A Conversation with Dr. Raha Didevar, Psychologist and Life Coach in Monaco.
Monaco is renowned for its security, exceptional schools, international community and enviable quality of life. Yet behind the Principality’s polished exterior, many individuals and families quietly face the same emotional challenges found everywhere else: marital conflict, loneliness, anxiety, childhood pressure, addiction, bullying and the difficulties of raising children in an increasingly digital and privileged environment.
The difference is that, in a close-knit community where personal and professional circles frequently overlap, admitting that something is wrong can feel particularly difficult.
Dr. Raha Didevar understands this tension. A depth clinical psychologist and life coach whose unconventional career has taken her from television newsrooms and basketball courts to Los Angeles classrooms, African villages and private therapy rooms around the world, she has built her practice around a simple conviction: therapy should not merely provide a place to talk. It should assist people move towards practical solutions.
Warm, direct and unapologetically results-oriented, Dr. Didevar works with individuals, couples, families, children and adolescents. Her approach combines psychoanalytical understanding with life coaching, role play and practical guidance, adapting the method to the needs and age of each client.
Having recently established her practice in Monaco, she is also confronting a contradiction at the heart of life in the Principality: a place that offers almost every external measure of success, but where emotional struggles can remain carefully concealed behind appearances.
We met Dr. Didevar to discuss her remarkable personal journey, the stigma surrounding therapy, the hidden pressures facing Monaco’s families and why she believes psychological strength is ultimately more valuable than wealth, status or material success.
From the Newsroom to Psychology
From working as an NBC news reporter and NBA sportscaster to founding a humanitarian organisation in Kenya and teaching gang-involved teenagers in Los Angeles, what ultimately pulled you towards psychology?
“My mother never pushed me towards a specific career in the way many parents do, especially within Middle Eastern families, where there can be a strong expectation to become a doctor or a lawyer. She simply told me that I would find my own path, and I did–through several very different careers.
I started as a news reporter. One night, I was the only reporter at the scene of a murder. A nineteen-year-old boy had been beaten to death. When his father arrived, screaming for his son, I was expected to walk up to him and ask for an interview.
I couldn’t do it. I wrote the story without the interview, and the following morning my director told me I wasn’t cut out for reporting. He was right. I had too much compassion for people.”
Dr. Didevar was transferred to sports, and she became an NBA sportscaster. She grew to love it, but she still felt an emptiness inside, as though she needed to do something more meaningful.
“I moved to Los Angeles and worked in online advertising for a while. Then I remembered that, as a child, I used to line up my dolls and pretend to be their teacher. I then went to school and received my teaching credentials, I trained as a teacher, and at the same time, completed a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in psychology.
I deliberately chose to teach high school in a lower socio-economic area because I felt teens needed the greatest support. I spent my lunch breaks listening to their problems instead of eating. During staff meetings, when other teachers complained about difficult students, I would remind them of the baggage those children were carrying–abuse at home, addiction within the family, poverty or gang environments.
I gave up my own time to offer additional tutoring and support. More than twenty years later, former students still contact me to say thank you.
I eventually realised that I was essentially providing therapy during my lunch breaks. That led me towards a second master’s degree, this time in clinical psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy.
Between teaching English literature throughout the day, grading papers, attending night classes to complete my second masters degree, and seeing patients, I became exhausted. After three years, I unfortunately had to leave teaching to dedicate myself fully to psychology, eventually completing a doctorate degree, in depth clinical psychology, inspired by Carl Jung.”
From Listening to Finding Solutions
Dr. Didevar’s desire to help people was not simply professional. During her doctoral work, she was forced to examine how her own childhood experiences which had shaped the role she repeatedly assumed in the lives of others.
“During my dissertation, my supervisor once sent me out of her office and told me to think about why I was always playing the ‘saviour’ role. My nickname was Mother Teresa.
I went home lost in thought. But that night, something became clear to me: it wasn’t only that I loved helping and saving people. Part of my soul was also yearning to be saved.
My father died of cancer in London when I was six years old. Following his death, my mother was required to return to Iran due to UK visa restrictions and subsequently became trapped there during the war.
I was under 18 years of age; therefore, under UK law, I was able to stay there. My mother decided not to risk anything happening to me during the war in Iran and instead sacrificed her attachment to me by doing what was best for me and my future, leaving me in the UK with a guardian and, at the age of 8, sending me to boarding school.
