ConnectForHealth - Cigna Healthcare

For Men’s Mental Health Month, our latest edition of ConnectForHealth opens up the conversation men too often avoid. Men’s health is not just physical fitness, routine check-ups, or pushing through pressure. It is also sleep, stress, loneliness, financial worry, job security, fatherhood, relationships, community and the ability to say, honestly, when things are not okay. In this episode, Scott Arm...

This special edition of ConnectForHealth unpacks Cigna Healthcare’s new Wellbeing and Health Pulse in the UAE, recorded during a period of heightened pressure, rising costs, and shifting expectations around work and family life. Host Scott Armstrong is joined by Leah Cotterill (CEO, Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa), Hana Agil (Cigna HR) and Suzanne Gandy, HR Director, Bayut and Dubizzle, t...

In a world of quick fixes, it’s easy to lose sight of the basics. Your health is not a single number, a trending supplement, or one “perfect” routine. It is a system, and the most powerful thing you can do is build a clear roadmap for the year ahead, understand your early markers, and know what to ask for before risk becomes diagnosis. In this ConnectForHealth Special Edition, Scott Armstrong and...

Eight weeks into prolonged uncertainty in the Gulf region, a many people are still living in extended caretaker mode.  The practical pressures continue, but so does the hidden load: carrying worry, managing family dynamics, and trying to perform at work while feeling stretched. In this ConnectForHealth episode, mentl's Scott Armstrong and Maissa Al Khafajy of Cigna Healthcare Middle East and...

Across the Gulf right now, many residents are living with a mix of gratitude and strain.  Alert texts, unfamiliar noises in the night, and prolonged uncertainty can keep the nervous system in threat-detection mode, leaving people exhausted but wired. In this Connect For Health episode, Scott Armstrong (mentl) and Maissa Al Khafajy (Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa) are joined by Dr Samira C...

When school moves online and uncertainty drags on, our children and teenagers often look “fine” while their nervous system is doing overtime. In this Special Edition of Connect For Health , we speak directly to children and teens about what many are feeling during prolonged uncertainty: being tired, distracted, on edge, and finding it hard to switch off.  Scott Armstrong (mentl) is joined by Sema...

As the region moves deeper into prolonged uncertainty, many people are noticing a shift: less adrenaline, more sustained stress, jumpiness, distraction, and emotional drain. In this Connect For Health Special Edition, Scott Armstrong (mentl) and Alison Sharp (Cigna Healthcare MEA) are joined by Dr Jane Halsall , Chartered Counselling Psychologist at Cornerstone Clinic, to explain why this “emotion...

In the latest Connect For Health episode, Scott Armstrong (mentl) and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy (Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa) are joined by Dr Khaled Kadry , Director of Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Sakina for Children, to explore Parenting in the AI Age: Teens & Digital Screens . From ChatGPT to TikTok, today’s teens live in a digital-first world. This conversati...

When your world feels uncertain, your nervous system does not wait for permission. It reacts. So how do steady we steady ourselves when things seem out of our control?  In this Connect For Health Special Edition, Scott Armstrong, founder of mentl, and co-host Alison Sharp, of Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa. are joined by Dr Joseph R. El-Khoury, Consultant Adult and Addiction Psychiatrist...

Better health is not only about motivation or more information. It is about making better decisions consistently, and knowing how to navigate care when you need it. In this Connect For Health episode, Scott Armstrong and Maissa Al Khafajy are joined by renowned author, TV host, and a leading voice in digital health education, Dr Johannes Wimmer to unpack health literacy as a practical skill for op...

Healthy Plate, Healthy Mind isn’t about dieting. It’s about feeling better. In this timely episode of ConnectForHealth , a Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa initiative in partnership with mentl , host Scott Armstrong (Founder of mentl) and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy (Head of Government Affairs & Strategic Communications, Cigna Healthcare) sit down with Dr Shefali Verma to explore how th...

Failure is uncomfortable - especially when it’s our children experiencing it. But what if failure is one of the most powerful teachers we can give them? In this episode of ConnectForHealth , host Scott Armstrong , Founder of mentl , and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy , Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa , explore The Power of Failure and...

In this episode of ConnectForHealth, Scott Armstrong and Maissa Al Khafajy are joined by chartered accountant and money coach Carol Glynn of Conscious Finance Coaching to explore one of the most universal sources of stress: money . Drawing on years of coaching experience and audience insights, Carol explains why financial pressure affects every part of our lives - our sense of safety, our relation...

In this special edition of ConnectForHealth , we take you inside the Cigna International Health Study (CIHS) 2025 - UAE Edition - the most comprehensive look at the state of well-being, vitality, and workplace health across the Emirates. For the fourth consecutive year, mentl has authored the UAE white paper, tracking the nation’s wellbeing story as it rises year after year - even as global well-b...

Men’s health is at a crossroads — and this conversation is one every man (and every employer, partner, teammate and friend) needs to hear. In this episode of ConnectForHealth, host Scott Armstrong, Founder of mentl , and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs & Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare MEA, sit down with Dr Ed Cody, Consultant Family Medicine at Mediclinic Mi...

Menopause isn’t the end - it’s a new beginning. In this powerful episode of ConnectForHealth , a Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa initiative in partnership with mentl , host Scott Armstrong (Founder of mentl) and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy (Head of Government Affairs & Strategic Communications, Cigna Healthcare) sit down with two trailblazers transforming how we understand menopause: D...

Flu season is approaching — are you and your family prepared? In this episode of Connect For Health - a series by mentl in partnership with Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa  - host Scott Armstrong, Founder of mentl , and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare , sit down with Dr. Rania Ayat Hawayek, Founder & Medical Direc...

Doomscrolling, digital addiction, and the constant buzz of screens - how do we find balance in a hyperconnected world? In this episode of Connect For Health - a podcast partnership between mentl in and Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa - host Scott Armstrong, founder of mentl , and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare , are...

As summer temperatures soar, sunscreen is just the beginning. In this episode of Connect For Health, hosts Scott Armstrong (Founder, mentl) and Maissa Al Khafajy (Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications, Cigna Healthcare) sit down with Dr. Betsy Narayan , Specialist Dermatologist at Mediclinic Wellcare Hospital, and Dr. Jaimie Abdennandher , Consultant Family Doctor at Mediclinic M...

In this heartfelt episode of Connect For Health, host Scott Armstrong, founder of mental health advocacy platform mentl, and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy , Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare , sit down with Christine Kritzas , psychologist and Director of Parenting & Family Services at The LightHouse Arabia, to explore how kindness is a foundational skill...

In this debut episode of Cigna Healthcare's Connect For Health, hosts Scott Armstrong , founder of mental health platform mentl , and Maissa Al Khafajy , Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare, sit down with Sarah Lindsay - 3x Olympian and founder of ROAR Fitness - to talk about how movement is medicine, why mobility matters, and how flexibility in both bo...