Child psychologists

Drivakou Despoina MSc, PhD(c) is a Child Psychologist with a private practice in Thessaloniki. She also provides supervision to early-career psychologists and mental health professionals in the initial stages of clinical practice. She holds a degree from the Department of Psychology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a Master's degree in Basic Methodology of Medical Research - Social Medicine - Public Health and Epidemiology from the Medical School of the same university. Additionally, she is a PhD candidate at the same institution. She has also trained in Systemic Family Psychotherapy, is a certified Life Coach, and consistently attends seminars and conferences related to the systemic approach. Other psychotherapeutic programs she has trained in include Psychodrama - basic training, Emotionally Focused Therapy - couples therapy, and developmental models specifically for couples in crisis due to substance, alcohol, and medication use, domestic violence, and narcissistic disorder. She has worked as educational staff in private adult education and currently works with children, adolescents, and couples, conducting systemic approach therapies and services related to young parents (parenting), fatherhood education, parental divorce, children's social skills, and sexuality. She regularly appears on Vergina TV, radio stations, and contributes articles to various magazines and her personal blog. Concurrently, she coordinates the Family Health forum, which has been organized over the past three years addressing issues related to family and children, involving many professionals from the health sector. Finally, she is a member of the Hellenic Psychological Society, the Hellenic Neuropsychological Society, the Systemic Society of Northern Greece, as well as other associations in Thessaloniki.

Dr. Thelouras Nikolaos is a Child Psychologist who maintains a private practice in Ano Ilioupoli, where he provides mental health services with professionalism and consistency. He graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom with a primary degree in Psychology. His academic career continued at the postgraduate level at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in the Medical Department, where he completed his studies in Forensic Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine with distinction. He is a member of the teaching staff of the Psychology Department at IST College, which collaborates with Swansea University, actively contributing to the development of new skills and knowledge. His clinical training is enriched by specialized postgraduate education in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through the International Psychotherapy Center "ALYPIA," recognized by the British organization ACCPH (Accredited Psychotherapists – Level 7). Furthermore, he has received certified training in the use of the psychometric tool MMPI-2 through ISON Psychometrica. In clinical practice, Dr. Thelouras has extensive experience working with both adults and children and adolescents. He addresses a variety of psychopathological difficulties, with a primary focus on anxiety and depression, while concurrently working in private facilities with children and adolescents presenting developmental disorders, ADHD, and other behavioral difficulties. His scientific training, professional experience, and continuous education make him a comprehensive professional in the field of mental health.

Logos Kai Ekfrasi is a Special Education Center that has been operating for 17 years and has been based in Kaisariani since 2008. It provides parent counseling services, individual psychotherapy for children and adolescents, as well as individual and group psychopedagogical programs. The Child Psychologists at the center offer parent counseling on issues concerning parents, such as painful transitions, more specifically, managing divorce, coping with grief/death/illness in the family, difficulties in handling everyday situations like setting boundaries for children’s behavior, addressing difficulties with children’s nutrition and sleep, toilet training, managing the child’s refusal to attend school or complete homework, behavioral problems such as conflicts within family relationships, managing aggression and angry outbursts, addressing internet addiction, emotional problems including managing bullying experienced at school, phobias, insecurity, introversion, passivity, and jealousy towards a sibling. Additionally, they provide individual psychotherapy for children and adolescents facing emotional or behavioral difficulties such as anxiety, phobias, low self-esteem, obsessions, psychosomatic issues, eating disorders, selective mutism, aggressive or passive behavior, delinquent behavior, internet or electronic game addiction, and difficulties in social and interpersonal relationships. Finally, they offer individual or group psychopedagogical programs for children who demonstrate difficulties in communication and social skills, meaning they struggle to communicate effectively with others, behave appropriately in various social situations, make friends, share, wait their turn, follow rules, accept defeat, and understand others’ intentions and emotions.

The Special Therapies Center “Words and Actions” is a space created with love, awareness, and care for children. The primary goal of the team is to meet the therapeutic needs of each child and to guide parents in order to enhance and develop the child's skills. The center provides specialized services for assessment, diagnosis, and therapy for children, adolescents, and adults presenting developmental disorders, speech and language problems, learning difficulties, behavioral issues, as well as psychological support and parental counseling. The founder and Scientific Director of the Center is Darla Eleni, a graduate of the Speech Therapy department of the School of Health Professions at the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, a member of the Association of Speech Pathologists-Speech Therapists of Greece, and holds a professional license. She has been providing speech therapy services for the past 14 years to children and adults with communication, speech, and language disorders. She specializes in the assessment and therapeutic intervention for children with disorders such as delayed speech and language development, articulation disorders, phonological disorders, autism spectrum disorders, stuttering, and hearing impairment. She has attended numerous seminars related to Speech Therapy and Special Education and continues her professional training both theoretically and practically. Notably, she has been certified in widely recognized therapeutic methods such as TEACCH, Makaton, among others. She has also completed a 9-month training seminar on “AUTISM” at the University of Patras.

We are a team of individuals united by a common goal and vision: to provide specialized intervention and support for issues encountered by children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. This led to the establishment of Diaulos Kentro Eidikis Agogis Kai Psyxotherapeias.

Through the experienced child psychologists at our center, a psychoeducational program is offered that aims to enhance a child's self-esteem, self-image, and self-efficacy.

Children facing emotional, behavioral, and learning difficulties; children with low self-esteem; those considered "shy" and struggling to integrate into small or larger social groups; children and adolescents diagnosed with specific learning and/or communication difficulties, developmental disorders; those experiencing family adversities (such as divorce, illness, loss); and, more generally, children who have difficulty recognizing, expressing, and understanding their own and others' emotions, particularly benefit from these psychoeducational programs.