I think that early experience of loss is part of the reason I have always assumed the role of the saviour. I understand it now, although I still love helping people every day.”
Her personal history has given her an unusual sensitivity towards grief, displacement and emotional independence. It has also informed her interest in international families whose children may move repeatedly between countries, languages, schools and cultures.
You have said that psychologists are traditionally discouraged from giving direct advice, as this is generally considered ethically inappropriate and, in some jurisdictions, may also be restricted by professional regulations. You have also mentioned that this used to frustrate you. What changed when you began combining psychoanalysis with life coaching?
“Traditionally, psychologists are not supposed to give direct advice because of professional and legal boundaries. Instead, they sit with a client and ask, ‘What do you think you should do?’
But if the individual already knew the answer, they probably wouldn’t be sitting there. To me, that can become a poor use of the client’s time and money. I am a problem-solver. I like results.
That is why I chose to combine psychoanalytical work with life coaching. It allows me to offer practical solutions and explore different options tailored to each individual. We work together as a team to identify the best path forward and determine the approaches most likely to help them achieve the outcome they are seeking.
It is similar to hiring a lawyer. You do not want your lawyer to ask what you think you should do. You seek the benefit of their experience, expertise and guidance.
When people are left entirely on their own to find the answers, some repeat the same patterns and mistakes over and over again. In the most serious cases, the consequences can be tragic.
I am grateful to work with couples, individuals and children, helping them find genuine, lasting solutions. The process is always collaborative, but I do not believe a therapist should be afraid to provide direction when it is appropriate and in the client’s best interests. Ultimately, it is all about teamwork.”
Her style is therefore neither detached nor passive. Although clients remain responsible for their own decisions, Dr. Didevar believes therapy should provide structure, clarity and momentum.
For her, the objective is not to create dependency on the therapist, but to equip clients with the self-awareness, confidence, and practical tools required to move forward.
Monaco's Culture of Appearances
You have suggested that many families in Monaco are struggling, yet admitting it remains taboo. Why do you think the stigma is particularly strong here?
“Monaco is a village, as I was always told. Almost everyone knows everyone. Image matters enormously here. We smile, we dress well and we protect our reputations, but behind many of those smiles is real pain.
I am not a psychic, but I can often see it in someone’s eyes within moments. When I first moved here, I attended a lunch with friends and read each person around the table one by one. They were shocked by how accurate I was. That experience actually helped convince me to formalise my practice and work legally in Monaco.
It takes genuine courage for people here to come forward and admit that there is a problem–with a spouse, a child, an addiction or something else–because everyone appears to know someone who knows someone.”
Monaco is often cited internationally for its quality of life, safety, and strong social institutions. Yet, like all societies, it is not immune to complex and sensitive issues. One of them is gender-based violence, a subject that requires clarity, responsibility, and informed public discussion.
The data shows that women represent over 90% of victims of gender-based violence and sexual violence in Monaco. Victims range in age from 6 to 80 years old, underlining that violence can affect all generations and social backgrounds.
In such an environment, confidentiality becomes especially important.
“Confidentiality is sacred to me. I currently see two people from the same social circle, and neither knows that the other is also in therapy with me.
When we encounter each other socially, we simply behave as acquaintances from Monaco. That discretion is essential to building trust.”
One of the most striking findings is that the vast majority of incidents occur in private settings. This reinforces a key challenge in addressing gender-based violence: it often remains hidden, isolated, and difficult to detect.
Equally concerning, children were present in approximately two-thirds of cases reported to victim-support associations, highlighting the broader impact of domestic violence on family environments and child well-being.
Dr. Didevar says some of the most serious problems remain largely hidden, including domestic violence.
“Domestic violence is far more present here than many people assume, including violence against men. Yet it remains something couples rarely admit outside the privacy of the consultation room.”
The Stigma Surrounding Psychology
Life coaching has become widely accepted, even fashionable, while seeing a psychologist can still be perceived as evidence of a serious personal problem.
Does psychology itself continue to carry a stigma?
“Many people simply are not educated about what a psychologist actually does. Some still associate therapy with being ‘crazy’ or having a major mental disorder.
Life coaches can be wonderful and offer genuine insight, but they cannot diagnose. Someone may be experiencing depression, bipolar disorder, severe anxiety or undiagnosed autism, and many other conditions, which a life coach may not recognise it. That means the advice being given could be inappropriate.
For anything operating at that deeper level, I would always recommend a properly trained mental health professional.”
