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    I was twelve years old in my native Greece, when I saw my future as a psychologist. After graduating with a Bachelor’s in Classics and Philosophy from the University of Athens, I earned a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Master’s in Counseling Psychology at the University of Santa Barbara, in California. It was during my studies there when I met my first mentor and psychotherapy teacher, the founder of humanistic, person-centered therapy, Dr. Carl Rogers.

    I trained in Rogerian therapy in Europe and Chicago, and learned its applications with a variety of populations, ranging from recovering addicts and battered women, to delinquent adolescents,  schizophrenics, and chronic psychiatric patients. I then pursued a doctorate in Counseling Psychology at McGill University of Montreal, Quebec, in Canada, while also pursuing hospital training in the applications of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, treating a variety of psychological disturbances, including obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders and a number of phobias.  During my years in Canada I also worked with immigrant adolescents and their families, providing cross-cultural, family and couple counseling. Through a radio program that I develop and presented for two years to an audience of 100,000 Greek immigrants in Montreal, I provided psychological education aimed at preventing personal and family problems caused by the stressors of immigrant living. As appointed faculty at McGill University, I taught Counseling theories at and supervised Master’s Level practicum students and licensed therapists in private practice.

    Following my doctoral studies, I was invited to teach as a visiting professor in Counseling Psychology at the University of San Jose, in Costa Rica. I was also appointed the clinical director of a non-profit organization working with high-risk populations. Among my other activities there, I developed and taught courses on listening skills to the entire personnel of the Ministry of Justice, which included the personnel of the prison system of the metropolitan area of San Jose.

    Since 1995, I have been based primarily in the United States. In my private practice I have worked with people from all walks of life facing a number of stressors and issues, including divorce, parenting, adoption, blended families, loss, death, terminal illness, spiritual crises, sexual identity issues, post-traumatic stress disorders, addictions, depression, retirement, and various career-related issues. I also trained in Jungian psychology and dream analysis and integrated spiritual counseling in my work with people who expressed a need to explore their spiritual dimensions, reconcile unresolved issues with their religious upbringing, and rediscover their faith and love in God in a new, mature, adult context.

    Since 1997, I regularly taught seminars and workshops in religious and educational venues across the country, on various topics integrating spirituality, psychology, and religion. I develop a method of spiritual and emotional renewal using inspiration from movies, for which I received an award from the Van Waveren Institute, in New York City. McGraw-Hill published my method in 2005 under the title “Reel Fulfillment”. Publishers Weekly voted “Reel Fulfillment” among the top ten most creative personal growth books for the season 2005-2006.

    I am fluent in English, Greek, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Ancient Greek, and I communicate well in Italian. I also have reading knowledge of Latin and Hebrew.

    Speaking several languages has enabled me to work and relate with a broad spectrum of people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds. I have been blessed with extraordinary experiences that have  deepened my understanding of us, humans, as God’s most beloved creatures. Over the years, my travels, educational and vocational pursuits brought me to contact with people from very different backgrounds. I have worked with Inuit communities in the tundra of Northern Quebec, prison inmates and their staff in Central America, orphanage personnel in rural Tanzania, pastors ministering in the favelas of Rio, and high-achieving financiers of Wall Street and Park Avenue. For six years I also worked as a public educator at the Guggenheim Museum of New York city, where I used Art as a tool for self-discovery, in lectures I gave to people from around the world, including the Chinese Minister of Defense, the Mayor of Beijing, the Prince of Luxembourg, and the Royal family of Denmark.

    Working as a psychologist and educator with other people in their native languages and environments has enabled me to appreciate the individual differences that make each one of us a unique human being, but also see the commonalities that unite all of us into one and the same human species, created in God’s image.

    In 2008, following a strong sense of call, I entered Seminary studies, where I have been immersed in studying theology and discerning different forms of integrating psychological services with pastoral ministry in various religious and non-religious settings. 

    My life-long commitment to serving the psychological and spiritual needs of other people has recently entered a new dimension. My ongoing training and formation are now being enriched with new experiences, which enable me to understand and experience ever-deeper layers of our human nature. My path of service continues on, as I draw strength by my faith in the boundless Love with which God creates, redeems and sustains us, humans, in God’s own image. 

    To read my full Curriculum Vitae, click here.