Equipo

Sofía is the daughter of an Argentine mother (from Buenos Aires) and a Spanish father. She grew up in Spain but always between two cultures, learning to navigate different accents, customs, and ways of understanding life. Since she was little, she frequently visited her family in Argentina and knows what it means to maintain close bonds across long distances.

Her great-grandfather was German, and the family kept in touch with the Zurborn branch. These roots motivated her to learn the language, which allowed her to attend the German School of Madrid in primary school, where she completed her secondary education. Later, she spent a semester of high school living in Göttingen with her German family, from whom she inherited the habit of escaping into nature, a passion for plants and gardening, and the tradition of the light German evening meal, Abendbrot.

In her preadolescence, her entire family moved to Uruguay for three years due to her mother’s work. This was a major life challenge, as she had to build new relationships with classmates from a very different cultural background. Despite speaking the same language, the cultural contrasts were evident. Adapting was difficult, but over time she found her place there and formed friendships that still last today.

Upon returning to Spain, she trained and worked as a school mediator. This was her first step toward her calling.

Sofía has a strong passion for artistic expression (visual arts, music, theater, and dance), which is a source of joy and connection for her. She sees it as a powerful channel for emotional expression and a useful tool in many people’s therapeutic processes. She complemented her education with courses in Positive Psychology and Practical Applications of Music Therapy (University of Burgos), and Social Theater (Pontifical Comillas University). She also participated as a graphic facilitator in various collective gatherings (Art of Hosting and Community Health).

On the other hand, she is passionate about pedagogy and has taught German and mathematics to students of different ages. She believes that teaching is not just about transmitting knowledge but involves a continuous dialogue and adaptation to each person’s specific difficulties, as well as their strengths, interests, and motivations.

Sofía is deeply engaged in social causes, as reflected in her volunteer work. During her university years, she participated in two volunteer programs providing support to immigrants. Since 2020, she has been volunteering at an association that works with children and adolescents at risk of social exclusion, where she organizes recreational and leisure activities.

During her Master’s studies, she also mentored and supervised students participating in Service-Learning Projects as part of the Intervention in Contexts of Social Exclusion course at the university.

Thanks to her psychology studies at the Pontifical Comillas University, she became familiar with a range of clinical psychology approaches that, while different, often complement each other. Early in her degree, she trained with Antonio Guijarro in Humanistic Therapy.
Later, she developed an interest in other approaches with strong empirical support, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She also explored Systemic Therapy, Relational Psychoanalysis, and Third-Wave Therapies. Her final academic projects brought her closer to clinical practice through Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which enriched her clinical perspective even further.

During her university years, she was also involved as coordinator of the Comillas Psychology Student Association (AEPSI-CO) and was an active member of CEP-PIE (Psychology Students’ Collective).

While maintaining her humanistic foundation, Sofía completed her Master’s Degree at the Autonomous University of Madrid, which is grounded in a cognitive-behavioral approach. It was at the Center for Applied Psychology (CPA-UAM) where she gained hands-on experience applying this framework. During her internship at Centro Alba Psicólogos, under supervision, she began working with children and adolescents.

Driven by her interest in the educational field, she also worked as an intern psychologist in the Guidance Department of the German School of Madrid. There, she participated in psychopedagogical assessments, supported School Mediation Programs and Gifted Education Initiatives, and developed interventions to promote emotional well-being in the classroom.

Her training enables her to work from an integrative approach that considers both individual and environmental factors at different levels, using diverse models and techniques depending on the specific needs of each client.

Thanks to her experience as a Mental Health University Counselor at IE University, she is familiar with the wide range of challenges faced by international students who live and study in a foreign country.

Currently, Sofía works with adolescents, young adults, and adults, tailoring her interventions to the specific characteristics and needs of each person. Over the course of her experience, she has supported individuals facing challenges such as emotional regulation difficulties, interpersonal and family issues, adjustment problems, grief processes, anxiety and depression-related concerns, and personality-related difficulties.

For Sofía, therapy is a collaborative process in which both therapist and client work together to achieve therapeutic goals—with the client setting the pace.

She understands therapy as a dynamic process, where different types of work alternate: emotional processing, pattern analysis (whether behavioral, cognitive, or emotional), and the development of new skills. Sessions address both long-term goals and emerging or spontaneously arising issues that become relevant as the process evolves. This flexible approach allows her interventions to be finely tuned to the client’s needs at any given moment.

Sofía places great importance on the human dimension of therapy. She believes it is essential that clients feel safe, understood, and never judged. She recognizes that therapy is most effective when the technical aspects are integrated with a strong, human-centered connection.