Kazakou Elli is a Clinical Psychologist. She studied Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and pursued postgraduate studies in Clinical Psychopathology and Psychoanalysis at Université Paris Cité (Paris Descartes) in Paris, completing a two-year program focused on the Clinical Psychopathology of children and adolescents.

She has worked in clinical settings in Athens and Paris, with children, adolescents, and adults. In Paris, she had the opportunity to work as an intern in reception centers for parents, infants, toddlers, and their caregivers, at medico-pedagogical centers, as well as at Necker Hospital (Necker-Enfants Malades University Hospital), providing psychological support to expectant and new mothers, and/or couples experiencing perinatal grief.

In recent years, she has been working in Athens as a collaborator of the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Unit for Children "Spyros Doxiadis," providing therapeutic work with children, adolescents, and parents under psychoanalytic supervision. She has also collaborated with kindergartens, coordinating "parent groups," and for the past four years, she has worked as a psychologist at a private school, thus maintaining active contact with the school environment and the daily challenges faced by children.

She is a member of the team and a reception representative of the association "Our Big Home," a space catering to children aged 0-4 years and their caregivers, inspired by the philosophy of the "Green House" (Maison Verte) of the French psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto. 

Nikolidaki Eleni is a Child Psychologist, School Psychologist, and Systemic - Family Psychotherapist. She completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Additionally, she trained in Synthetic – Systemic and Family Psychotherapy (SY.MO.SY.TH) at the Laboratory for the Investigation of Human Relations. Concurrently, she holds certifications in Special Education from the University of Patras, in the Psychology of Children's Drawing from the Hellenic Open University, and in School Psychology from the University of Western Attica. She works as a Psychologist in public school units and institutions in both Primary and Secondary Education, while also collaborating privately with special education centers, nursery, and kindergarten schools, providing psychological support to children and parental counseling. She also conducts parenting schools as well as training sessions for educators and parents. Moreover, she volunteers as a psychologist at the Non-Profit Organization "EXARTISI," based in Thessaloniki, which aims to promote mental health and combat addictions. Together with the team, she has created a series of children's books concerning the addiction cycle and the "Smoking Cessation Diary for Adolescents aged 15-18." Previously, she has worked as a psychologist and mental health counselor on the nationwide counseling line 11525 "Union, Together for the Child," with the "Health Allies" of the Medical School of the University of Athens, and as a trainee psychologist at the Hellenic Center for Mental Hygiene and Research in the child and adolescent unit (E.KE.PSY.E.). She currently practices in her private office in Neo Psychiko, primarily conducting individual sessions with adolescents and adults.

Christina Toli - Manetou is a Child Psychologist with a private practice in Alimos. She graduated from the Department of Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Additionally, she holds a master's degree in school psychology - child psychology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and a master's degree specializing in Systemic Family Psychotherapy (Family Therapist) from the 1st Psychiatric Clinic of Aeginiteio Hospital.

Verani Zoi is a Psychologist/Child Psychologist - Psychotherapist and maintains a private practice at Mavili Square. She holds degrees in Psychology and English Literature from the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom and a degree in Psychology from The Open University. She completed a postgraduate program in Mental Health: Psychological Therapies at the Medical School of the University of London and in School Psychology from the University of Nicosia. Additionally, she received Clinical and Psychotherapeutic Training from the Hellenic Society of Group Analysis and Family Therapy and trained in Group Analytic Psychotherapy through the Clinical Therapeutic Training Program of the Personality Disorders Department of the First Psychiatric Clinic of Aeginiteio Hospital. She has worked in the Community Support Program for Individuals with Mental Health Issues at Renfrewshire Council in Scotland and collaborates with the Peristeri Mental Health Center, the Family Counseling Center of the Municipality of Zografou, and the Adolescent Unit and the Medico-Educational Service of the Hellenic Center for Mental Health. Finally, she regularly attends and participates in national and European conferences and workshops as part of her ongoing professional development.

Xristidi Katerina MSc, BTEC is a Child Psychologist with a private practice in Pangrati. She holds a degree in Psychology from Panteion University and completed a postgraduate specialization program in Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychotherapy at London Metropolitan University, London. Additionally, she completed her specialization in Integrative Counseling/Psychotherapy (BTEC Advanced Professional Diploma in Integrative Counseling) from the English institution Pearson, recognized by the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy. A key advantage of the Integrative Approach is that it combines techniques from various approaches, allowing flexible adaptation to the needs and personality of each patient. She has worked at the Psychiatric Clinic of the General Children's Hospital "Agia Sofia," the therapy center "En logo kai ergo," and the Hellenic Society for the Protection & Rehabilitation of Disabled Children, at the neuropsychological rehabilitation center for individuals with brain injuries, and in the infant department. Finally, she regularly attends numerous conferences and seminars as part of her continuing professional development.

Maria Staurakaki MSc, BSc is a Child Psychologist who maintains a private practice in Ampelokipoi, Attica. She holds a postgraduate degree in Clinical Psychology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, as well as a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the same institution. It is worth mentioning that her scientific work has been published and presented in medical journals. Additionally, as part of her continuing education, she has attended various training seminars. She also collaborates with the P. Sakellaropoulos Institute of Mental Health for Children, Adolescents, and Adults, as well as the Center for Special Therapies "Anaptixi." Finally, the specialist works as a Psychologist in her private office, providing services to Children, Adolescents, and Adults.