Branka Mlinar

I am a trained clinical psychologist and Gestalt therapist from Serbia. I was born in Croatia, but I moved to Serbia at a very young age, and this is where I'm living at the moment. I've lived in a couple of other countries in the meantime (Vietnam and Egypt), and I intend to relocate again sometime in the future. I've always been curious about people's emotions and motivation, and I've always enjoyed connecting with them and looking at things from different points of view. This led to my interest in philosophy and psychology. While completing my psychology degree at Belgrade University, I decided to start Gestalt therapy training as well. This training provided quite a few hours of personal therapy (both individual and group), and extensive theoretical and practical training. I am interested in other modalities too, such as Family Systems therapy, Somatic psychotherapy, psychoanalytic therapy, and CBT, which is sometimes noticeable in my approach to clients. The primary forcus in the initial stages of a psychotherapy process is the relationship - developing trust in me as a therapist and in our therapy as a process. After that's established, we can start working on reevaluating and questioning some things, in a safe and supportive environment. I also focus a lot on the body and on non-verbal communication, and I report back to my client, with high regard for their sensitivities and personalities. I strive to create a safe place in which clients won't be afraid to express whatever's on their minds, thus turning the therapy session into a sort of playground in which they're free to experiment with different modes of being. Apart from the work I do in private practice, I also have experience working in a large company as a trainer. I've worked with various NGOs and have experience with crisis intervention programs, and I did a one-year internship at a clinic in Belgrade, where I was trained in psychological and neuropsychological diagnostics.