About me

Maria Petronela Bîrlescu

I am Maria Petronela Bîrlescu (Măriuca, as those who know me call me), although I have several roles, first of all I am a human being like all of you.

Din anul 2015 sunt angajată ca psiholog în sistemul public de stat (centre de plasament pentru copii), avînd mai multe atribuții, printre care: evaluarea, consilierea, recuperarea și abilitarea/reabilitarea psihică a copiilor/tinerilor cu nevoi sociale sau speciale aflați în familie sau instituționalizati ; consiliere psihologică si terapie de suport pentru copiii care au fost victime ale abuzului emoțional, fizic si sexual; implementarea unor programe de consiliere si terapie de suport pentru copii/adolescenti cu tulburări de comportament; evaluare psihologică și consilierea părințlor în vederea îmbunătățirii abilităților parentale si a relației părinte- copil.
Each child/parent's story has meant (and means) a step forward in my becoming a therapist and a human being, bringing more understanding and skill to my work. Almost daily I meet children and adults with whom fate has not been very friendly and I can say that each person gets the same attention and understanding from me. I have realized, I have seen how in a child's body, all the worries and problems of an adult have their place and childhood... no longer exists! ... and, yes, I have also seen the 2nd variant, where the adult was so immature and irrational that one could say that he was at an age close to that of childhood. The attempt to
"Repairing" the parent-child relationship is a real challenge for me.

Personal effort makes a difference

Every time I aim to redefine with the people I interact with, the notion of "normality" of "boundaries or limits" and emphasize the positive/good side of everyone. I have learned when and how to intervene in the discussion with the person in front of me, I have learned not to judge people and not to prejudge a situation. Whether I'm talking to adults or children, at some point I tell them: "personal effort makes the difference between succeeding in doing/changing something, or not...! "This phrase often leads to very interesting discussions and the aim is to make the person aware that it is better to rely first of all on himself and less on those around him, so I find out how willing the person is to attend counselling/therapy sessions and how much effort he will then make to improve his situation and that of his family.
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Since 2021, I also work in private practice, in my own office, where I have encountered difficulties related to anxiety, stress, depression, etc. I believe that the therapeutic relationship is very important in the therapeutic process and therefore each person who crosses my threshold, has all my attention and empathy but also confidentiality.
In conclusion, I could say that I aim to teach every man who comes to me, ''...to fish'' (i.e. to manage by himself, in the long run), as the saying goes:"... Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." (Andew Camegie).

The needs of those I work with

Realizing that I need more and more knowledge to be able to have a punctual intervention, correlated with the needs of those I work with, I enrolled in the first basic training in psychotherapy, in Iasi, within the Association of Integrative Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology (APIPC). Under the "umbrella" of APIPC I had the opportunity to meet outstanding trainers, dedicated to the profession and willing to share their professional experience.I learned that intervention skills involve combining theoretical and practical elements and that each therapist has a personal style of working that is influenced by their own personality and self.
Any man who wants change comes with many resistance mechanisms... and I was to find out that I had enough, enough to keep me in a so-called "personal comfort zone".
In psychotherapy, I had often heard about "the courage to be vulnerable" or "openness." ... in theory, it sounded simple but in practice I was to learn that it was not at all so because it meant stepping out of the comfort zone. I remember that I had only just become acquainted with "The Fixated Child, the Introjected Parent and the Shadow" and I wasn't comfortable talking about such things...But , like the man who takes a bitter pill hoping to be cured, that's pretty much how I did it...and that, meant letting go of resistances/apprehensions , trying to know myself better and then being able to listen, understand and help others.

The human psyche

The desire to better deepen the human psyche and the relationships between us humans but also the desire to meet other professionals, curiosity and last but not least .... because I felt so, led me to follow the continuing education program Multigenerational Psychotraumatology and the Method of the Intention Proposition - within the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Trauma Bucharest. Looking back, I like to say that it was "...a therapy for a lifetime".I understood better "What is trauma.." and .. "what trauma is not..." and the fact that , everything we talk about trauma is personal, unique and individual.So I became fascinated by the dynamics of constellations, the 3 parts ("healthy, traumatized and surviving", which we all have...) but also the internal mechanisms that often maintain trauma. I understand that integrating the "parts" is a process that happens freely and when pressure is put on it blocks our internal resources. I can say that it was the time when my capacity for self-analysis expanded and I became more aware of my own internal dynamics, I realized that information becomes knowledge when it is lived and that you have to acknowledge your living to be free.

And when I ask myself what is freedom? .... I tell myself that freedom doesn't come from escaping emotions but from living them to the fullest, it comes from the ability to be authentic, spontaneous and creative.

Studies

University "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" -Iasi, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences (in 2008).

Training:
-from 2016 to 2018 I completed the basic training in integrative psychotherapy, within APIPC Iasi. I am currently a member of the Association of Integrative Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology (APIPC )-Iasi
-from 2018-2020, I attended the Multigenerational Psychotraumatology and the Method of the Intention Proposition - in the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Trauma Bucharest (ISTT).
-Feurstein Method Training 2018-2019.
Short courses/workshops/programmes : Psychological Assessment and Intervention in Children and Adolescents-12.01-26.06.2015 - organized by the Romanian Association for Family Counseling and Therapy - trainer Cristian Petrescu.
Victims of trafficking in Europe: the problem of third country nationals" - held by psychologist Dr. Catalin Luca (Alternative Sociale).
Complex Psycho-diagnostic and Psycho-pedagogical Assessment (module 1 and module 2)-organized by the Association
-Phoenix Center for Communication and Human Development. Regional Workshop "Psycho-socio-medical implications of the phenomenon of violence" - organized by the Association Close to People Iasi, in collaboration with the Association Psiterra Iasi.
Theoretical training - parental educator course "How to become better parents" (19-22.04.2016) - supported by the Foundation for Consultancy and Social Services for Children and Families (Holt Romania), within the project "Safety and Support - Optimization of the services of the Social Center for the Protection of Women Victims of Domestic Violence in Iasi County".I participated in the implementation of the project at local level through meetings with parents from vulnerable categories, the aim being to improve parenting skills.

Depression and other psychiatric disorders

Course - Suicide prevention.Depression and other psychiatric disorders, medical comorbidities - 17-8.03.2017. Iasi- Salvation Anchor Foundation - Dr psychiatrist Maarten de Boo.
20h training course in the field of positive psychotherapy 14-15.10.2017- trainer, psychotherapist Gabriela Hum. Course "The Szondi Test - Between theories and practical applications", during 23-25.05.2021, organized by
by the Association of Certified Psychologists of Romania (A.P.A.R) and the National Institute for Research and Practical Applications in Psychodiagnosis.
Volunteer activity - between November 2016 and April 2017, I was involved as a volunteer for children in foster homes (with prior training in the field), within the project of Emotional Support through Expressive Sandwork Method, organized by Sol Mentis Association -Bucuresti.
Specialisations:
*Clinical psychology
*Transport psychology
*Integrative psychotherapy
*Mediator Feurstein