Approach
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (#19432) and a qualified Mindfulness Teacher, with Doctoral and Master’s degrees in psychology. My counselling style draws upon principles of motivational interviewing and mindfulness-based inquiry. If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD, or another mental health challenge, please contact me for a free 15-minute consult. I do not accept new clients for counselling services currently but routinely offer mindfulness based stress reduction classes. I have a very unique teaching and counselling background and toolbox of interventions that can help you better cope during these stressful times.
Early Career
I have graduated with a Psychology MSc degree from Trnava University in Slovakia where I specialized in factors conducive to changes in drug users undergoing residential treatment in therapeutic communities. I then pursued a PhD in Social Psychology, at the same university, which investigated the quality of social interaction and personality characteristics of people who use drugs across a range of settings. Having studied the subject using both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, I then moved on to synthesize the evidence base on psychosocial interventions for problem alcohol use in people who use illicit drugs through a Cochrane systematic literature review at the University College Dublin and the University of Limerick, Ireland.
My debut Cochrane systematic review won the best paper award from Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (RAMI). It laid foundations for my research on implementing psychosocial interventions in opioid agonist treatment in Ireland, U.S. and Canada. This work received the INVEST award from the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) to train with Dennis McCarty, PhD, in the Department of Public Health at Oregon Health & Sciences University. I was fortunate at the time to participate in the most ambitious project in history to bridge the gap between practice and research in the field of addiction. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Clinical Trials Network began in 1999, and two decades later is responsible for over 500 publications.
I recently examined training of healthcare providers in the care of people with substance use disorders and related harms – a project awarded by the Early-career Fellowship award from the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM).
I began my clinical career during my undergraduate studies when I have been actively involved in community organisations, first as an Outreach Drugs Worker and later on as an Assistant Project Manager in a needle exchange project in Downtown Bratislava. My early training included brief workshops on transaction analysis, gestalt and encounter groups at the Slovak psychotherapeutic institute, a Euro-regional institute of education in psychotherapy, and counselling skills at the Institute of Expert Services in Czech Republic. I further utilized the knowledge and expertise gained from this work in a community unemployment service (Hungary), in a community drugs initiative for at risk youth (Ireland), and in a stabilisation day program for people contemplating a reduction in their use of drugs (Dublin).
Recent Work
In 2022, after working as a PhD researcher for over a decade, I returned to clinical work, opening a private practice in Vancouver, BC focused on treating post-traumatic stress disorders and teaching Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) online. A year earlier, I also completed Level 1 of the MBSR Teacher Training Pathway, which was taught by Dr Kasim Al-Mashat, who is authorized by the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, and am qualified to teach the eight-week MBSR program.
For my continuing professional development, I have advanced my counselling and research skills, focusing on: brief psychosocial interventions (University College Dublin, Ireland), motivational interviewing (Justice Institute, BC), career counselling (Douglas College, BC), clinical interventions for people who use drugs (BCCfE), addictions (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) and psychotherapy research methods Young Researchers III. (University of Trier, Germany), and a range of workshops in clinical trials research methodology.
Education
- PhD, Social Psychology, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia, 2011
- MSc, Psychology, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia, 2005
Certifications
- INVEST Fellowship, Oregon Health& Sciences University, Portland Oregon, 2013
- Level 2 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Teacher (MBSR), (2021-Current)
- Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), 19432 (2022-Current)
My professional and research interests lie broadly in the areas of education research, systematic reviews and qualitative methodologies. For more information about my academic training and background, please visit my academic profile.
I bring to counselling my experience from community substance use services, research on addictions, and life in many countries around the world. My style and approach will fit some clients more than others. I am passionate about pursuing truth, and believe life is a continuous journey of discovering our true nature. My own work in this area has led me down many paths, such as training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, time spent meditating and participating in various retreats, and dedication to the spoken word and writing.
For those unfamiliar with mindfulness science, I like to say it’s the quality of mind that arises in the present moment when observing our internal experiences without judgement. As a counsellor, I appreciate the incredible complexities and challenges people struggle with in life, and leverage my academic and meditation background in helping clients work on even the thorniest of problems.
If you think I would be a good match for your needs, contact me. Please note that clients interested in PTSD therapy with me need to contact the Westcoast Resiliency Centre.