Clay was born in Haiti and completed his studies in French at Lycée Alexandre Dumas, which allowed him to grow up in an international environment and develop an early sensitivity to linguistic and cultural diversity.

Who he considers his adoptive parents are a couple of aid workers—he is French and she is Spanish— therefore he was raised closely connected to the European way of life. In 2019, he decided to move to Spain to begin a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Universidad Europea de Madrid. Arriving in a new country and starting a degree program without yet mastering the language was a major challenge for him. However, far from seeing it as a difficulty, he embraced it as an opportunity to step out of his comfort zone and test his ability to adapt. This experience not only allowed him to become fluent in Spanish, but also helped strengthen core values that define him: resilience, consistent effort, and openness to new realities. He is well aware of the difficulties international students face when adapting to a new culture and being far from family and friends.

During his university years, he discovered his passion for both clinical and social areas of psychology. He has always been interested in working with diverse populations—from children to the elderly—understanding that psychology can and should serve everyone. His interest in clinical practice is combined with a strong social vocation, which has led him to develop a broad perspective on psychological well-being and the importance of cultural, family, and community context.

From this worldview, he has always balanced work and studies with volunteerism. He currently collaborates with Save the Children, where he supports vulnerable children, reinforcing not only their academic learning but also their emotional and social well-being. At the same time, he works with the Red Cross, participating in workshops and support activities for minors and families.

He has been recognized with the Volunteer of the Year Award at Universidad Europea, where he also spearheaded numerous initiatives such as blood and bone marrow donor drives, and food collection campaigns.

After completing his Bachelor’s Degree, he continued with a Master’s in General Health Psychology, convinced that specialized clinical training is essential to provide professional, ethical, and effective care.

During his final-year internship, Clay worked in a day center for the elderly, where he was able to engage closely with the realities of aging, dependency, and the importance of person-centered, holistic care.

Later, during the Master’s program, he chose to train in a private practice that focused on children and adolescents using a cognitive-behavioral approach. Supporting them was a privilege for him, as he believes it is essential to earn their trust and create a safe space where they can reach their full potential.

He had the opportunity to work with behavioral issues, anxiety disorders, and video game addiction, as well as to support adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria who were facing the decision of undergoing a gender transition.

Clay also possesses a unique linguistic skill set: he speaks Creole, French, Spanish, and English fluently, which allows him to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and deeply understand the challenges faced by those navigating between cultures and languages.

At SINEWS, he works with children, adolescents, and adults from expatriate families. Having gone through this process himself, he has a special sensitivity toward adaptation difficulties, the sense of belonging, and the importance of being able to express oneself in one’s native language.

On a personal level, Clay describes himself as empathetic, socially committed, highly adaptable, a team player, and someone with a friendly demeanor that makes it easy for others to build trust with him. These values guide both his professional practice and daily life, reflecting his belief that psychology should be approachable, accessible, and deeply human.

Currently, Clay has joined the team as a junior therapist and is undergoing training in Eating Disorders as well as psychoeducational assessment, while working at SINEWS under a reduced fee, supervised by a senior psychologist.
Patients often describe him as cheerful and welcoming, someone they can easily trust to begin working through the challenges they are facing.

Born in Guatemala to a family from Cádiz, Lucía’s life has always been shaped by her father’s frequent relocations (every three years, the family moved to a new destination). She grew up in a multicultural environment, attended middle and high school at the International School of Panama, and completed her secondary education at El Altillo School in Jerez, Spain. As a former expatriate child and teenager, she understands firsthand the challenges of adapting to a new school in a foreign country and the feeling of being an “alien.” Experiencing different ways of life broadened her perspective on human diversity and made her feel like a true citizen of the world.

From an early age, she was the friend everyone turned to for advice and support, so discovering her calling for psychology came naturally. It was the perfect field to combine her structured, analytical mindset with her deep curiosity about the mind and human relationships. While studying Psychology at the University of Seville (bilingual track), she obtained an Erasmus scholarship, allowing her to study a year at Maastricht University (Netherlands), specialized in neuroscience. There, the challenge was mostly academic and her first immersion in English as the working language of psychology. She still keeps in touch with many friends she met while living in an international student residence. Later, at Loyola University Andalusia, she completed a dual master’s degree in General Health Psychology (qualifying her for private practice) and Neuropsychology.

Since then, as a neuropsychologist, she has focused her career on the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents, with a special interest in neurodevelopmental disorders, acquired brain injury, and genetic syndromes. Her work at the Centro Integral de Valoración e Intervención Terapéutica (CIVET) allowed her to be part of multidisciplinary teams, carry out adapted neuropsychological assessments, design individualized treatment plans, implement cognitive rehabilitation programs, and support both patients and their families throughout the therapeutic process.

