Health professionals with experience in Addictions

Gkatzelia Areti is a Mental Health Counselor with a private practice in Nea Filadelfeia. She holds a master's degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from American Liberty University and graduated from the Sociology Department of Panteion University. She completed the basic training program in Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy and Clinical Hypnotherapy at the Center for Applied Counseling and Psychotherapy. Additionally, she specialized in Special Education, specifically in the Rehabilitation of Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, as well as in Parent Counseling at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Throughout her career, she has gained clinical experience collaborating with specialized organizations such as the Non-Profit Social Benefit Organization "Stay Strong." Furthermore, she has participated in Parenting Schools and Psychotherapy groups, while her clinical practice includes a broad range of individual psychotherapy for adults with personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders. Finally, she has particular expertise in interventions with children with autism and has attended seminars on pediatric and adolescent epilepsy, addictions, and their prevention within the local community.

Loukopoulos Pantelis is a Psychologist - Psychotherapist and maintains a private practice in Peristeri. He holds a degree in Psychology from the Department of Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

He has completed the postgraduate program of the Medical School of Athens, entitled "Addiction Management - Addictology," specializing in the treatment of substance addictions and behavioral addictions.

He specialized in "Systemic - Family Therapy" at the Laboratory for the Investigation of Human Relationships. He was trained in the postgraduate program "Psychosexual Dysfunctions, Recognition and Treatment" at the Research University Institute of Mental Health, Neuroscience and Precision Medicine "Kostas Stefanis."

He received training in "Early Intervention in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" at DI.KE.PSY.

Mr. Loukopoulos has served as a scientific collaborator at the Social Clinic - Pharmacy of Athens and Piraeus. He has collaborated with the Non-Profit Organization K.S.D.E.O. "Edra" as an external scientific collaborator and has worked in the Special Protection Service and the Child Protection Service at the International Organization for Migration.

Finally, he is an external associate of the Olympic Village Polyclinic as a general psychologist.

Kyriakou Thomai is a Psychologist - Psychotherapist who maintains a private practice in Marousi and Argos. She also collaborates with the Center for Speech, Language, and Learning "Spell" as a Family Counselor and Psychoeducator and is the co-founder of the company "Morfogenesis," which provides counseling, training, support, guidance for individuals and groups, and training through seminars in workplace environments. She holds a degree in Psychology from the Open University of England, focusing on developmental psychology and the role of the father in the Greek family. Subsequently, she completed postgraduate studies in Psychology at the same university, specializing in criminology, prevention, and semiotic analysis. Throughout her career, she specialized as a family and group therapist in the Synthetic - Systemic approach at the Laboratory of Human Relations and as a couple therapist in the Emotionally Focused Therapy direction at the EFT Greek Network. Additionally, she recently completed the Gestalt Coaching in Business & Organizations Program to enhance her awareness of workplace issues and conditions, which are highly relevant in today's era. With children, she works psychotherapeutically using the Therapeutic Play method and is a Certified Play Therapist from Play Therapy Greece. To date, she has continuously updated and further educated herself on scientific topics related to psychology, psychotherapy, and education, considering their contribution essential to her professional practice. Finally, her extensive studies, experience, and collaborators enable her to work psychotherapeutically with individuals at different life stages, concerns, and needs. She works with adults, couples, families, and groups addressing issues such as the management of negative or intense emotions, low self-esteem, the creation and maintenance of functional relationships, and existential matters.

Mparmpakou Katerina is a Psychotherapist - Group Analyst and maintains a private practice in Peristeri. She holds a degree in Psychology from Derre College and subsequently pursued postgraduate studies in the UK specializing in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), in which she holds expertise. Since then, she has attended numerous conferences and seminars both in Greece and abroad to ensure continuous professional development and education in her field. Her excellent counseling, communication, and skills have been developed through personal experience in various and particularly demanding environments throughout her extensive career. Finally, as a Mental Health Counselor, she is driven by an inherent motivation to help those in need of assistance and support.

