Mária Balážová
• CERTIFIED PSYCHOTHERAPIST • PSYCHOLOGIST
WHAT I DO
For almost 5 years, I have been working as a school psychologist at LEAF Academy, international high school where I work with young people of adolescent age and currently also at the MindGuide clinic, which is my own project focused on working with adolescents.
MY JOURNEY
I finished my studies in psychology in 2006. Since the beginning of my professional career, I have focused mainly on children. I worked with children with developmental intellectual disabilities in a special school, then for several years as a researcher at The Research Institute for Child Psychology and Patopsychology (VÚDPAP), Bratislava, where I mainly did research on the use of the Internet and the topic of gifted children. After the start of psychotherapy training, I joined Viapsychologica, Clinic of Clinical Psychology in Pezinok. I completed a 5-year training at the Slovak Institute for Gestalt Psychotherapy — Dialogue in 2013–2018. At the same time, I completed other workshops and trainings in therapeutic and psychodiagnostic methods (with Jay Levine, Felicia Carrol, Jan Roubal, Talia Bar-Joseph Levine, sandplay workshop, etc.). During the pandemic in 2020/21, I completed an international online program of the Italian Institute of Gestalt Psychotherapy (Instituto di Gestalt Italy) aimed at dealing with the consequences of the pandemic. In 2021/22, I worked in the Men’s Department at the P. Pinel Psychiatric Hospital in Pezinok with adult patients. Since 2017, I have been enrolled in a specialization study in the field of clinical psychology.
I prefer if you contact me via email or message, so I have time to read patiently what would you like. During the office hours I usually work with clients so I do not have a lot of time to answer the calls.
- Study of psychology at the Faculty of Arts, PU 1999-2006
- Training in relaxation-symbolic psychotherapy (100 hours) 2005.
- Training in gestalt psychotherapy, DIALÓG – Slovak Institute for training in gestalt psychotherapy 2013-2018.
- Work in o.z. Odyseus as a psychologist and project manager of harm-reduction programs in the field of sexual health and drug use.
- Work in the Clinic of Clinical Psychology for Children and Adults Viapsychologica, s.r.o., Pezinok 2013-2018.
- In the period from 06/2021 to 01/2022, I worked as a psychologist at the Men’s Department of the Philip Pinel Psychiatric Hospital in Pezinok.
- In 2022, I am enrolled in the Psychotraumatology and EMDR training at the Slovak Institute for Psychotraumatology and EMDR.
- Since 2018, I have been working as a “community counselor” at the international boarding school LEAF Academy.
- Establishment of MindGuide Clinical Psychology Clinic.
- As a volunteer and expert, I collaborated or continue to collaborate with o.z. Odysseus, League for Mental Health, UNICEF and others.
- I primarily work in the form of individual psychotherapy, with child clients using gestalt play therapy according to Violet S. Oaklander.
- I am a member of the Slovak Chamber of Psychologists and the Slovak Psychotherapeutic Society. I am registered in the list of psychotherapists of the Slovak republic.
- I work in Slovak and English.