Lucía sees neuropsychology as a craft, where each case requires sensitivity, patience, and creativity. Her main goal is to help her patients overcome everyday challenges (attention difficulties, tasks organization, or impulse control). To achieve this, she uses books, games, and other playful tools that make the therapeutic process more engaging and accessible for children and adolescents.

She has worked with children (from age two), teenagers, and young adults diagnosed with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, specific language impairment, nonverbal learning disorder, neurological injury, cerebral palsy, and genetic syndromes such as Angelman or West. She also has experience with adults and older patients with neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s and other dementias) or acquired brain injury (post-stroke or traumatic brain injury rehabilitation).

She is committed to ongoing professional development, regularly attending conferences and specialized training courses. Her continued education includes training in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), early educational intervention in autism spectrum disorder and bullying prevention.

In her role as a General Health Psychologist at the Centro Psicopedagógico Espiral, she has supported children and adolescents dealing with behavioral issues, social difficulties, low self-esteem and bullying. Since childhood, she has shown a natural ability to connect with younger children, becoming the go-to babysitter in her community.

As a professional, she strongly believes in close collaboration with families, schools, and medical professionals creating support networks around each patient: «We have to work as a team.»

Delfina is the daughter of parents born in Argentina. However, her cultural background is much more complex. Her paternal grandparents are Germans living in the former Yugoslavia, while her maternal grandparents are children of Italian immigrants. When asked «Where are you from?», she recalls conversations in German between her father and grandfather, videos of traditional dances in the German community of Villa Ballester in Buenos Aires, and Sundays of mate and barbecue. At the same time, Delfina was born and has always lived in Spain, and was educated in bilingual Spanish-English schools.

Already in her final years of high school, she knew she wanted to study psychology, and she managed to do so at the prestigious Univerisdad Autónoma of Madrid. She was fascinated by human behavior, emotions, and the way we relate to ourselves and others. Training as a psychologist was a natural choice, a way to channel her empathy and willingness to support others in their processes of change and well-being…

During her undergraduate degree, she chose to take an elective course on Human Sexuality, where she studied its anatomy, physiology, and dysfunctions in depth. However, she lacked the emotional, affective, and attachment component, which would lead her to the Master’s in Sexology at Camilo José Cela University in Madrid. During her internship at the Youth Center for Sexuality Care, she discovered the tremendous need to talk openly about sex. She provided counseling on topics as diverse as contraceptive methods, unwanted pregnancies, and questions about sexual identity.

As a sexologist, Delfina believes that sexuality is a unique and unrepeatable personal universe and therefore creates a judgment-free space where each person can openly explore their needs and desires. She has a particular interest in female sexuality, where she focuses on self-knowledge and the willingness to embrace the right to pleasure as part of holistic well-being. When working with male sexuality, she focuses on alleviating culturally imposed performance demands and allowing for a more authentic experience of desire connected to enjoyment.

She became a General Health Psychologist after completing a Master’s degree at Antonio de Nebrija University. Given her multicultural background, she applied for an internship at Sinews, where she was selected after a competitive process. There, she enriched her cognitive-behavioral foundation with ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) tools. Additionally, working in the adult education department and with the university population, she gained experience with a wide variety of issues such as eating disorders, anxiety, stress, depression, and more, as well as with individuals from the LGBTQ+ community, as her tutor, Jorge Jiménez Castillo, is an expert in stress among sexual minorities.

As a true learner, her training is ongoing. In addition to having completed several courses (Gender-Based Violence and Perinatal Psychology, among others), she plans to continue her training in ED and Couples Therapy.

Delfina works from a cognitive-behavioral perspective, which she combines with elements of other currents. Her style is approachable, practical, and tailored to the needs of each individual. She relies on dialogue, simple strategies, and exercises to foster sustainable change. For her, acceptance is a key component of well-being: not as resignation, but as a starting point for moving forward.

Daughter of a Spanish mother and a French father, she grew up in a bilingual and bicultural home. She spent her early years at Pomme d’Api and the Lycée Français, later transitioning to a Spanish school, which allowed her to experience the differences between academic systems and presented an adaptation challenge she successfully overcame. Throughout her life, summers have always had their familiar corner in Arcachon. With her father being from Paris, “compote de pomme” was always a staple at the dinner table on December 25th.

