Alexandra Pappa- Katsiafa

Clinical psychologist – Psychotherapist, Msc Master Practitioner in Eating Disorders

So, let’s introduce myself, my name is Pappa-Katsiafa Alexandra, I was born and raised in Karditsa and I have been living in Athens the last years. If I can remember myself, I have always sat and observed and analyzed the behavior of people, it was and is a process that fascinates me. At the same time, both at school and in my social environment there was the option of people coming to talk and open up to me, even if they didn’t know me. So from an early age I knew that I would study Psychology

My personal experience and battle with eating disorders contributed to all this interest and the need to explore human and his/her behavior. It’s started with various bullying comments at school for being overweight and finally took the “face” of anorexia to me and after a few years the “face” of overeating and bulimia. A difficult journey, with many storms, where you struggle to stand up together with all the other obligations and roles that everyone is called to take on in life. My knowledge about psychology and the decision to understand the reasons for my body and food lashing out helped me to love myself and stand up beside it and not against its reflection in the mirror.

So today, I ended up studying at the Psychology department of University of Crete and I obtained a license to practice the profession of Psychologist in 2015 (REF. A: 2-05-2015). After completing my basic studies, I attended a training program in the Social Clinical Psychology of Addictions and School Education of Children and Adolescents at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. I then started my master’s in clinical psychology at the Hellenic American University specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I have participated as well as attended several seminars, while I have completed the training and treatment program for eating disorders. As far as my work experience is concerned, it includes the Orfeas boarding school of the Psychargos program, where people with chronic mental illnesses live in Larissa. Afterwards, I worked as a Psychologist at the Trikala Chronic Illness Clinic. In 2016, for matter of living, and during with my master’s degree, I worked in the field of customer service and sales, where they came to strengthen my knowledge of people and the daily demands-difficulties of life. As part of my practice, I provided psychological support and short-term psychotherapy in the Municipality of Ilioupoli.

Today, I work privately as a Psychologist Psychotherapist and as a partner of the Roots Wellness Center, based on the Cognitive-Behavioral model but at the same time techniques from other methods that are based on the uniqueness of each person. My professional interest and areas of expertise are stress and its management, eating disorders, occupational difficulties, depression, emotional difficulties, and of course the journey in search of personal identity.