The distinction matters because similar behaviours can arise from very different underlying conditions. Lack of motivation, irritability, isolation or difficulty concentrating, for example, may not simply be a question of discipline or attitude. Without appropriate assessment, well-intentioned advice can fail to address the real problem.
Dr. Didevar strongly rejects the belief that therapy is only for those facing an acute crisis.
Why do you believe almost everyone could benefit from therapy?
“I cannot imagine a single person in this world who does not need to talk. Even seemingly small things, when left unspoken, tend to become larger over time. That applies to adults, but it is also true for children, who often do not feel comfortable opening up completely to their parents.
I am also convinced that a great deal of physical illness is psychosomatic. Stress affects the body directly. It can manifest through headaches, migraines, pinched nerves, sciatica and many other physical symptoms. In serious cases, prolonged emotional stress may contribute to far more severe health problems.
When your mind is not at ease, your body is not at ease either.”
For Dr. Didevar, psychological care should therefore be considered a form of maintenance rather than emergency intervention–something that helps prevent emotional problems from accumulating until they become unmanageable.
Entering a Child's World
Children exposed to bullying or violence, even indirectly, are deeply affected, with impacts that can extend into adulthood. Addressing it protects the future generations. In a society such as Monaco –built on values of safety, dignity, and respect– acknowledging this issue is not a sign of weakness, but of institutional maturity and responsibility.
Children cannot always describe their emotions directly. Dr. Didevar therefore adapts her therapeutic methods according to age, personality and emotional development.
With younger children, she may use creative activities to give expression to emotions they cannot yet articulate. Between approximately nine and eleven years old, role play becomes particularly effective.
Why does role play work so well with children of that age?
“Children do not want to sit and listen. They want to participate.
I engage with them through something they already love, whether that is a sport, a game or a cartoon character. Role play is one of the most powerful tools for this age group.
I once worked with a very sweet boy in Monaco who was constantly getting into trouble at school. During a conventional session, he had no interest in speaking with me about anything serious. Instead, He simply wanted to play basketball with me.
So I changed the session. I asked him to play the role of his teacher while I played his role.
The advice he gave me while pretending to be the teacher was remarkable. He told me, ‘You can’t behave like this with your teacher. You need to pay attention. You need to listen,’ and so forth…
The moment he realised how much he already understood, something clicked.”
Role reversal creates psychological closeness. Instead of feeling criticised by an adult, the child observes the situation from another perspective and begins generating their own solutions.
“Role play works beautifully with adults as well. I sometimes ask a client to become the therapist while I become them. The advice they give ‘me’ is often exactly what they need to hear themselves.
It is extremely difficult to step outside yourself and examine your own situation objectively. Role reversal makes that possible.”
When the Curtain of Respect Is Torn
Much of Dr. Didevar’s work involves couples who have stopped communicating or whose trust has been damaged by betrayal, dishonesty or years of unresolved resentment.
She describes respect as a curtain protecting a relationship. Once it is torn, every interaction is viewed through the damage.
“I always say that when trust is broken, it is really respect that disappears first. Once that curtain of respect is torn, couples stop looking at one another with kindness.
They become defensive. They assume the worst, and even simple conversations can turn into arguments.
The first thing I do is help both people stop trying to win. Many couples enter therapy hoping that I will tell them who is right. But relationships are not about winning. They are about understanding each other, even when both people are hurt.
Trust does not return overnight, and it is rarely restored by one grand romantic gesture. It comes back through small, consistent actions: keeping your word, being honest, showing up and creating an environment in which your partner feels emotionally safe again.
I also remind couples that forgiveness and trust are not the same thing. You can forgive someone and still need time before you trust them again. Trust must be earned back through actions, not promises.”
Therapy, however, does not always mean preserving the relationship at any cost.
“I have seen couples who were convinced their marriage was over, but instead left therapy with a relationship that was stronger than it had ever been, because they finally learned how to communicate honestly with one another.
I have also worked with couples who realised that the healthiest decision was to separate respectfully rather than continue living in resentment and anger.
For me, therapy is not about saving every marriage. It is about helping people make healthy, thoughtful decisions, whether that means rebuilding the relationship or letting each other go with compassion.
My role is not to convince people to stay together or to separate. It is to help them see the truth of their relationship without denial and then make the healthiest decision available to them.
Sometimes that is rebuilding. Sometimes it is letting go with dignity. Either way, respect for yourself and for the other person must return before healing can begin.
