Why focus on the “here and now”?

The here and now is the foundation of Yehia Rakhaw School. It is where emotions emerge, relationships unfold, conflicts surface, creativity appears, and meaning is co-created. It is both a clinical stance and a human position, one that connects inner experience with social and cultural realities.

What do you mean by “legacy”?

Legacy is not something frozen in the past. It is what we carry forward: schools of thought, mentors’ voices, cultural memory, collective trauma, and shared hope. This conference explores how legacies can be honored without becoming rigid, and how they can stay alive through dialogue, creativity, and responsibility.

How does media fit into a conference on mental health, group therapy and group work?

Media shapes how stories are told, silenced, distorted, or amplified.Cinema, storytelling, and digital media influence identity, belonging and collective imagination, and trauma. The conference creates a space to work on the area where media intersects with mental health, group processes, and social responsibility.

Is this a clinical conference, an academic one, or a cultural event?

It is intentionally all three, and also something in between.Alongside theoretical reflections and clinical practice, the conference welcomes experiential learning, artistic expression, and cultural dialogue. Knowledge here is not only presented; it is lived and shared.

Mona Rakhawy – The Second International Conference On Mental Health and Media

Mona Rakhawy is a professor of psychiatry, former Head of Psychiatry at Cairo University and elected Vice President of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy (IAGP). Building on the legacy of Yehia Rakhawy, she pioneers creative, culturally grounded approaches to therapy and personal growth. She is a certified international trainer in group psychotherapy, she has played a leading role in advancing psychotherapy training, supervision, and community mental health in Egypt and abroad.

Mona is the founder of the Rakhawy Institute for Training and Research, the Egyptian Association for Group Therapies and Group Processes (EAGT), and the Arab Association for Group Therapy and Group Work. From her Egyptian, Arab, and international positions, she bridges Eastern and Western traditions while mentoring future generations, supporting a global vision of integrative, humanistic approaches to therapy, growth, and resilience. She has several publications and has led groups and presented keynote speeches in more than 22 countries of the world.