Former Syrian refugee wins prestigious award for providing mental health support to refugees and local community

The idea for “Peace Healer” came to her while she was taking two courses in her second year of study, one on Android app development and the other on entrepreneurship. “At that time, I started working on the subject, and it was like hope for me,” she says “Despite the difficulties and experiences I was going through, I was confident that someone else somewhere else was experiencing it.

Jane prepared a detailed business plan and began working with software developers and psychologists to build the platform. The company launched two years later and now has a roster of 100 psychologists offering online therapy sessions in Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish and English. Although some have access to individual or group sessions, vulnerable groups such as refugees can access them for free.

Reducing social stigma

According to Suhail Ahmed, a Syrian psychologist who has been working with the “Peace Therapist” since last year, online therapy would remove some of the obstacles that prevent some people from seek help with their mental health.

“This platform ensures privacy and this reduces stigma,” he says “By doing it online, they can talk because there is no judgment and they can even talk about topics sensitive.”

Among the common issues among his Syrian visitors are trauma related to the crisis and earthquake, as well as anxiety and depression related to their situation in Türkiye.

When a friend told Mahmoud Al-Sheikh, a 63-year-old tailor from Raqqa, about the Peace Wizard platform, he was skeptical, but he filled out the online form and was quickly connected with Suhail. “When Mr. Suhail asked me about my problem, I told him that I felt like I had been alone for 100 years,” Mahmoud recalls.