Life is too short to waste on constant complications and arguments when two people simply are not meant to remain together. But people fear change more than almost anything, and that fear keeps many couples trapped long after they should have moved on.”
Dr. Didevar recalls working with a couple who were divorcing after twenty-one years of marriage. During therapy, they realised that they shared virtually no interests.
What is the earliest warning sign you look for before a relationship reaches that stage?
“This is exactly why I believe therapy should be mandatory for a year before marriage.
At the beginning of a relationship, there is so much excitement and physical attraction that people do not notice–or do not want to notice–the issues that may matter later.
My own serious relationships began through emails and conversations for months before we ever had a first date. Getting to know someone mentally before the physical connection takes over is extremely important, and another crucial aspect is being able to laugh together frequently.
As physical attraction settles into routine, couples sometimes realise that they have nothing to discuss.
You see it at dinner tables all the time: couples looking at their phones. It is not necessarily because they do not love each other. Often, it is because they never developed shared interests.
I once asked a couple who were divorcing after twenty-one years what each of them enjoyed doing. Their answers had nothing in common. They admitted that they had never realised it until that moment.
They were both good people. They had simply never had common interest.”
She believes couples need regular time together that is not centred entirely on children, household administration or professional obligations.
“Spending time together, just the two of you, on a date night every week, is essential. Otherwise, the relationship becomes routine, and routine can become dangerous.”
Therapy Before Marriage
Dr. Didevar’s second proposed intervention would be a year of therapy before marriage.
“Premarital therapy is important because people do not always know each other deeply while they are in love.
A psychologist can ask the questions couples do not think to ask during the excitement of a new relationship. It helps them understand each other in a way that protects both partners and, eventually, their children.”
These conversations may cover expectations around money, family involvement, parenting, religion, fidelity, domestic responsibilities, career ambitions, conflict resolution and the meaning each partner attaches to commitment.
Differences do not necessarily make a marriage impossible. But undisclosed or unexplored differences can become destructive when they emerge years later.
The Conversations Parents Are Avoiding
Parenting teenagers has always been complicated, but smartphones and social media have introduced pressures and dangers that many adults never encountered during their own childhoods.
What conversation are parents in Monaco most likely to be avoiding?
“It is often less that parents deliberately avoid the conversation and more that they are extremely busy. It becomes easier to allow a teenager to remain constantly on their phone.
Parents need to go further than simply saying that the internet can be dangerous. They need to share real examples and stories of what can happen.
Predators may track a child’s location through applications. Children face constant pressure to compare themselves with other people online, particularly girls.”
Cyberbullying and the relentless visibility of social media can turn school conflicts into situations from which children feel they cannot escape. A humiliating comment or photograph no longer remains inside the classroom; it can follow the child home and continue throughout the night.
“Bullying is something I never expected to encounter so frequently in Monaco, but verbal bullying here is extremely high. I have witnessed it myself, and I work with children and teens from various schools in Monaco who are experiencing it.
Boys are often more resistant to admitting that they are being bullied because they want to appear tough. But it affects them just as deeply.
If the experience is not addressed, it often resurfaces later as insecurity or behaviour through which they begin mistreating other people.”
Dr. Didevar takes a firm view of parental responsibility for monitoring a young person’s digital life.
“I monitor my own daughter’s phone completely, and I am not ashamed of it.
Until you are eighteen and living independently, I believe a parent has the right to understand what is happening in their child’s life, not because of mistrust, but because access to drugs, vaping and alcohol in Monaco is far greater than many parents realise. Much of it is happening quietly.
Yet monitoring alone is not sufficient. Children must also feel able to tell their parents when something goes wrong. It is equally important never to react with uncontrolled anger when your child makes a mistake.
If children are frightened of your reaction, they will simply begin lying to avoid it. That is far more dangerous.”
Monaco offers children opportunities, safety and material comfort that are rare elsewhere. But according to Dr. Didevar, privilege without perspective can leave young people emotionally dissatisfied.
What is the first thing you tell parents who may be giving their children too much?
“If a child receives at twelve what they should be aspiring to earn at 18, there is nothing left to anticipate. Nothing produces the same excitement later.
Real happiness comes from within, not from what you are given. Anticipation and earning something for yourself are part of what makes an achievement enjoyable.
Children who are constantly given everything, without seeing how others live with less, can lose the ability to appreciate what they have. Ultimately, that makes it much more difficult for them to feel genuinely satisfied.”