As a teenager, Alejandra had the opportunity to spend three one-month stays in different regions of the United States, including Wisconsin and Ohio. During those years, she stayed in touch with her host family from Chippewa Falls, fondly remembering Grandma Deb’s cookies with a smile. At 17, she worked on a dairy farm in Kilkenny, Callan, Ireland, while also serving coffee at a local association for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. She truly understands the challenges a teenager faces when adjusting to a new culture, as she experienced them firsthand.

From a very young age, Alejandra has been deeply fascinated by the physical and emotional changes that define adolescence. This interest led her to become a counselor at international camps, such as the YMCA in the United States and Camp Chantemerle in Montreux, Switzerland. There, she had the chance to interact with children and teenagers from diverse backgrounds—Spanish, French, Swiss, Arabic, and Norwegian—using the three languages she mastered. She also connected with their families, who came from different cultures and relationship systems. Many years later, Alejandra worked with the ANAR Foundation, providing crisis intervention and emergency support for children and adolescents facing challenges like cyberbullying, anxiety related to social media, and thoughts of death. She also offered support to parents struggling to manage difficulties with their children. Being a teenager today can be incredibly challenging, and Alejandra’s experiences have given her a deep understanding of these complexities.

Alejandra has always had a strong sense of solidarity. She led a group of teenagers in organizing activities at a nursing home and initiated a sewing project called «Amor a Saco,» which created and donated seed bags to children with kidney transplants and genetic diseases, helping them release their pain. As a kidney transplant recipient herself, she deeply understands the loss of health, the uncertainty, and the resilience that comes with such an experience. She is truly grateful to be able to offer support to others who are going through similar challenges.

In her work with couples, Alejandra focuses on enhancing communication and understanding between partners through emotion-focused therapy. Her goal is to help each individual connect with their own emotions and needs within the relationship, while also understanding those of their partner. Through this approach, she creates a safe space where both can gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of their relationship, foster meaningful change, and strengthen their bond, ultimately building a more harmonious and fulfilling relationship. As a member of a bicultural couple herself, she is deeply familiar with the challenges of integrating different ways of living and adapting to one another within this dynamic.

During her specialization in Family Therapy, she had the opportunity to train at UNINPSI and Montpellier School, where she worked closely with adolescents and their families on cases involving anxiety, depression, physical and verbal violence between parents and children, technology addiction, and substance abuse. She has a deep understanding of the suffering experienced by both parties, the struggle for autonomy alongside the need for validation and acceptance by adolescents, and the pain of parents who long for their children.

At SINEWS, Alejandra works with adults, young international students, teenagers, couples, and families. Her approach is both warm and technically grounded; she enjoys getting to know each person and their challenges on a deeper level. She helps individuals better understand, express, and experience their emotions, normalizing everything from the simplest to the most unfamiliar or fearful ones. After all, they are all a part of us.

Sie wurde in Deutschland (Bayern) geboren und wuchs dort als Kind deutscher Eltern auf. In ihrer Jugend kam sie nach Spanien, nachdem sie mit deutschen Bräuchen und Lebensweisen aufgewachsen war. Sie erlebte den Kulturschock in vollem Umfang und musste sich der Herausforderung stellen, eine neue Sprache zu erlernen, in der sie studieren musste, und sich in einem fremden Land niederzulassen – mit all den damit verbundenen Schwierigkeiten. Sie absolvierte ihr Abitur in den Naturwissenschaften und Technologien in Spanien und begann ihr Psychologiestudium an der Universität von Almería, wo sie mehrere Forschungsstipendien erhielt. Seit ihrem Eintritt in die Universitätswelt war sie von Menschen verschiedener Nationalitäten umgeben, was ihr ermöglichte, die Interkulturalität intensiver zu erleben und aus den Erfahrungen ihrer Kommilitonen zu lernen.

Das Leben als Expatriate war ein entscheidender Impuls für ihre berufliche Entwicklung, da es ihr wertvolle Werkzeuge für die klinische Arbeit an die Hand gab: die Fähigkeit, den anderen zu verstehen, sich in seine Lage zu versetzen und Offenheit gegenüber dem Andersartigen zu haben, wobei sie versteht, welchen Einfluss diese Herausforderungen auf das Leben eines Menschen haben können. Schon immer war sie fasziniert davon, menschliches Verhalten zu verstehen.

