult period following the 11 September attacks. Encouragement from her father sustained her through the move. She completed a one-year master’s degree in family counselling with a specialism in marital relationships and took additional classes in addiction treatment.

The experience showed her that an enforced change of academic direction had ultimately served her well: sociology allowed her to complete the British master’s degree in one year, whereas the equivalent route from social work would have required two.

On returning to Doha, she combined work at the Ministry of Education with family counselling. She helped couples improve their relationships, supported families in withdrawing from divorce and assisted people experiencing psychological crises. As Head of Research and Studies at the Family Counseling Center, she spent mornings developing and planning marital and family services and evenings meeting clients, finding particular satisfaction in resolving difficulties between children and parents.

She represented Qatar at international conferences and used evidence to explain the relevance of Islamic principles to psychological counselling. The approach attracted specialists in Western countries and brought invitations to their conferences. She also joined a committee of Qatar University specialists that co-authored the Family Culture Curriculum, a book she valued because it allowed her to work with leading figures in the field and learn directly from their experience.

Marriage followed the master’s degree and altered the timing of her doctorate. Her husband, Abdul Rahman Al-Suwaidi, a chemical engineer and author, honoured their agreement that she would continue her education and encouraged the doctorate. His work commitments meant long periods apart during her study, while a nephew accompanied her abroad and eased the strain of separation. She nevertheless regarded these difficulties as modest beside those endured by many others.

Support came from family, national legislation, university academics, officials and trainers who recognised her diligence. Maryam Al-Khal, her Arabic teacher, taught her that honesty produces lasting good even when it brings immediate difficulty. Britain’s cultural attaché helped her through practical problems, while Hessa Al-Othman stood beside her during her mother’s illness.

In family counselling, she benefited from Dr Hanaa Al Thani, Rashed Al-Dosari, Rashid Al-Nuaimi and Amal Al-Mannai, whose energy and diligence made her an example. Munira Al-Misnad and Samira Al-Mana, then members of the board, also supported her. Working with these colleagues and with leaders at Qatar Foundation gave her a strong professional network.

Her contributions included participation in ‘Tanshia’a’, which developed into a national programme.

She became a member of the United Nations informal committee of addiction-treatment specialists and the first researcher to connect cognitive behavioural therapy with Islam through a doctoral thesis recognised by the Scientific Excellence Project. A British researcher later followed her approach in studying cognitive behavioural therapy in relation to other religions. In international forums, she represented Qatari women as a specialist while maintaining her religious and cultural identity and defending family cohesion and healthy relationships.

She also contributed to policy change in social, family and behavioural matters and to the practical balance between work and family. Her career unfolded during major national change and expanding opportunities for women, but moving deliberately among different workplaces remained a test. In Britain after 11 September 2001, she encountered stereotyped and racist assumptions and responded through knowledge, logic and consistent conduct; Qatari women who later studied at the same university continued that example.

Psychological counselling required disciplined acceptance of clients from different backgrounds, while addiction treatment remained a field in which women were unusual. Professional competence earned support rather than dismissal, including from the former Prime Minister, Attorney General Ali Fetais Al-Marri and other decision-makers and public figures.