Bio - About Me
Snapshots of my life journey
I grew up in what I consider the most beautiful spot on earth: Molyvos. At the age of eighteen I moved to the USA where I completed with distinction a Bachelor degree in Psychology and Communication Studies.
From California I moved to Washington DC to complete two internships. First, as a Counseling and Advocacy intern, I managed a crisis hotline for adult and children survivors, acted as a hospital advocate for rape survivors and educated the local community on issues of abuse. Second, as an intern for the National Council of Women’s Organization, I completed a women leadership-training program acquiring advocacy skills for social justice issues, I offered support to women with eating disorders and promoted empowering women and their involvement within the community.
After completing my studies and as I am fascinated by meeting new cultures and exploring the world, I moved to Sidney, Australia and continued my journey into Europe, living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands . Here I received a Masters of Science degree in Health Psychology from Leiden University, volunteered as a Mental Health Support Worker at a hospice and opened my private therapeutic practice offering face-to-face and online services. I used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Person Centered Therapy (PCT).
I mainly worked with the expat communities, being an expatriate myself, but i was looking for more opportunities to work in English and so, after a back-backing trip to S.E Asia, I moved to Cambridge, UK . Here, I worked in supporting people with complex 2 psychological disturbances focusing on personality disorders, schizophrenia and substance abuse. I was one of the two therapists who designed and run a pilot Therapeutic Community.
My inclination to work in group settings led me to volunteer at the Cambridge Group Therapy Center where shortly after I was offered a position as a therapist and a co-facilitator to groups using mainly CBT and Schema Therapy (ST).
Parallel to work I expanded my studies and received the Group Work Practitioner National Diploma from the London Institute of Group Analysis. This degree equipped me towards the development and application of theoretical knowledge, skills and techniques necessary to facilitate a wide range of group work approaches in social, health care and educational settings.
Aiming in making an impact on a larger population scale, I relocated to Manchester and worked for the National Health Services, Psychological Department, as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner. I received referrals from doctors and assessed people via the telephone or face-to face focusing on their mental and physical state, risk to oneself and others, as well as safeguarding vulnerable children and adults. I offered CBT therapy face-to-face, via the telephone and in groups. In addition to working with locals, I focused on providing services to immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, via translators. This helped me gain an insight into a new population that helped me grow as a person, a therapist and a world citizen.
Wanting to be able to offer a more comprehensive range of therapies pushed me to explore further in my studies and I received a Diploma in Mindfulness. I used these skills to design and facilitate groups on stress reduction, as well as guiding individuals to return to work after managing stress related burnouts. With these degrees in heart and my background education I leaned towards bringing people together and connecting them in group settings, new to the NHS. I designed and facilitated various groups on: Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Phobias, Breathing and Relaxation, Stress Reduction and Mindfulness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Pain and Physical disorders. I attained a lot of training courses and offered supervision as a Group Work Practitioner to my team.
In 2016 I made my most recent life change as I resigned from my work and relocated to Molyvos with my life partner. It was a difficult time for Greece and especially my little town due to the Syrian refugee waves that had started in 2015. However, we needed to be there and not far away from our home, Molyvos. We also wanted to build a family and live with a quality of love , freedom and closeness . I wanted to be close to my family and my children, to gain time with them and not spend it in long commutes. I planned for 3 my children to grow up close to their grandparents and extended family, to build loving carefree memories and strong healthy attachments. I was eager to be close to my fellow islanders to offer them my support as they were facing an economic-social-cultural and historic crisis, as well as be close to the refugees while thousands of them were entering Greece from my little town. I wanted my children to be close to their Greek roots and close to their parents as both me and my husband grew up in the safe and beautiful environment of Molyvos, in the island of Lesvos that I adore to my core existence.
So here i now as a mother, a wife, a daughter, an islander, an activist, a Greek with two kids later and a family restaurant business (i.e. my husband is a Chef), wanting to give back to the world community by offering Online Therapy sessions and now that Covid-19 allows it i am offering face-to-face sessions by creatively promoting Physical and Mental Health, Diversity, Positivity and Acceptance in its right time for each individual.
Katerina Vati,
Psychologist
