Patrycja Stala

I am a psychologist and psychotraumatologist. I completed a Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Warsaw and postgraduate studies in Psychotraumatology at SWPS University under the supervision of Professor Elżbieta Zdankiewicz-Ścigała. I also studied Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid. I gained experience, among other places, in the psychiatric wards of the Nowowiejski Hospital, the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, the Community Self-Help Center, and the OPTA Psychological Counseling Center (in Warsaw).

I am passionate about the topic of trauma and its impact on human functioning and the body, and I constantly seek new knowledge in this area. My goal is to support people who have experienced traumatic events in the process of regaining psychological balance and building a healthy life. I primarily work in the field of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex trauma, and complicated grief — that is, difficulties coping with the death of a loved one despite the passage of time. I also offer support in crisis intervention and depressive disorders.

I primarily work with people who have experienced:

• significant loneliness in childhood
• traffic accidents (e.g., car accidents)
• natural disasters (e.g., floods)
• physical violence (e.g., assault) and/or sexual violence (rape), or who have witnessed such events
• physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in childhood and/or in an adult relationship
• the sudden loss of a loved one — including perinatal loss
• any extremely dangerous events, i.e., situations where their life or health was at risk