Meet our psychologists

Haris Mavrokefalos, MSc

Clinical Psychologist in Leiden and The Hague

My motivation to assist people dealing with challenges led me to focus on human behavior by choosing to study Psychology. My core belief is that every person is unique and should be treated with a unique approach based on their strengths and weaknesses.

Spyridoula Patouna, MSc, PhD candidate

Counseling Psychologist and Systemic Psychotherapist in Leiden

My interest in interacting with people and understanding the unique way they think, feel and behave led me to focus on humanistic studies. I truly believe that each person has strengths and skills and should be treated as capable of bringing out the best version of themselves.

Read more about Spyridoula

Qualifications:

Completed a 4-year Postgraduate Degree under the title “Systemic Psychotherapy”, at the Institute for Systems Therapy and Intervention in individuals, families and larger systems
PhD candidate at the University of Thrace, Department of Social Work. Title: “Preschool children’s and parents’ perceptions regarding screen use in Greece and in the Netherlands: a comparative study”
Masters Degree (MSc) in “Counselling Psychology in Education, Health and Work”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Bachelor Degree (BSc) in Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. I spent one academic semester at the European University of Cyprus via Erasmus Exchange Program
Annual Training in “Special Education”, University of Aegean, Greece
Registered Educator for Adults at the Center for Lifelong Learning of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Extra Trainings: Systemic Counselling in Education, Parental Divorce Management (University of Athens)
Attendance of numerous conferences to keep my knowledge up-to-date
Member of the Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen (NIP)
Member of the Hellenic Scientific Association for Peer Counselling
Member of the Scientific Association for the Promotion of Educational Innovation

Experience:

Several years of experience providing psychosocial support in a variety of Educational and Mental Health Organizations and NGO’s
Psychological Support via one-to-one sessions at the Greek National Center for Social Solidarity
Psycho-social Support via the Greek National Hotline for Social Aid to individuals dealing with difficulties such as depression, anxiety, addiction, family difficulties, relationship difficulties, domestic violence, unemployment, decision making and many more
Psycho-social support via the Greek National Hotline for Children’s Protection
Counselling via messaging using the online platform “Live without Bullying” providing support to teenagers, parents and teachers regarding bullying in Greek. (Family and Child Care center, Athens, Greece. I am still offering my services)
Organization of Workshops regarding communication and self development (conducted at the Municipality of Marathon in Greece and at schools).
Workshops for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder at the International Organization “Stichting Reach Holland” in the Hague, Netherlands
10 years experience as a Teacher

Publications:

My passion for understanding and supporting others led me to conduct a lot of research, some of which has been presented in International conferences and have been published in Scientific Journals:

Patouna S. & Poulopoulos C. (December 2017). The construction of meaning in Gambling addiction and in Therapy. Exartisis: Scientific Journal on Addiction Issues, vol. 29, pages 62-82
Patouna S. & Poulopoulos C. (November 2018) The consequences of Gambling Addiction on Couples, 7th Pan-Hellenic Conference in Counseling Psychology, Volos, Greece
Patouna S. & Poulopoulos C. (September 2019). Crisis situations and ways of Crisis Management by gamblers and their spouses during gambling addiction. 17th European Federation of Therapeutic Communities Conference “Everything flows”, Thessaloniki, Greece
Patouna S. & Fragkakis M. (November 2019). Correlations between Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Emotional Regulation, and Parental Self-Efficacy of Parents of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. 7th Panhellenic Conference for Autism. Athens, Greece
Patouna, S. & Fragkakis, M. (October 2020). The advantages and disadvantages of distance learning during the COVID-19 period through the experiences of students. 6^th International Conference for the Promotion of Educational Innovation. Larissa, Greece
Fragkakis M, & Patouna, S. (October 2020). Students’ perceptions regarding the ideal type of education through their experience of in-person and online teaching during the COVID-19 period. 6^th International Conference for the Promotion of Educational Innovation. Larissa, Greece
Patouna, S. & Poulopoulos,C. (June 2021). The use of screen from children 4-6 years old during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. 1st Conference of the Association of European Qualitative Researchers in Psychology (EQuiP):
Creating Bridges. Thessaloniki, Greece

Extra Research:

“ARIADNE: Developing and supporting multisectoral police reporting procedures to prevent and respond to domestic violence against women” conducted by the National Center for Social Solidarity.
“Qualitative Approaches on multicultural issues and social justice in Counselling Psychology” by the University of Athens (presented in the 6th Conference for Counseling Psychology, Athens, Greece).

I offer therapy in English and Greek.

Olga Żejmo - MSc

Intern Clinical Psychologist in Leiden

My name is Olga and I‘m so pleased to start my adventure as a volunteer / an intern at Psychotherapy Now. I’m a Psychology graduate from Poland and in February I‘m starting another masters in Clinical Psychology at Leiden University. Having moved to the Netherlands recently, I’m trying to embrace the new culture and language.

Frederick Heitz, BSc

Intern Clinical Psychology in Leiden

I am aspiring to become a psychologist, because I am fascinated by the human psyche. Every single person has something unique to offer, even if he or she doesn’t even know it yet.

Ishana Durante - Bose, MSc

Intern Clinical Psychologist in Leiden

My integrative therapeutic approach is holistic. To me, holistic is whole person healing. The more perspectives we have of a concept, a situation or a pattern — the greater our understanding of it overall. This enables us to compassionately engage with it, in its entirety. Let’s cultivate the moments in which we feel whole, and let’s explore the moments in which we feel less than whole.