Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri, fondly known as Dr. May, popularly referred to as the celebrity shrink, is a multiple award-winning Consultant Neuro-Psychiatrist, Advocate, and Coach with nearly 20 years’ experience transforming mental health in Africa. She is the Medical Director and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Pinnacle Medical Services, Nigeria’s foremost mental health center renowned for innovative, evidence-based therapies.
A Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, she is also trained in Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Albert Ellis Institute, New York), certified in Trauma Counseling, Neurofeedback, and holds a Master’s in Digital Healthcare from Barcelona Technology School.
Innovations & Impact
- Founder – Pinnacle Health Radio (Africa’s #1 Online Health Radio) & Pinnacle Medicals SPEAKOUT Initiative (mental health literacy).
- Executive Producer – Award-winning films Pepper Soup (drug abuse) & Little Drops of Happy (depression, postpartum depression & suicide).
- Creator – HOW BODI (Africa’s leading mental health app), Deeper Expression book, Dig Deeper Cards game.
- Convener – The Mental Health Conference (TMHC).
Recognition & Fellowships
Dr. May has been honored locally and globally as a Goldman Sachs Scholar, Vital Voices Fellow, Tony Elumelu Alumna, Ashoka Changemaker, Aspen New Voices Fellow, and Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity. She has also been named among Africa’s 100 Most Inspiring Women (2018), Vanguard’s Outstanding Women Under 50 (2018), Her Network Woman of the Year (Healthcare, 2018), BusinessDay’s 60 Women Champions (2020), WIM Outstanding Achievement in Healthcare (2022), and MIPAD Global Top 100 Health & Wellness Honouree (2023). Most recently, she was celebrated as a Power of 100 Africa Honouree (2025).
Global Reach
Through her affiliation with Workplace Options (US & UK), she provides critical incident stress management and employee assistance programs worldwide. She has pioneered school-based mental health programs, adolescent counseling training, and workplace interventions across Nigeria.
Professional Memberships
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) | American Psychiatric Association (APA) | Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) | International Society for Neurofeedback & Research (ISNR) | Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), to name a few.
A trailblazer, innovator, and passionate advocate, Dr. May continues to inspire change in mental health, wellness, and leadership. She is married with three children.