Während ihres Psychologiestudiums, das sie als herausragende Studentin absolvierte, nutzte sie die Lernmöglichkeiten maximal aus: Sie nahm drei Jahre lang am Debattierclub teil und trat auf nationaler Ebene an; sie erhielt zwei Stipendien: eines für die Analyse von Daten zum Unternehmertum in einem nationalen Projekt (GUESSS und GEM) und ein weiteres vom Bildungsministerium, das sich auf Rückfallquoten im Jugendstrafrecht konzentrierte, wobei ihre Arbeit als beste Abschlussarbeit in Ostandalusien ausgezeichnet wurde. Während ihres Praktikums im Jugendstrafvollzugszentrum «El Molino» in Almería arbeitete sie mit Jugendlichen mit schweren Verhaltensproblemen und lernte die Macht des Kontextes kennen – sowohl im Hinblick auf Routinen und das tägliche Leben als auch auf die Bedeutung des Umfelds, in dem wir geboren und aufgewachsen sind. Außerdem arbeitete sie mit der deutschen NGO Suchthilfe Deutschland zusammen, beteiligte sich an der Prävention von Substanzmissbrauch in Schulen, Gymnasien und deutschen Unternehmen, hielt Vorträge und entwarf Interventionsprogramme. Sie schloss dieses Kapitel in Almería ab, indem sie den Sonderpreis für den Studienabschluss sowie den Preis für das beste Zeugnis der Fakultät für Psychologie erhielt.

Ihr weiterführendes Studium führte sie nach Madrid, wo sie den Master in Klinischer Psychologie an der Universidad Complutense de Madrid abschloss. Die Praktika waren besonders bereichernd: Einerseits arbeitete sie bei der Fundación Jiménez Díaz in der psychoonkologischen Interkonsultation, wo sie Menschen in schwierigen Situationen betreute, wie bei der Diagnose einer Krebserkrankung und der anfänglichen Unsicherheit, bei Patienten, die die Remission erreichten und in ihr Leben zurückfinden und ihren Platz finden mussten, oder bei Patienten, die sich der Aussicht auf Unheilbarkeit stellen mussten; andererseits arbeitete sie bei Sinews MTI unter der Anleitung ihrer Mentorin Victoria Ramos Kurland, die Familien, Paare und erwachsene Patienten aus der internationalen Gemeinschaft betreut, die sich mit Problemen wie Angst, Depression, Kommunikationsschwierigkeiten und Konflikten im Zusammenleben auseinandersetzen. In diesem Umfeld konnte sie ihre Rolle als Haupttherapeutin übernehmen und war so erfolgreich, dass sie ausgewählt wurde, dem klinischen Team beizutreten.

Anschließend absolvierte sie den Master in Kontextuellen Therapien und Therapien Dritter Generation am MICPSY, wo sie durch ein intensives klinisches Training die Überzeugung verstärkte, wie wichtig es ist, wie wir mit unserer eigenen Geschichte umgehen und unsere Art, auf unser Umfeld zu reagieren, zu verstehen. Diese Ausbildung hatte einen großen Einfluss auf ihr Leben und ermöglichte ihr, ihre Perspektive auf das Verständnis menschlichen Verhaltens zu ändern.

Als Therapeutin konzentriert sich Katja darauf, ihren Klienten zu helfen, ihre Emotionen und Verhaltensweisen zu verstehen, und arbeitet gemeinsam mit ihnen daran, einen praktischen und effektiven Weg zu finden, um ihnen näherzubringen, was ihnen wichtig ist. Ihre Fähigkeit, eine neue Perspektive auf ihre Schwierigkeiten zu bieten, ermöglicht es ihren Klienten, den ersten Schritt auf dem Weg zur Veränderung zu gehen. Katja schafft einen sicheren und urteilsfreien Raum, in dem sich ihre Klienten gehört und verstanden fühlen.

She was born and raised in Germany (Bavaria) to German parents. She came to Spain during her teenage years, having grown up with German customs and lifestyle. She fully experienced the cultural shock, facing the difficulty of learning a new language in which she had to study, and of settling in a foreign country with all the challenges that entails. She completed her Baccalaureate in Science and Technology in Spain and began her studies in Psychology at the University of Almería, where she obtained several research scholarships. From the moment she entered university, she was surrounded by people from various nationalities, which allowed her to experience interculturality more fully, learning from her peers’ experiences.

Being an expatriate has played a crucial role in her professional development, as it has provided her with valuable clinical tools: the ability to understand others, put herself in their shoes, and be open to differences, and understanding the impact that such challenges can have on one’s life. She has always been fascinated by understanding human behavior.