Alexandra Xristodoulopoulou, MSc, is a Psychologist with a private practice in Piraeus. She graduated from the Department of Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with postgraduate studies in Criminology from Panteion University. She has specialized in Addiction Counseling through KETHEA in collaboration with the University of San Diego, as well as in Special Education (ASPAITE). She possesses extensive professional experience in public mental health and social care structures, having worked, among others, as a clinical psychologist at a Mental Health Center, as an addiction psychologist in OKANA facilities, and with vulnerable groups such as victims of gender-based violence, migrants, and refugees. Additionally, she has significant experience working with children and adolescents, both as a school psychologist and in the Child Psychiatry Department of Tzaneio Hospital in collaboration with the National Public Health Organization (EODY). In her private practice, she provides psychological support to adults, children, and adolescents, focusing mainly on anxiety disorders, depression, grief management, coping with traumatic experiences, addictions, as well as issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity. She also offers parental counseling aimed at strengthening the parental role and improving family functionality. Her therapeutic approach is based on Cognitive Analytic Psychotherapy, emphasizing the creation of a trusting, accepting, and safe relationship. Her goal is to facilitate a profound understanding of the individual's difficulties and support them in the process of personal change and empowerment.

I was born in Athens in 1983, where I spent my childhood and school years.

Driven by my Cretan roots and the prestigious reputation of the University of Crete, I decided to study Medicine in Heraklion following the national exams in 2001. I graduated in 2008 with a GPA of 7.05 ('Very Good').

Immediately after obtaining my degree, I moved to Munich, Germany, to pursue my medical residency. Although I initially wavered between Neurology and Psychiatry, I was drawn to Psychiatry after a year of working in neurological rehabilitation.

I completed my residency at the renowned psychiatric teaching hospital Inn Salzach Klinikum in Wasserburg am Inn, affiliated with the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). During the academic years 2015/2016, I also served as a lecturer at the hospital's nursing school.

In the summer of 2016, I was awarded the title of Specialist in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Facharzt für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie) by the State of Bavaria. My medical specialty was officially recognized in Greece in 2017.

From 2017 until late 2024, I worked as a specialist Psychiatrist-Psychotherapist at the outpatient clinics of KBO-Klinik Nord in Munich. Parallel to this, from 2018 to 2023, I served as a Court-Appointed Psychiatric Expert for the Bavarian State Courts, collaborating with the Munich-based institute GWG (Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Gerichts- und Rechtspsychologie).

In 2018, I had the honor of being a speaker and interpreter at the Greek-German conference "Challenges of Psychotherapy in a Globalizing World," organized by the Munich Medical Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolymvari, Chania.

Returning permanently to Greece in 2025 marked a year of transition after 15 years in Germany. In 2026, I established my private psychiatric practice in Heraklion, Crete.

My extensive experience in Germany allowed me to work across the full spectrum of mental health disorders. This background shaped my approach to mental illness as a complex issue with biological, psychological, and social dimensions. I am committed to providing high-level medical services with profound respect for the individual, free from discrimination, stereotypes, or stigma.

Η Σταυρουλάκη Γεωργία - Μαρία είναι Ψυχολόγος - Ψυχοθεραπεύτρια με ιδιωτικό γραφείο στο Κολωνάκι. Είναι κάτοχος διδακτορικού τίτλου (PsychD) στη Συμβουλευτική Ψυχολογία από το University of Roehampton στο Λονδίνο, αναγνωρισμένο από τη British Psychological Society. Η διδακτορική της διατριβή επικεντρώθηκε στον ρόλο του ναρκισσισμού στον τρόπο με τον οποίο οι συμβουλευτικοί ψυχολόγοι διαχειρίζονται τον εαυτό τους στη θεραπευτική σχέση, ακολουθώντας μια συνθετική προσέγγιση που ενσωματώνει στοιχεία γνωσιακής - συμπεριφορικής και ψυχοδυναμικής θεωρίας. Έχει επίσης αποκτήσει Professional Certificate στις δεξιότητες Συμβουλευτικής από το The Hellenic Association of Continuing Education (THACE)), ενώ είναι απόφοιτος του Τμήματος Ψυχολογίας του Παντείου Πανεπιστημίου Κοινωνικών και Πολιτικών Επιστημών.

