Having navigated the rigours of corporate authority, the unseen work behind motherhood, and the adulation of a celebrated public life, Maissa Khafajy comes across as a leader as attuned to the inner life as the external one.

As the Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare and recognised among the top Emirati women achievers in the country, she strikes a rare balance between affable charm and intellectual gravity. This sense of balance underpins Therapie, her unique space in Abu Dhabi, which she founded to deliberately sit outside easy definition. To understand it, one must first realise what it’s not.

“We’re not a yoga studio. We don’t have spa services,” says Maissa. “It’s not like you’re going to a sterile therapist’s clinic that you have to mentally prepare yourself for.”

Against the pressures, urgency, and hustle culture of urban life, Maissa is building something increasingly rare – a space for the soul and a pace for inner life.

“People are so appreciative of the space from an aesthetic point of view to an energy point of view, to a vision and ethos point of view, because they see it as a place that’s really needed,” she says. “Today, there’s no ‘third place’ that people can frequent, which they are able to call a ‘home away from home’, because spaces like that don’t really exist. We are looking towards cultivating a community and want to grow organically. So, we’re here for the long run. We want to make an impact on people’s lives, become a part of the fabric of society, rather than just another trendy place to visit. That’s the vision that I have.”

What makes Therapie compelling is that it extends beyond physical definition into something that aims to bring inner balance, mental peace, and emotional wellbeing into mainstream cultural conversation.

While it may be largely unprecedented concept in the UAE, Maissa says Therapie is being compared to outlets in hip New York boroughs like Williamsburg in Brooklyn, where such spaces aren’t uncommon. “Even my mother, when she came for the soft launch asked, ‘So, you’re an art studio?’” she laughs.

Art workshops do form part of the programming at Therapie, as do creative writing, yoga, vision boards, and tools for self-actualisation. With her background in healthcare and communications, Maissa remains exacting about credentials of workshop facilitators and experts.

Looking ahead, Therapie will also include programmes for teenagers and young adults, especially those looking for constructive ways to process and express emotions.

Maissa has also launched a series called ‘Come as You Are’, which invites people to gather around a community table and speak openly about what’s on their minds. The response has been immediate and telling, an affirmation of cultural appetite and relevance for a space like this.

The values that are defining Therapie also surface in how Maissa presents herself. Her personal style mirrors her worldview: mindful, tactile, and expressed in craft.

“I am all about my senses – the feel, the look, the scent, the taste. So, for me, luxury encompasses all of that. Exclusivity too,” she says. “I don’t favour something because it is quite prominent. I favour something that has a story, that has a legacy that is very much conserved – something that is not necessarily accessible. You must have that effort, that knowledge, that education, that awareness, that appreciation to be able to access it.”

She sees the same value in the brand she’s currently wearing. “In Loro Piana, I like that idea of the conserved family business, something that has been carried through time and has endured. The quality control that goes into the type of materials, the cashmere, the wool – that’s something I appreciate. And the hands, the fact that there are people that have been doing it for 50 years, 60 years! I like the integrity of the artisanal approach of crafting it,” Maissa says.

If her personal style is rooted in craftsmanship and discernment, Ramadan becomes a time when those values are most consciously lived. For Maissa, the Holy Month deepens her understanding of community, one that begins with the self and radiates outwards.

“The self needs to be in a very grounded, empathetic, compassionate place where you honour others, but you also honour yourself and your boundaries,” she shares. “When it comes from the self, you are able to actually amplify that at a larger scale to your community, and community starts with your family.”

“What I carry forward after Ramadan is ‘continuity,’ and moving with intention. When I decide to actually remove certain things that, I feel, perhaps have taken more space in my life and in my time,” she adds. “It could be something as simple as spending time with friends when I really need that time for myself.”

In sustaining these practices beyond Ramadan, Maissa has also redefined what success means to her. “I think the barometer for success for me personally has really changed, because I used to see it as a measure based on accolades,” she explains. “Even now, we’re still very much caught up in this kind of social media construct, where, if you don’t have a certain number of followers, or stage presence, then you are not a success, or if you do not have a particular number within your bank, you are not a success.”

“But now, success to me is really about fulfilment and contentment, and I get that on the daily,” she notes. “I’m so open to the evolution of what I’m creating that I feel that it is successful at every period and every milestone.”

Maissa Al Khafajy’s legacy is not just inspiring but also affirming – a reminder that true influence and leadership begin within. Hers is an emphatic counterpoint to a culture that equates progress with external validation and dated markers of success. In the end, her work, her style, and her authorship are governed by the same principle – what is cultivated inside ultimately defines what lasts beyond us.

Follow @therapie on Instagram 

Cover image: Maissa wears the Loro Piana Alycia blouse and Monika skirt, with the Maxi Beaded Cardo necklace and Layl shawl worn as a shoulder bag.

Founder / EIC: Asma Al Fahim 
Deputy Editor: Priyanka Pradhan
Creative Direction/ Production: Beya Bou-Harb 
Photographer/ Videographer: Mattia Holm 
Talent: Maissa Al Khafajy
Stylist: Vasil Bozhilov
HMUA: Karolina Kurowicka 
Assistant Stylist: Syma Ahmed
Assistant photographer: Alireza 
Clothing and accessories: Loro Piana