Her proposed solution is not deprivation, but perspective. Children should understand the value of money, take part in charitable work, encounter people from different social environments and learn that comfort is neither universal nor guaranteed.
Dr. Didevar believes psychological support should be normalised during adolescence, even in the absence of a diagnosed disorder.
If you could mandate therapy for young people aged twelve to eighteen, why would you choose that particular period?
“The teenage years are among the most difficult years of anyone’s life.
Hormones are changing, identity is forming and almost everything feels new: self-image, friendships, school pressure, romantic relationships and family dynamics.
What happens during those years genuinely shapes a person’s twenties, thirties and later life. It needs to be handled properly.”
Adolescence is also when young people begin withholding information from their parents, not necessarily because the relationship is poor, but because they are trying to establish independence or fear disappointing the people closest to them.
A therapist can provide a confidential, neutral space in which a teenager can speak without feeling judged, punished or responsible for protecting a parent’s feelings.
A Childhood That Shaped Her Work
How much of your own childhood appears in the way you work with clients today?
“One hundred percent. Life experience allows me to genuinely feel what is in front of me–someone’s pain as well as someone’s happiness.
In training, we are taught to be cautious about projection, but I believe strongly in the importance of emotional connection. Until you can feel what your client is experiencing, you are not able to connect with them to do your best work for them.
The relationship between a patient and psychologist must be teamwork. Otherwise, it simply does not work.”
Her childhood was marked by movement, separation and the need to become independent at an early age. Yet instead of distancing herself from these experiences, she uses them to connect with clients facing grief, family instability or cultural displacement.
Dr. Didevar is the mother of Princess Iryana Pahlavi, the daughter of the late Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, who unfortunately passed away while she was pregnant with their daugther. Despite her daughter’s royal heritage, she has deliberately focused on humility rather than status.
How did you decide that this was the right approach?
“Observing other royal families, I noticed how easy it can be to lose yourself entirely within a public identity–to never simply have the opportunity to be yourself.
I wanted my daughter to respect and honour her heritage while remaining her own person: graceful, but humble, and treating every person she meets with the same respect, whether they are sweeping the street or working within government.
Since Iryana was three years old, if you asked her the first rule of life, she would answer immediately: respect.
The second rule is that kindness costs nothing. Kindness should be offered even to people who are not kind to you, because you never know what they are carrying inside.”
During her daughter’s early childhood, birthday celebrations were followed by visits to orphanages, she asked all their guests to bring second hand toys as presents. And the next day she would take her daugther to the orphanage, where the toys were donated to the children there. The objective was not to make privilege a source of guilt, but to connect receiving with gratitude and responsibility.
International children are often praised for being adaptable. They may learn new languages quickly, enter unfamiliar schools and build friendships across cultures. However, adaptation also has an emotional cost.
Your daughter eventually refused to change schools again. What did that moment teach you?
“It taught me that I needed to stop moving so frequently, although in reality many of those moves were not entirely by choice.
When the pandemic began in Los Angeles, schools closed and the city became genuinely dangerous, so we moved to Cannes. She attended a French school for two years and became fluent.
I later moved her into a British school because I anticipated that our future will eventually be in the United States.
We ultimately settled in Monaco because it is the type of safe and contained place where she could walk to school and meet friends independently, which reminded me of my own childhood in London.
We arrived when she was thirteen, which was later than I would have liked, but she finally gained that freedom.
She told me, ‘I do not want to change schools again.’ That was her limit.
The experience reinforced an important message for internationally mobile parents: a child’s ability to adapt should not be mistaken for an unlimited capacity to absorb disruption.
Children may appear to cope because they lack the power to object. Emotional exhaustion can emerge later through anxiety, withdrawal, irritability or a sudden refusal to cooperate.”
Rediscovering Perspective in Africa
Dr. Didevar’s humanitarian work in Africa has played a defining role in her understanding of happiness, privilege and emotional resilience.
In 2005, she volunteered in Kenya, working with local communities and encountering the effects of poverty, limited sanitation, disease and female genital mutilation. The experience inspired her to support educational and humanitarian initiatives, including assistance for girls seeking to escape forced procedures and continue their schooling.
She plans to return to Africa with her daughter so that she can experience the continent firsthand, gain a deeper understanding of how people live there, and learn from its diverse cultures and communities.
What do you hope that experience will give her?
“Her early years in Bali were humble and spiritual. She was surrounded by people who possessed very little.
Since then, life in Los Angeles, Cannes and Monaco has been considerably more extravagant.
