My story starts by discovering my talent in dance when I was child in my hometown Kalamata. Movement became my personal empowerment medium and my way of expressing myself and exploring different aspects of my identity and my dream was to find a way to support children and adults using the power of movement.
My passion to combine and explore my dreams led me to travel, live, study and work in different cities of Greece and relocate to London for seven years. During my journey in both Greece and UK I have been fortunate to have met and collaborated with experienced professionals and wonderful people from the fields of Dance, Dance Movement Psychotherapy and Pedagogics. I have worked with people and professionals from all over the world and from different cultures, religions and language backgrounds. All of the above in combination with my personal experience of having as clinical supervisor and personal therapist two of the pioneers of Dance Movement Psychotherapy in UK have opened up new ways of thinking for me and enriched me with knowledge, critical thinking, creativity and understanding.
Kalamata has always been a personal port for me and my dream is to transfer to my hometown all of my knowledge and experiences by setting up my private practice here in Kalamata.
I started contemporary dance and classical ballet in the pre-professional classes of Pharis in my hometown, Kalamata. I am graduate of the Department of Pedagogics – Primary Education at University of Patras (2008 - 2013) and simultaneously graduate Teacher of Ballet and Contemporary Dance (Rallou Manou - Ministry of Culture and Sports, 2009 - 2014). From 2013 to 2015 I worked in artistic educational companies in Athens. In 2017 I graduated from my two-year Master’s Degree in Dance Movement Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths University of London with clinical training experience in Sarah Bonnel School, Holly Cross Trust and Deborah Ubee Trust. Post-graduation I continued at Deborah Ubee Trust as a qualified Dance Movement Therapist.
In 2018 I introduced and set up Dance Movement Therapy service as a new and innovative model of treatment at Hillingdon Manor School (specialist school - organisation for children and young people with autism) where I worked. In 2020 I designed and started implementing the project ‘Speaking Bodies’ which is an innovative, specialist evidence-based educational dance programme for children and young people with autism. The project promotes the use of movement and dance as tool for increasing the psychosocial skills of children and young people with autism. As part of the education work, I delivered trainings for professionals and parents and published my work there in the organisation’s newsletter.
Additionally, I collaborated with the International Dance Festival of Kalamata for three consecutive years (2017- 2019) presenting sequentially the three projects ‘Hold it and Let it Go’, Dancing My Way’ and ‘Dancing Our Way’ in collaboration with Pharis and the Centre of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Kalamata (KEFIAP). The projects aimed to feature movement and dance as inclusive and therapeutic tool for people with disabilities.
Since graduation I have attended continuing professional development seminars in UK, Germany and Greece. In 2022, I was invited to guest lecture at the Department of Primary Education of the University of Patras and in 2023 the seminar was transferred to the Life Long Learning Centre of the University of Patras. Attending regular clinical supervision and personal therapy are very important tools of my work and professional development and act as my personal and professional compass.
My particular expertise is in supporting children and adolescents with emotional, behavioural and relational difficulties, learning difficulties, people with disabilities, autism as well as parent consultation.
In my work I use verbal communication, movement, play, dance, a variety of props, drawing, writing, different types of music and mindfulness activities. This helps the participants to engage in Dance Movement Therapy sessions at the appropriate level in terms of age and emotional needs.
My approach is mainly ‘psychodynamic’ although I am mindful of the need for starting the work from where the person is as it is central to ‘person-centered’ (Rogerian) work using verbal and non-verbal tools. I also use ‘solution focused’ approach and ‘authentic movement’ when this serves for the client.
I am fascinated to continue exploring the inclusive and psychosocial aspect of movement and dance through Dance Movement Therapy group sessions for children, teenagers, adults and people with disabilities and autism. Those group sessions increase the participants’ psychosocial skills, release stress and create the sense of belonging to a community that brings to life the individual identities and in which feelings, thoughts and different personality traits can be shared within the context of diversity and equality.