Από το 2016 έως σήμερα εργάζεται ως Ψυχολόγος στο Υπουργείο Παιδείας, παρέχοντας κλινική αξιολόγηση και ψυχο-συναισθηματική υποστήριξη σε μαθητές ηλικίας 4 έως 21 ετών, καθώς και ψυχοπαιδαγωγικές παρεμβάσεις στο σχολικό πλαίσιο. Παράλληλα, υποστηρίζει εκπαιδευτικούς, υλοποιεί σεμινάρια ευαισθητοποίησης και πρόληψης σε θέματα ψυχικής υγείας και διαφορετικότητας, συμβουλεύει γονείς και συνεργάζεται με φορείς όπως νοσοκομεία και κέντρα ψυχικής υγείας. Έχει εργαστεί ως ψυχοθεραπεύτρια και εισηγήτρια ψυχοεκπαιδευτικών σεμιναρίων στο ΠΑΙ.ΚΕ.ΨΥ, παρέχοντας αξιολόγηση και θεραπευτική παρέμβαση σε παιδιά με μαθησιακές και συμπεριφορικές δυσκολίες, καθώς και υποστήριξη σε γονείς. Στο Συμβουλευτικό Κέντρο του Πανεπιστημίου Κρήτης προσέφερε ατομικές συνεδρίες συμβουλευτικής σε φοιτητές, αντιμετωπίζοντας ζητήματα όπως άγχος, διαπροσωπικές δυσκολίες και μαθησιακές προκλήσεις.

Η επαγγελματική της εμπειρία στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο περιλαμβάνει τη συνεργασία με το Macmillan Bereavement Service στο Ealing Hospital, όπου παρείχε υποστήριξη πένθους σε ενήλικες, εφήβους και παιδιά, καθώς και με το Wandsworth Association of Psychotherapists και το Kid’s Company, προσφέροντας συμβουλευτική σε άτομα με άγχος, κατάθλιψη, διατροφικές διαταραχές και προβλήματα συμπεριφοράς. Επιπλέον, πραγματοποίησε την πρακτική της άσκηση στον ΟΚΑΝΑ Πειραιά, στο πρόγραμμα υποκατάστασης μεθαδόνης.

Στον ακαδημαϊκό τομέα, διδάσκει ως Καθηγήτρια Ψυχολογίας στο Aegean College από το 2022 έως σήμερα, σε προπτυχιακά και μεταπτυχιακά προγράμματα, ενώ στο παρελθόν διετέλεσε καθηγήτρια και υπεύθυνη προγράμματος Ψυχολογίας στο MBS Κολλέγιο Κρήτης, όπου δίδαξε πλήθος μαθημάτων και είχε ενεργό ρόλο στον συντονισμό και την ανάπτυξη του προγράμματος σπουδών.

Έχει συμμετάσχει ενεργά σε επιστημονικά συνέδρια και εκπαιδευτικά σεμινάρια, με εισηγήσεις σε θέματα όπως η ενίσχυση κινήτρων μάθησης, η διαφορετικότητα, ο σχολικός εκφοβισμός και οι ψυχοδυναμικές προσεγγίσεις στην αντιμετώπιση ψυχολογικών επιπτώσεων της πανδημίας COVID-19 σε παιδιά και εφήβους. Τέλος, έχει παρακολουθήσει πληθώρα εκπαιδευτικών προγραμμάτων και σεμιναρίων σε τομείς όπως η ψύχωση, η δραματοθεραπεία, η υποστήριξη ευάλωτων ομάδων και ο αυτισμός.

Pasxalidis Theodoros is a Clinical Psychologist specializing in anxiety, panic attacks, and overthinking, as well as learning and school-related difficulties. He assists individuals experiencing continuous stress, pressure, or difficulty calming their minds to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and acquire practical tools for daily life. Additionally, he supports cases involving low self-esteem, interpersonal relationship challenges, professional stress, and school-related issues, approaching each person with respect and aiming for meaningful change. Acknowledging that one is not invincible or omnipotent and taking the step to speak with a psychologist is not a sign of weakness but an act of strength and honesty towards oneself.