Ioanna Sotiropoulou, M.Sc. - Clinical Psychologist | Peristeri, Attica

Ioanna Sotiropoulou was born and raised in Athens. She is a graduate of the Department of Psychology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (grade: “excellent” 9.3). She then completed the three-year Postgraduate Specialization Program in Clinical Psychology of the same University (grade: “excellent” 10), with a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation. She is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology.

In parallel with her academic studies and in the context of clinical training, she attended a series of educational clinical seminars on the psychodynamic/psychoanalytic approach to psychopathology and psychotherapy. In addition, she worked as a psychotherapist with systematic supervision in a psychodynamic direction for eight years.

For over a decade, Ioanna Sotiropoulou has been working privately as a Clinical Psychologist (license no.: 17072/99) offering psychological assessment, psychological support and psychotherapy services to adults on a wide range of issues and difficulties.

For several years, she has collaborated with clinical and academic-research frameworks, providing psychodiagnostic, psychotherapy, research and education services on an individual and group basis. For three years, she collaborated with the Adult Counseling Service of the Athens Mental Health Center and with the Psychiatric Clinic of Aiginiteio Hospital. At the same time, she was a regular collaborator of the Psychological Counseling Laboratory of Students of the University of Athens.

From 1999 to 2006, she worked in community mental health structures, such as the Social Reception Center of the Holy Mother of God. Peristeri where, in addition to providing psychological support and psychotherapy on an individual basis, she also coordinated counseling groups for new parents. In the context of the psychiatric reform (de-asylum program "Psychargos"), she was a scientific collaborator of structures for the psychosocial rehabilitation of people with chronic mental illnesses (NGO "EDRA", boarding schools "Ippokrates I & II"), responsible for coordinating psychological support groups for employees with an emphasis on the prevention and treatment of professional burnout. In her recent collaboration with the Mobile Mental Health Unit of the North-West Cyclades of the Society for Regional Development and Mental Health (EPAPSY), from 2013 and for about two years, she provided psychological assessment and psychotherapy to adults and adolescents as well as counseling for parents, and coordinated awareness-raising and psycho-educational actions in the community.

To this day, it has a multifaceted collaboration with the Department of Psychology and the Laboratory of Psychological Counseling for Students of the University of Athens on issues of research and student education.

Ioanna Sotiropoulou's current research interests are in the broader field of clinical psychology, with an emphasis on the psychological adjustment of young adults-postadolescents, the process of psychological separation and independence from parents, the cross-cultural dimension of mental health and dysfunctions related to narcissism. In the context of these interests, she prepares scientific studies and publishes in scientific journals and presents at Greek and international scientific conferences.

She has collaborated with the Department of Psychology of the University of Athens for the development of the new, revised Master's Degree Program in Clinical Psychology. Furthermore, she has worked as a special researcher in the European Socrates-Erasmus Master's of Advanced Psychological Studies-Clinical (MAPS-C) Program, with the objective of the convergence of postgraduate studies in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Europe. At the same time, he holds lectures and seminars in the context of psychodiagnostics and psychopathology courses at the Department of Psychology of the University of Athens.

In collaboration with educational and mental health institutions (schools, educational directorates, social services) he has given talks for parents and teachers on the developmental characteristics of adolescence, the problems of adolescent adjustment and intra-family relationships. Within the framework of the EPEAEK program of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, he held seminars for secondary education teachers on learning difficulties, learning motivation, ecosystem interventions in the adolescent student population and professional burnout of teachers. For several years, he has written articles in the local print and electronic press on mental health issues, as well as on the relationship of the psychologist with other psychosocial intervention agencies in the community.

Christopoulou, A., Sotiropoulou, I., & Pavlopoulos, V. (2010). Psychological detachment and mental health in young adults: A cross-cultural study. In G. Koulierakis, A. Paschali, V. Rotsika, & M. Tzinieri-Kokkosi (Eds.), Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology: Research and Practice (pp. 241-271). Athens: Papazisis.

Sotiropoulou, I., Christopoulou, A., & Pavlopoulos, V. (2009, May). The process of detachment-individuation in young adults and its association with mental health, defensive style and self-concept: A cross-cultural approach in six countries. Paper presented at the 12th Panhellenic Conference on Psychological Research, Volos.

Sotiropoulou, I., Christopoulou, A., & Pavlopoulos, V. (2007, November). The process of separation-individuation of young adults and its correlation with mental health, defensive style and self-concept: A comparison of Greek and Nigerian students. Paper presented at the 3rd Panhellenic Conference on Clinical Psychology, Thessaloniki.

Kalantzi-Azizi, A., & Sotiropoulou, I. (2003, May). Postgraduate studies in Clinical Psychology: The European SOCRATES/ERASMUS MAPS-C program (2000-2003). Paper presented at the 9th Panhellenic Conference of Psychological Research, Rhodes.

Pal-Handl, K., & Sotiropoulou, I. (2002, March). The MAPS-C project: A comparative analysis of the academic and legal situation in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in five European Countries. Paper presented at the 5th Congress of the Austrian Psychological Association, Vienna, Austria.