During her Psychology degree, as the brilliant student she was, she made the most of every learning opportunity: she participated in the debate club for three years, competing at the national level; she received two scholarships: one to analyze entrepreneurship data in a national project (GUESSS and GEM), and another from the Ministry of Education focused on recidivism in the juvenile justice system, for which her work was awarded the Best Final Year Project in Eastern Andalusia. During her internship at the «El Molino» Juvenile Detention Center in Almería, she worked with adolescents with severe behavioral issues, where she learned the power of context, both in terms of routine and daily life, as well as the environment in which we are born and raised. She also collaborated with the German NGO Suchthilfe Deutschland, participating in substance abuse prevention in schools, high schools, and German companies, giving talks and designing intervention programs. She concluded this chapter in Almería by receiving the Extraordinary End-of-Degree Award, as well as the Award for the Best Academic Record in the Faculty of Psychology.

Her postgraduate studies took her to Madrid, where she completed the General Health Master’s Degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. The internships were especially enriching: on one hand, she worked at the Fundación Jiménez Díaz in the Psycho-oncology Consultation Service, where she supported people in challenging situations such as receiving a recent cancer diagnosis and the initial uncertainty, patients who had achieved remission and needed to return to life and find their place, or patients facing the horizon of incurability. On the other hand, at Sinews MTI, under the supervision of her tutor Victoria Ramos Kurland, she worked with families, couples, and adult patients from the international community facing challenges such as anxiety, depression, communication difficulties, and cohabitation issues. In this context, she began her role as a primary therapist and was so successful that she was selected to join the clinical team.

Following this, she completed the Master’s in Contextual and Third-Generation Therapies at MICPSY, where, through intensive clinical training, she reinforced her belief in the importance of how we relate to our own story and understanding our responses to our environment. This training has had a great impact on her life, allowing her to change her perspective on understanding human behavior.

As a therapist, Katja focuses on helping her clients understand their emotions and behaviors, collaboratively building a practical and effective way to bring them closer to what is important to them. Her ability to offer a new perspective on their challenges allows her clients to take the first step on their path to change. Katja creates a safe and non-judgmental space where her clients feel heard and understood.

Thanks to her father’s encouragement, she has treasured international experiences since a very young age. It all began with a summer in Ireland at the age of 13, doing a full immersion with a host family in Dublin. The following summers were filled with American adventures in Maryland, Seattle, and Orlando. The 4th of July remains etched in her memory, along with the taste of red crabs, and to this day, she is still in touch with her “American sis” from Duvall. Lidia is passionate about books, a love of reading that runs in her maternal family, and it was through literature that she found her way into forensic psychology. Those criminology books sparked her interest in human nature.

She graduated in Psychology from the Complutense University of Madrid, and it was during her second year of university that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted her studies, leading her to discover her vocation for helping others by supporting them in times of greatest difficulty through volunteering with SAMUR-PC. Since then, ambulances and emergency care have become a fundamental part of her life and a great learning experience in knowing how to intervene in crisis situations. Today, she is a squad leader and coordinates volunteers in event assistance while also providing psychological services within the organization.

Upon finishing her undergraduate degree, she did her internship at a psychology clinic, where she discovered another approach—emotional systemic therapy—which enriched her foundation in cognitive-behavioral therapy. That same year, she enrolled in the Master´s in General Health Psychology at the European University of Madrid to achieve her goal of treating patients at a psychotherapeutic level. During her internship, she had a class with Gema Rubio and realized that she could train in an international environment in Madrid while recovering her command of English. During her internship, she had the opportunity to be mentored by a specialist in EMDR and decided to deepen her training in attachment and trauma. Today, Lidia treats past wounds that cause issues in the present (such as a difficult childhood, the loss of loved ones, complicated family relationships, or extraordinarily challenging events we have lived through).

At the same time, inspired by a class on the subject, she decided to expand her knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through a Master’s program and became certified to administer the ADI-R and ADOS diagnostic tests.

For a year, Lidia worked in the suicide prevention and care service of the Spanish Red Cross (024). This, along with her experience in crisis intervention, makes her an ideal professional to support individuals grieving from suicide loss and those struggling with thoughts of death or having attempted suicide in their past.

By the time she completed her internship, it was clear that we wanted to have her on board. Since joining the team, Lidia has been working as a university counselor, helping young adults with a wide range of challenges, including mood disorders, anxiety, grief, and family issues. She is also one of the professionals in the department who works with individuals on the spectrum, both during the initial stages of diagnosis, when the relief of making sense of their difficulties takes place, and later, offering support in organizing routines, adapting to changes, managing anxiety, and sensory overload.

Lidia works from an integrative perspective with a cognitive-behavioral base, but her priority is the relief of emotional distress. She creates a safe and comfortable space for her patients, where the therapeutic process they deserve can unfold. Moreover, by breaking down the language barrier and using two languages, she helps patients from all over the world access this process and feel supported in their personal growth.

