Introduction
Dora Zaka
Psychologist, couple-and family therapist candidate
I have always considered my family of origin to be special because I was born into a well-functioning patchwork family. Thanks to this I learned flexibility, creative problem solving and acceptance at an early age. Due to age differences with my brother and sister, I became aunt at the age of 12, and now I am proud to be aunt of four. It was wonderful to look closely at the development of the children, which also contributed to my career choices. I am currently living in a happy relationship where I have been able to experience the developmental stages of relationships from the very beginning of the initial "pink fog" until we begin to harmonize the habits, rules, from our families of origin, that will be the foundation of our common life. As a pet friend, it is important to emphasize that a puppy is also a member of our family.
I graduated at Károli Gáspár University as a Psychologist. As a student of Developmental and Clinical Child Psychology, I soon realized that working with children requires the involvement of parents, and possibly the wider family environment. Thanks to this, I started the first phase of my training as a family therapist in the Hungarian Family Therapy Association. In the early 2020s, I also completed the OH Card Instructor course, which introduced me to an association tool that can develop creativity, self-awareness, and communication without judgment or competition. In addition, the cards help us recognize and express our feelings, which are extremely important during couple therapy.
I am still studying, continuing my professional training as a Counselling Psychologist at Eötvös Loránd University, and supervising the family therapist training at the Hungarian Family Therapy Association. As a psychologist, my vision is basically based on a systemic approach. On the fact that everyone in a family influences the others, regardless of whether they are heterosexual or homosexual. Accordingly, we are not looking for the causes of the events or the answer to the frequently asked "whose fault", but the relationships: who contributes to the emergence of a particular difficulty? How can we help make family relationships work better? What do you need to communicate more effectively?
In a relationship where they have difficulties, recognizing this and asking for help is a huge resource. We help find a way to work together better.
Edina Csillik
Psychologist, couple- and family therapist candidate
Growing up in a rural family with three children, I have been able to learn a lot from my childhood about the joys and difficulties that can arise in a close life. For me, security is when the family is a place where we leave room for constant change and develop together, doing it for each other. Already during my psychological studies, I came across a systems approach (in which both family and couple therapy work) that further helped me understand how the actions and behaviors of each family member affect others and how we can shape what we have created together.
I obtained my psychological qualification at the Károli Gáspár Reformed University and at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, majoring in interpersonal and intercultural studies. Even during my university years, I started the training of a couple and family therapist of the Hungarian Family Therapy Association, which provided me with many practical tools and a wide range of theoretical knowledge in order to be able to work with those who come to me with the greatest possible preparation. In addition, I completed the focus-oriented method and self-knowledge training of the Hungarian Psychosomatic Association, which allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the connections between body and soul. I also graduated from the Eötvös Loránd University, Gender Studies, and I am also studying to be a sex therapist within the walls of ELTE.
In my work, I had to realize that there is only one thing in common in families: they are all different. Whether it's a nuclear family, a large family, a mosaic family, a single-parent family, a rainbow family, or a few with a few pets, the form of cohabitation they choose definitely challenges all members of the family. Dealing with these can often cause difficulty and stagnation, as we are most familiar with our own family's problem-solving patterns during our socialization. So when a new family / partnership is formed, two worlds have to be reconciled, which involves a lot of work.
As psychologists, we help those who come to us by offering them perspectives that allow them to see the problem in a system and provide them with the tools to continually improve on that system.
