Zoi Theofilakou
Psychologist & Psychotherapist
Available for new clients
Therapy is a creative means to the end of discovering one's unique way of enjoying a meaningful life. My work is to facilitate this natural process of growth.
I specialize in:
At a glance
Note from ZoiPrivate practice
Your story is important.Feel free to contact me here if you feel that we could be a good fit.
Usually responds after 24 hours
About me
I am a trained psychologist and Gestalt therapist from Athens, Greece. My work is strongly influenced by critical theory and psychoanalytic references.
I have practiced one to one and group sessions in Greek and English since 2009, in a variety of settings, with adults and teenagers, sometimes dealing with serious aspects of the psycho-pathological spectrum, while others just aiming at self-awareness and/or change.
I have chosen to be a Gestalt therapist, finishing a four-year training program, as for me this approach represents in its practice some of the most fundamental elements of the well-being. Aware presence, the view of Self as an indivisible part of one’s relational/societal interactions (field theory & liminality), existential dialogue, and inter-subjectivity as the "third party" where therapy actualizes are elements through which, therapy evolves into a fertile ground, where acceptance nourishes growth, change and capacity. Thereafter, a deepening in psychoanalytic theory has amalgamated my practice into an osmosis of phenomenology, analysis and existentialism.
Yet theory remains for me merely a toolkit of ideas, which alongside a diversity of interests in life other than therapy, provides me with the aspiration to enter the therapeutic dialogue in an authentic and simple manner.
I speak:
EnglishGermanGreek
Location:
Richardstraße 39, 12043 Berlin, Germany
Approach
Treatment Approaches
Art therapyRecommended for those who feel more comfortable expressing emotions through creativity and want to explore their feelings through art rather than talking.
Existential analysisRecommended for those who are searching for deeper meaning in life or are struggling with big questions about existence, freedom, and purpose.
Gestalt therapyRecommended for those who want to focus on the present and take responsibility for their feelings and actions to promote personal growth.
What is a symptom?
Every symptom that is experienced as an obstacle, serves the preservation of an organismic equilibrium in an inadvertent manner. Shedding light on the unintentional pathway of the symptom formation can enhance the sense of agency in its respect and reveal new layers of potential self-growth.
Polarities - Unconscious background.
The expansion of awareness around the functionality of behaviors and patterns, that are experienced as untoward, slowly reveals the rigidity of ideas lying behind them. Rigid ideas that come as answers to the questions "who am I?" "who is the other?" promote and recycle a fixed gestalt of the ongoing experience of self and other, restraining it to polarized expressions.
Here and now, past and future.
A safe grounding of the self in the current situation, promotes deeper insights regarding the past, present and future. Aware presence is a powerful means to self-actualization, self-determination and active contribution to what lies beyond the self.
Inter-subjectivity & I-Thou contact.
Inter-subjectivity is the "third party" where growth is enabled.
Experimentation - Play
Verbal, as well as non-verbal (symbolical/artistic) methodology to explore and create nuances.
Change through exploration and acceptance
The exploration, understanding and finally acceptance of what is now present, for what it is and how it is holds the key to the desired changes.
Experience
15 years in practice
2014 - cur. Psychologist, Gestalt therapist in Private Practice
2018 - 19 Psychologist at International Rescue Committee - Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Program in Lesvos
2016 - 17 Psychologist at International Organisation for Migration - Mobile & Camp Protection Team
2015 - 16 Psychologist at Inter-municipal Network of Healthy Cities – Social Poverty Response Structures
2015 - 16 Workshop coordinator, facilitator at Project for Children Human Rights’ Protection, NGO Antirropon
2012 - 13 Psychologist at Project: “In action” - Health promotion to primary students, high school students and adult athletes
2009 - 10 Psychologist at "ARSIS" Shelter for the Temporary Stay of abused and/or neglected Minors
Voluntary
2015 - 16 Workshop coordinator, facilitator at Festival “Break the Chain” – Human trafficking & Minor migrants “on the road”, NGO Antirropon
2012 - 15 Psychologist, trainee in Gestalt therapy at Communal Mental Health Care Center in Vyronas, Athens (in cooperation with the Kapodistriako University of Athens)
2014 - 15 Psychologist, trainee in Gestalt therapy at Nursing Home "Estia Konstanople"
2014 - 15 Coordinator, facilitator of an experiential workshop for adults: “Experiencing the void, in and between”
2013 - 14 Psychologist, trainee in Gestalt therapy at Support and self-awareness group: “Relating to Myself and Others”, Gestalt Foundation & EN.E.O.N. Association (Union of Greek Women for Family and Youth)
2012 Psychologist at Boarding House for chronic psychotic patients, Kallipolis – NGO metaVASIS
2011 Psychologist at Sanatorium for Chronic Diseases, Melissia sector, Athens
Education
2021 - Internationale Psychoanalytische Universität Berlin (ongoing)
2020 – “Step Ahead” Expressive Arts in Psychotherapy
2019 – Attachment theory and complex PTSD (IRC)
2018 – Supporting men & survivors of LGBTQ violence (IRC)
2018 – Psycho-social M.E.T.S. method of support for trauma survivors
2017 – Dance Movement Therapy
2015 – Gestalt Foundation – Psychotherapy and Training Center
2012 – Clinical Psychopathology
2011 – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Philosophy, School of Psychology, Department of Social and Clinical Psychology
Cost
Individual Session
€90
Group session
€50
Couple session
€140
Thematic workshop
€20
Insurances
Private Pay
At a glance
Note from ZoiPrivate practice
Your story is important.Feel free to contact me here if you feel that we could be a good fit.
Usually responds after 24 hours
Usually responds after 24 hours