– Afaf Kabbani on why she is joining the EU-PROMENS Training Programme in Denmark

With 17 years of experience as a midwife and an upcoming master’s degree in social psychology, Afaf Kabbani is no stranger to standing at the intersection of professions, sectors, and human lives. Yet – perhaps precisely because of this – she knows that experience with interdisciplinary work is not the same as truly understanding it.

“You can work in interdisciplinary settings for years without having an actual interdisciplinary perspective, or the tools needed to create real synergy,” she says. That insight is what has drawn her towards the EU-PROMENS training courses in Denmark –  an initiative that places interdisciplinarity within mental health at its very core.

Afaf is deeply engaged with people in transitions: the chosen, the forced, the natural, and those arriving from the outside — such as the digital transformations that shape everyday life at increasing speed. Many people find these challenging. Some face a double challenge, carrying multiple vulnerabilities at once. And it is here, she believes, that interdisciplinarity is not merely an advantage – it is a necessity.

“When we talk about children’s mental health in schools, five or six different professional groups are quickly in play. We are all looking at our part of the elephant – with an equal share of truth, and an equal need for each other’s knowledge to complete the picture.”

But interdisciplinarity demands more than shared meeting rooms. It requires awareness, intention, and structure. “It is not just about putting people in the same room – it is about meaning and direction,” Afaf emphasises. Without these, interdisciplinarity can become resistance rather than synergy.

The international dimension of EU-PROMENS holds particular appeal for her. The project brings together expertise and experience across countries, cultures, and professional tradition – and that, Afaf believes, is precisely what the field needs. “Diversity of the many people contributing with a great deal –that creates a critical mass.”

Nordic Wellbeing Academy looks forward to welcoming Afaf as a participant, and is glad that EU-PROMENS can offer a space where curiosity about other perspectives is not merely welcomed – it is the very point.