In Africa, particularly in places such as the informal settlements of Kenya, you can see children who have almost nothing yet are genuinely happier and laugh more freely than people who possess everything.
I want her to feel that difference, not simply observe it. I want her to understand that happiness rarely comes from material things.
What I care about most for my daughter is not wealth or professional success. It is psychological knowledge and strength, which will hopefully lead her to inner peace.
Without psychological strength, even a billionaire will never be happy.
I have learned repeatedly that the people who laugh and joke the most are sometimes carrying the greatest pain underneath. Building inner strength–and learning to recognise what other people may be concealing–is part of what I hope the journey gives her.”
Confidence, Awareness and Communication
In one sentence, what is the greatest result a child can receive from therapy?
“Confidence, self-awareness and the ability to communicate their feelings.”
She recalls giving a fully booked talk at the International School of Monaco, where a seemingly happy and popular fifteen-year-old girl raised her hand in front of the entire audience.
“She asked what she should do if she wanted therapy but her parents would not allow it.
She spoke without embarrassment, in front of everyone.
That is exactly why early intervention matters. When trauma, in any form, is not addressed, it resurfaces later in life.”
A child who asks for therapy may not be making an accusation against their parents. They may simply recognise that they need a neutral person with whom they can speak.
Dr. Didevar believes such a request should be treated as evidence of emotional intelligence rather than weakness.
A Mother, Not Her Daughter's Psychologist
How do you balance being a psychologist with being a mother to your own daughter?
“I could never act as my own daughter’s psychologist. That does not work within a family.
She has her own therapist, although she often tells me that it is boring and she would rather simply speak with me. In many ways, she opens up to me more than many children would with a parent who happens to be a psychologist.
What matters most is that I do not react with anger.
She knows that if she makes a mistake, she can come and tell me. She will not be met with anger; she will be met with a consequence.That is the difference.
Shouting teaches children to hide things from you the next time. Consequences teach accountability without creating fear.”
Therapists spend their days listening to stories of grief, betrayal, anxiety and conflict. Yet Dr. Didevar does not view these emotions as something from which she must constantly escape.
How do you recharge after difficult consultations?
“I do not really see the work as something I need to recharge from. I believe we are meant to experience the full range of human emotion–happiness, sadness and anxiety–and I embrace whatever I feel.
I may feel sadness for a client in the morning and joy about a child’s progress in the afternoon. None of it feels negative to me. It is simply part of being human.”
That acceptance reflects the same message she offers clients: the purpose of therapy is not to eliminate every painful feeling, but to understand emotions, respond to them constructively and prevent them from silently controlling one’s life.
Is there a true end to therapy, or is it something people should continue throughout life?
“There is no fixed endpoint. Many clients reach a stage where they can manage independently. They step away and may return years later, or they may never need to return.
The only two periods I would genuinely mandate are adolescence and the year before marriage.
Everything else depends entirely on how the individual feels, and that is exactly as it should be.”
Therapy, in her view, should not create a permanent patient. Its purpose is to strengthen the individual’s capacity to understand themselves, communicate clearly and make healthier decisions without constant professional intervention.
Looking Behind the Smile
Monaco’s extraordinary quality of life does not make its residents immune to grief, conflict, anxiety or loneliness. Indeed, the expectation that life in the Principality should appear perfect may sometimes make these experiences more difficult to acknowledge.
Behind an elegant dinner, a successful business, a prestigious family name or a smiling social-media photograph, there may be a child being bullied, a marriage losing its emotional connection or an individual quietly struggling with a problem they feel unable to reveal.
Dr. Raha Didevar’s message is neither pessimistic nor judgemental. It is an invitation to look beyond appearances and recognise that seeking help is not an admission of failure.
It is an act of courage, responsibility and self-awareness.
In a place where discretion is essential and reputation carries considerable weight, her practice offers something increasingly important: a confidential space in which individuals and families can stop protecting the appearance that everything is fine and begin addressing what is actually happening.
Because, as Dr. Didevar has learned through her work across cultures and continents, the people with the widest smiles can sometimes be carrying the deepest pain. And listening is only the beginning. The real purpose is to help them move forward.
Contact for further information:
https://www.bigheartstherapy.com/
EXCLUSIVE:
Purchase a photo-illustrated, downloadable PDF of this exclusive Living in Monaco magazine article featuring Dr. Raha Didevar, or get the complete digital edition of the Autumn 2026 issue of Living in Monaco magazine.