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  landing page

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  type of therapy

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  How Do You Maintain Your Mental Health

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  Psychological Tests

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  Blog page

Inspiration:

In 2014, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. That diagnosis came with overwhelming emotional challenges and extreme mood swings, periods of deep depression, and moments of manic energy that were hard to understand, both for me and those around me. Through professional help and therapy, I began to rebuild my life and my sense of self. But I couldn’t ignore the fact that millions of people in Sudan were facing similar struggles—especially as the war displaced families and traumatized communities, often with no access to mental health support. As a developer, I saw an opportunity to merge my personal experience with my technical skills to build something that bridges this critical mental health gap. I created Sanad—a platform to make mental health support accessible, stigma-free, and human-centered for all Sudanese, wherever they are and That’s when Sanad was born.

What It Does

Sanad is the first fully digital mental health platform in Sudan, built to provide accessible, stigma-free, and professional psychological support—especially for individuals affected by war, displacement, and trauma.

Key Features:

-Online Therapy Sessions Users can book private video therapy sessions with licensed mental health professionals, including treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

-Psychological Self-Assessments Built-in tools help users assess their mental health conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD), with results used to guide them toward the right type of support.

-Secure Messaging Patients can communicate directly and privately with their therapists via messaging, ideal for follow-ups or low-bandwidth scenarios.

-Appointment Booking System Users view therapist profiles, check availability, and schedule sessions at their convenience, based on real-time calendars.

-Educational Blog A curated content hub with articles that help users understand mental health topics, reduce stigma, and support themselves or loved ones.

How We Built the Project

We built Sanad to be accessible, scalable, and user-friendly, using a modern and efficient tech stack to address Sudan's infrastructure limitations.

Frontend:

*React – for building an interactive UI

*TypeScript – for robust type safety

*Tailwind CSS – for fast, responsive styling

*Shadcn – for beautiful, accessible UI components

Backend:

Supabase (BaaS – Backend as a Service)

*Authentication

*Real-time PostgreSQL database

*File storage

Challenges We Faced

-Connectivity Issues

Many users, especially in rural or conflict-affected areas, had limited internet bandwidth, which made video calls difficult at times.

-Limited Access to Qualified Therapists

Finding Sudanese therapists who were both licensed and comfortable with online consultations was initially a challenge.

-Cultural Stigma

Mental health is still a taboo topic in many communities. Encouraging people to open up required building trust and promoting education. -Privacy & Trust Concerns Users needed assurance that their data and identities were safe. We had to implement strong security and communicate it clearly.

Accomplishments That We're Proud Of

✅ Built a fully functional mental health platform Sanad now supports therapy sessions, psychological assessments, secure messaging, and educational content—all in one place.

🔄 Created a seamless experience from booking to treatment From account creation to scheduling a session with a therapist, every step is intuitive and mobile-friendly.

🧭 Simplified mental health support for those who don’t know where to start Sanad offers self-assessments and personalized content, helping users navigate their journey with clarity and confidence.

🌍 Designed with real-world Sudanese challenges in mind The platform accounts for issues like internet instability, war displacement, cultural sensitivities, and the shortage of therapists.

What We Learned

-People want help—but they need to feel safe, understood, and respected.

-Psychological tests help many users start their journey without needing to speak to someone right away.

-Messaging is a valuable feature, especially for those intimidated by video calls.

-Simplicity and clarity in design make the platform more inclusive, even for first-time tech users.

-The best solutions are local, culturally sensitive, and empathetic.

-A culturally aware, localized experience builds trust and engagement

What’s Next for Sanad

-Launching mobile apps for iOS and Android

-Expanding text-based therapy for users with limited connectivity

-Improving our psychological testing system with adaptive assessments

-Growing the therapist network, Partnering with Sudanese therapists abroad and regional NGOs

-Launching a peer-support community with anonymous forums and shared stories.

-Enhancing AI-powered support tools for content recommendations and triage.

Sanad is more than a platform It’s a safe spaceــــA place for healing. A bridge between trauma and hope, Born from personal pain, built with purpose and a deep belief that mental health is a right, not a luxury.

— Omar Mahjoub

Founder of Sanad Mental Health Platform

Built With

• react
• shadcn-ui
• supabase
• tailwind
• typescript
• vite
• webrtc