Mária sa narodila na Slovensku v rodine, kde sa dovtedy nikto predtým nerozhodol opustiť svoju krajinu v hľadaní nového domova. Stala sa teda prvou, ktorá sa rozhodla presťahovať do zahraničia, poháňaná túžbou objavovať príležitosti, ktoré jej iná krajina môže poskytnúť. Motivovaná záujmom o ľudí a ich príbehy, študovala psychológiu vo svojej domovskej krajine, kde pokračovala vo svojej špecializácii magisterským titulom v odbore organizačná a vzdelávacia psychológia. Počas posledného roka postgraduálneho štúdia mala príležitosť zúčastniť sa výmenného programu Erasmus v Portugalsku na Univerzite Trás-os-Montes a Alto Douro vo Vila Real. Štúdium v zahraničí a v jazyku, ktorý nepoznala, jej pomohlo uvedomiť si dôležitosť sociálnych vzťahov – práve tie jej pomohli pri prispôsobovaní sa novému prostrediu. A práve tam sa prebudila aj jej vášeň pre terapeutickú prácu.

Počas svojho štúdia na Slovensku, inšpirovaná svojím bratom, oddaným sociálnym pracovníkom, spolupracovala na jednom z projektov UNICEF-u, „Linka detskej istoty“, kde prijímala hovory od detí a adolescentov, ktorí čelili rôznym problémom – šikanovanie, problémy nadviazať vzťahy so svojimi rovesníkmi, neporozumenie rodiny… Snažila sa im pomáhať nájsť riešenia v týchto náročných situáciách, s ktorými sa dennodenne potýkali.

V garáži-herni neziskovej organizácie Ulita pracovala s deťmi a adolescentmi žijúcimi v znevýhodnenom prostredí jedného bratislavského sídliska. Prostredníctvom hry mohla nahliadnuť do ich životov, čo len potvrdilo jej túžbu pokračovať v odbornom vzdelávaní sa pre prácu s touto populáciou. Presvedčená, že detstvo a adolescencia sú obdobia s veľkým potenciálom na zmenu a uzdravenie, si uvedomila, že hra nie je len prostriedkom na nadviazanie prvého kontaktu s dieťaťom, ale aj bezpečným priestorom, kde mu môžeme dať našu plnú pozornosť.

Neskôr pracovala ako psychologička v neziskovej organizácii Prima, kde pomáhala ľuďom s problémom závislostí a ohrozeným sociálnym vylúčením, prostredníctvom prístupu na znižovanie škôd. Tento prístup nevyžaduje abstinenciu – zameriava sa na zlepšovanie starostlivosti o seba samého po fyzickej a psychickej stránke a popri tom podporuje motiváciu prestať s užívaním drog. Táto skúsenosť na ňu hlboko zapôsobila; ukázala jej nielen ničivé účinky spoločenského znevýhodnenia, ale práve možnosť spoznávať ľudí s tak komplikovanými životnými príbehmi jej pomohla uvedomiť si, že aj s malým úsilím – aktívnym počúvaním a rešpektom – môžeme dosiahnuť úžasné zmeny. Po dokončení programu Erasmus sa presťahovala do Španielska v rámci projektu Európskej dobrovoľníckej služby a pracovala ako dobrovoľníčka v jednej terapeutickej komunite. Tam sa opäť zamerala na rehabilitáciu a pracovnú reintegráciu ľudí s problémom drogových závislostí a s tými, ktorí trpeli HIV/AIDS.

Po tomto projekte sa rozhodla zostať v Španielsku a dokončiť magisterské štúdium sociálnej psychológie na Univerzite Complutense v Madride (UCM). Stále však bola presvedčená, že jej pravým poslaním je klinická psychológia, vďaka ktorej by mohla ponúknuť viac individualizovanej starostlivosti. Jej titul zo Slovenska nebol uznávaný v Španielsku, preto musela znovu začať svoje psychologické štúdium na UCM a následne pokračovať magisterským štúdiom v odbore všeobecnej zdravotnej psychológie na Univerzite Alfonso X El Sabio. Bolo to dlhé a náročné obdobie, počas ktorého Mária preukázala jednu zo svojich najsilných stránok: dôslednosť a schopnosť nasledovať svoje ciele. Na tieto roky však spomína ako na ako obdobie výnimočného osobného a profesionálneho rastu. Skombinovala štúdium s prácami v oblastiach nesúvisiacich s psychológiou, pričom si budovala nový život v inej krajine a budovala vzťahy s ľuďmi, ktorí sa neskôr stali jej novou rodinou.

