KONSTANTINA TSOUKALA

I am a Psychoanalytic Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist (I am qualified to work with young people up to the age of 25). I completed my bachelor’s degree (BSc) in Psychology in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. During my undergraduate studies, I volunteered for 3 years in a care home for children, named ‘Melissa’. This care home offered shelter and support to girls aged 5-18years. Additionally, in the context of my undergraduate studies, I completed my mandatory clinical practice in the Psychiatric Department of 424, General Army Hospital of Thessaloniki.

Since I completed my BSc, I moved to the UK where I completed my master’s degree (MSc) in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology in University College London/ UCL in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre. During my MSc, I volunteered for a charity named Keeping Kids Company (previously known as Kids Company), which aimed at providing support to deprived children living in London.

For the next 2 years, I worked as an assistant in a parent-toddler group (children aged 1-3 years) at the Anna Freud Centre. Simultaneously, I worked as a healthcare assistant for adolescents who suffered with an eating disorder. In particular, I worked in Ellern Mede Ridgeway, an inpatient Unit for Adolescents with a diagnosis of an eating disorder. Simmons House Adolescent Unit (inpatient unit for adolescents who suffer with mental health difficulties) was another inpatient unit for adolescents that I worked in within the role of an assistant psychotherapist.

My theoretical as well as clinical training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children and adolescents was obtained through a four year clinical doctoral program at UCL in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre and the British Psychotherapy Foundation/bpf. During the 4-year training, I worked as a trainee Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist in a generic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service / CAMHS in Southampton (Solent NHS Trust). For one year before the onset of this training and during it, I was in individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy, as a requirement of the program, with a frequency of three (for one year) and then four times (for four years) a week. During my clinical doctorate, I conducted my thesis in a private fostering agency, namely Five Rivers, and aimed at examining the Independent Foster Carers’ experience(s) and perception(s) of the support that they and the Young People under their care received within and outside their Fostering Agency.

Following the completion of my training, I worked as a qualified specialist Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist in Bromley CAMHS (OXLEAS NHS TRUST). In particular, I worked in the Neuro-Developmental & Learning Disabilities Department for Bromley CAMHS for 3 years. During my role within the service, I primarily worked with children in the autism spectrum, with a diagnosis of ADHD, as well as with learning difficulties or learning disability. Simultaneously, I was trained in ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition, Modules 1-4). The ADOS-2 is a semi-structured, standardized assessment tool which helps providers diagnose autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children and adults.

Furthermore, I was trained in EMDR / Eye Movement, Desensitisation and Reprocessing and have attended and completed all the training modules (1, 2 and 3) offered by the educational provider ‘Richman EMDR Training’ in the UK. EMDR is a type of therapy which is mainly recommended for the treatment of psychological traumas.

Since 2023, I work in Greece and hold my private practice in the centre of Thessaloniki (please find address details here: Contact ), while remaining a member of the Association of Child Psychotherapists/ACP in England. Simultaneously, I am a member of the Greek Association of Psychoanalytic Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists/ ΕΕΨΠΕ.

At the same time, I work for a specialist therapeutic school which is based in Kent, UK, providing a range of education, healthcare and well-being services for children, young people and adults. Finally, I am a peer reviewer at the Journal of Child Psychotherapy.

It is worth noting that I work both in Greek and English.

Qualifications / Training

BSc in Psychology; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
MSc in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology; University College London (UCL) in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre, London, United Kingdom.
DPsych in Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy; University College London (UCL) in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre and British Psychotherapy Foundation.
Training in a semi-structured, standardized assessment tool which helps trained clinicians diagnose autism spectrum disorders (ADOS-2, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition, Modules 1-4).
Training in EMDR / Eye Movement, Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy (attended and completed all the training modules 1, 2 and 3).