about me
I work as a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Warsaw University. I have published several scientific publications including a chapter in the "Psychotherapy" - an academic textbook edited by Prof. L. Grzesiuk and those edited by me, prize-winning books on research conducted on families with a diagnosis of schizophrenia: "¦cie¿ki ku sobie i od siebie" ["Paths towards and away from oneself"], as well as numerous publications in the Polish and English language.
In my research work, I analyse the formation of closeness in families of persons who have mental disorders. I have posed myself the question of whether specific forms of closeness can be distinguished in families of psychiatric patients and on what they depend. I am interested in the degree to which exacerbation of symptoms in patients affects the manner of relating to their parents and to what extent this is connected to how their parents related to their own parents (grandparents).
I am in the course of conducting comparative research on the sense of rootedness in one's own family - a study being conducted in Great Britain and Poland (in cooperation with Prof. Maria Lewicka).
Apart from my scientific career, I work as a therapist. I specialise in family and couple therapy and find the systemic and narrative approaches particularly inspiring. I have completed a three-year training course in family therapy in Cracow as well as two-year training on cognitive-behavioural therapy. At present, for almost two years, I have been gaining in-depth knowledge and experience in the field of systemic approach at the reputed "Tavistock Clinic" centre in London. This is where I obtained the Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Systemic Theory. I am also a member of the Association for Family Therapy, and the Family Therapy Section of the Polish Psychiatric Society.
Work is my passion and there is not a great amount of time left for anything else. I do, however, pay attention to regularly attending family Sunday dinners. I feel good in art galleries (particularly those presenting 17th-century Dutch art). I am a hiking enthusiast (a member of the Ramblers Association) and am fond of spending Sunday afternoons in the Kolory - Les Couleurs Cafe in Cracow.