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.

Refaat Mahfouz – The Second International Conference On Mental Health and Media

Dr. Refaat Mahfouz is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, and a senior figure in the field of group psychotherapy. He is the Honorary President of the Egyptian Association for Group Therapies and Processes (EAGT) and a Certified Group Psychotherapist with the American Group Psychotherapy Association. With over four decades of experience in clinical practice, training, and research, Dr. Mahfouz has played a significant role in advancing group therapy education and professional development in Egypt and the region.