By Ayaz Morris
The story of a psychologist and philanthropist who dedicated his life to the psychological and social well-being of mankind.
I do not remember when I first contacted him and how my relationship turned into friendship with Dr. Khalid Sohail. My literary and creative relationship with him strengthened my belief that relations based on sincerity are stronger than blood relations. In such friendships, there is no confinement of color, race, language, age, religion, border and time, but humanity is the basic and mutual value.
Dr. Khalid Sohail is not only a renowned psychologist but he is also an excellent writer, above all he is a knowledgeable and philanthropic person who believes in humanity and makes life easier for people with his creative and professional skills.
Dr. Khalid Sohail’s study of life, world and literature is very wide. His circle of friends is wonderful and unique, also very versatile. My attachment to Dr. Khalid Sohail has now become my creative treasure. He always inspires me and motivates me to bring forth my creativity juices.
Today’s article will shed light on some aspects of Dr. Khalid Sohail’s life, literary journey and services in psychology. He describes his literary creations as his love letters to suffering humanity.
Early Life and Education:
Born on July 9, 1952 in Karachi, and being brought up in Kohat and Peshawar, Dr. Khalid Sohail inherited two different attitudes from his parents. His mother Aisha Qasim was a realistic woman while his father Abdul Basit was an idealistic person. His personality is a combination of both attitudes. Despite the traditional environment and conservative society like Peshawar and NWFP (now KPK) at that time, his personality included creative and innovative elements. His mother strongly wanted him to become a doctor while he wanted to become a philosopher. He fulfilled his mother’s dream and his wish by becoming a psychotherapist.
He did his primary education from St. Joseph’s Convent School, Kohat and matriculated from R. A. Bazar High School, Peshawar. After doing F.Sc. from Edwards College and MBBS from Khyber Medical College Peshawar, he did his house job at Lady Reading Hospital. He lived in Iran from 1976 to 1977 and moved to Canada in 1977 where he completed a four-year psychiatry training and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1982. Later, he served in Whitby Psychiatric Hospital in a city near Toronto from 1984 to 1994. He started his Creative Psychotherapy Clinic in 1995. From 2000 to 2022, he has written 6 books in English with his fellow nurses Anne Henderson and Bette Davis on Green Zone Therapy. Now Green Zone book is being translated into Urdu by Samer Ishtiaq. Together with Dr. Arifa Bhutto of Jamshoro University they are building the Green Zone app which is in the final stages of completion.
Literary Services:
Dr. Khalid Sohail started writing and publishing in 1986. He publishes one English and one Urdu book every year with regular planning. So far, he has published 70 books in the last 35 years.
He is a wonderful example of dedication and hard work. His books include poetry, fiction, novels, columns, interviews, translations, critical essays and psychology topics. Syeda Umaira Hasan has written her M.Phil thesis focusing on his fiction. One of his English short story “Island” is included in Canada’s anthology “Global Safari” for high school students which is no less than an honor for a Pakistani.
Dr. Khalid Sohail along with Baland Iqbal started a video series on YouTube under the title of “In Search for Wisdom” in which 72 episodes containing the achievements of big names in literature, psychology and philosophy have been uploaded so far.
Letter Writing:
Dr. Khalid Sohail should undoubtedly be given the credit for reviving letter writing which had become extinct due to the internet and social media. Rather, he revived the genre. He along with various writers has published 10 books based on different themes and topics ranging from creativity to spirituality. He says that earlier Ghalib’s letters were famous in Urdu literature, but they were one-sided letters. He has tried to make these letters two-way in which his contemporaries and young writers work together with him on writing about literature, psychology and peace.
He has so far written 600 articles on the well-known website “Hum Sub” where now young writers write letters to him on social, psychological and literary topics to which he writes letters which are published in the form of columns. This creates a mutual collaboration between the two writers and also preserves the genre of letter writing and gives the readers an opportunity to know the opinions of two people.
Awards and Honours:
I asked Dr. Khalid Sohail this question to complete this interview, and he said that he has received many small and big awards, but the most important and biggest award is recognition and encouragement from people, which is a blessing. He says he was given the “Humanist of the Year” award in Canada and the Royal College sent a special letter in honour of his forty years of service, which were very happy moments for him.
Dr. Khalid Sohail’s life looks like a movie story. He describes their life’s hardships and negative experiences like telling a bedtime story to a small child. Reading his writings also feels like he is telling a story to comfort and relax the readers. Every chapter and article of his books is very interesting, attractive and meaningful. It is the essence of Dr. Khalid Sohail’s studies, professional observations, direct life experiences and practical expertise.
Dr. Khalid Sohail is the best example of “Heart Work” not hard work, who did the work that was close to his heart, so he has done as much work as an organization in one life.
He says “I love my work; I feel so relaxed and happy in my work that I feel as if I have never worked a day in my life.”
I find his habit of always reading the writings of new writers and encouraging them by commenting on them very inspiring.
The spirit of serving humanity is remarkable in him. He thinks above religion, country, border, language and race. Even outside Pakistan, his heart burns for the betterment of Pakistani society. He always strives for awareness regarding psychology and mental health in Pakistani society and seeks to fill this gap through his writings in Urdu.
Dr. Khalid Sohail has a big heart and an open mind. He always respects the opinions of others and seeks to learn from others. He has studied human psychology and learnt from first hand professional experiences with his patients and their families. He used the teachings of intellectuals to live a healthy, happy and peaceful life and also used modern social media tools which is a sign of his courage and determination. He is also the founder of Green Zone Philosophy offering lectures and seminars all over the world. I have had the opportunity to attend some of his zoom sessions in Pakistan which are very simple, easy to understand and effective.
In my knowledge, Dr. Khalid Sohail is one of the foremost modern thinkers who brought out the topic of psychology in the field of Urdu literature and writing. This can be estimated from his writings and the opinion of the readers on it.
Dr. Khalid Sohail says that Pakistani society is still in the evolutionary stages. There is a need to give more awareness to the people for the education and awareness of mental health and psychology. In this regard, schools, teachers, children, parents and the corporate sector should be taught psychology. I asked that if you live in the West and you belong to the East, what is the special difference between the writers and literature of the West and the East? In response, he said that there are three main aspects.
First, no writer can create genuine and honest literature until he is free from his social and societal pressures.
Second, writers and artists create freely if they do not have financial obligations.
Third, a genuine writer needs to rise about race and religion and embrace the whole humanity.
In his writings Dr. Khalid Sohail shared an interesting story of his life.
“When I used to study in Edwards College Peshawar, our principal was Phil Edmonds, a teacher from Australia. One day he came to teach us and he seemed very happy. He said I am happy because my son has returned from England with a PhD degree.
A student asked ‘Sir! Are you going to find a bride for him now?” Phil Edmonds’ elderly face smiled gracefully, then he said. “My son will find a bride for himself and if he cannot find a spouse for himself, it means he is not ready for marriage,”
Dr. Khalid Sohail says those parents who are successful in teaching children what to do in life, they become carefree while still alive, but the children of parents who cannot make wise decisions, they keep thinking all their life what will happen to these young children after their death.
Dr. Khalid Sohail says, “I believe that nature has given us a special gift, the Creative Gift, and awareness of this gift is the secret of our health, peace of mind and success in life. That’s why when I opened my clinic in Canada, I named it “Creative Psychotherapy Clinic”.
I think it is a great blessing for a good writer to have a fertile mind, but nature has given Dr. Khalid Sohail the best gift to humanity by giving him a creative mind and a compassionate heart.
(ayazmorris@gmail.com)