Počas magisterského štúdia v odbore všeobecnej zdravotnej psychológie bola vybraná prostredníctvom náročného výberového procesu na stáž v SINEWS, kde sme sa okamžite zamilovali do nej a jej schopnosti pomáhať našim medzinárodným pacientom s úzkosťou, depresiou, ťažkosťami v medziľudských vzťahoch v dospelosti a ďalšími problémami… Nemohli sme ju nechať odísť.

Mária sa dnes naďalej vzdeláva v oblasti integratívnej terapie so zameraním na vzťahové väzby a traumy, s dôrazom na špecializáciu v EMDR. Jej terapeutický štýl práce je predovšetkým kognitívno-behaviorálny, založený na vedeckej presnosti, ale vždy prispôsobený individuálnym potrebám každého človeka. Je presvedčená, že všetci máme vo svojom vnútri obrovský potenciál čakajúci na svoje objavenie a že práve terapia je mocným nástrojom na jeho dosiahnutie. Prostredníctvom terapeutického procesu sa medzi terapeutom a pacientom vytvára jedinečné puto schopné liečiť hlboké rany, ktoré často ovplyvňujú náš spôsob bytia, veľakrát bez toho, aby sme si toho boli vedomí. Porozumie tomu, čo formovalo náš život a náš emocionálny svet, nám môže pomôcť robiť lepšie rozhodnutia a efektívnejšie zvládať naše emócie.

Mária was born in Slovakia, in a family where no one had previously decided to leave their country in search of a new home. Thus, she became the first to move abroad, driven by a desire to explore new opportunities. Motivated by an interest in people and their stories, she studied Psychology in her home country, where she went on to specialize with a master’s in organizational and educational psychology. During the final year of her postgraduate studies, she had the opportunity to participate in an Erasmus exchange in Portugal, at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro in Vila Real. Studying in a foreign country and in a language she wasn’t fully familiar with, helped her reflect on the importance of building a social support network when adapting to a new environment. It was there that her passion for therapeutic work was awakened.

During her studies in Slovakia, inspired by her brother, a dedicated social worker, she supported one of UNICEF’s projects, the “Child Safety Line”, where she answered calls from children and adolescents facing a wide range of issues, particularly survivors of bullying.

In the garage-playroom of the NGO Ulita, she worked through play with children and adolescents from an underprivileged neighborhood in Bratislava, which allowed her to gain insight into their lives and reaffirmed her desire to continue training to work with this population. Convinced that childhood and adolescence are stages with great potential for change and healing, she was able to see that play is not only a means of connection but also a safe space where they can receive full attention.

Later, she worked as a psychologist at the NGO Prima, helping people with addictions at risk of social exclusion through a harm reduction approach, where abstinence was not required. Instead, the focus was on improving self-care and fostering the desire to stop using substances. This experience had a profound impact on her, teaching her the devastating effects of marginalization, while the privilege of getting to know people with such complicated life stories allowed her to understand that with very little – simply active listening and respect – we can make a significant positive impact. After completing her Erasmus, she moved to Spain as a volunteer in a therapeutic community through the European Voluntary Service project. There, she once again focused on the rehabilitation and labor reintegration of individuals with drug dependencies and those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

After this project, she decided to stay in Spain and complete a master’s in social psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid. However, she remained convinced that her true calling was clinical psychology, where she could offer more individualized care. Her degree from Slovakia was not recognized in Spain, so she had to restart her psychology studies at UCM and then continue with a master’s in general health psychology at Alfonso X El Sabio University. It was a long journey filled with challenges, during which Mária demonstrated one of her greatest strengths: consistency and the ability to persist in her goals. She remembers these difficult years as a time of significant personal and professional growth. She balanced her studies with jobs in fields unrelated to psychology, all while building a new life in another country and forming deep bonds with people who would become her new family.

During her master’s in general health psychology, she was selected through a rigorous interview process to do her internship at SINEWS, where we immediately fell in love with her and her ability to help our international patients with anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties in adulthood, and more… We couldn’t let her go.

Today, Mária continues her training in integrative therapy, focusing on attachment and trauma, and specializing in EMDR. Her therapeutic method is primarily cognitive-behavioral, based on scientific rigor, but always tailored to the individual needs of each patient. She is convinced that we all have immense potential waiting to be discovered, and that therapy is a powerful tool to achieve this. Through the therapeutic process, a unique bond is created between therapist and patient, a bond capable of healing deep wounds that often influence our way of being without us even realizing it. our emotions more effectively. Understanding our origins and our emotional world helps us make better decisions and manage our emotions more effectively.