Besan Alhamwi

My Name Is Besan. MANBET Is My Home.

My fascination with human beings began at my grandfather’s window, in the heart of Damascus. From there, I watched an endless theater of human life unfold: children playing, neighbors gathering, street vendors calling, and people navigating the ordinary complexities of living together. I had the luxury of time, curiosity, and a home that gave me the freedom to observe and wonder about what makes us who we are.

That curiosity eventually led me to psychology, from Damascus to the United States, where my work with refugees and immigrants, alongside my own experience of migration, deepened my understanding of what it means to live between worlds, cultures, and identities.

These experiences continue to shape my clinical work, which draws on psychodynamic psychology, attachment theory, and an integrative understanding of human development. They have also inspired my interest in bringing contemporary psychology into conversation with Arab philosophy, literature, and cultural traditions, exploring what these different bodies of knowledge can teach us about the human condition.

Through MANBET, I hope to contribute to a psychology that is attentive to culture, history, and the complexity of human experience. I also aspire to support the development of psychotherapy in Syria through education, professional training, and collaborative community initiatives.

MANBET brings together my clinical work, cultural heritage, and lifelong curiosity about human becoming. In many ways, it takes me back to that window in Damascus, where the questions first began.

Academic Qualifications

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) Student, Clinical Psychology
The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA

Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology
Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA

Bachelor’s Degree in Psychological Counseling
Damascus University, Syria