Irene Serrano Neira
My name is Irene Serrano Neira, health psychologist (M-29765) by the Official College of Psychologists of Madrid; expert in Third Generation Therapies; with training and professional experience in different issues such as Trauma, Gender, Depression, Anxiety, Grief, Attachment or Ulysses Syndrome.
After working and volunteering in different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and collaborating as a psychologist in other private spaces dedicated to mental health, Integria Psychology arises to respond to my passion for being part of the personal transformation of all those people who are looking for it.
My vocation for this profession comes from a very young age and the decision to study psychology was clear to me from high school. Since I was a child, I liked spending time with others, listening to them and I was fascinated by observing and trying to understand the behaviour of the people around me. With this background, becoming a psychologist was a logical and natural stop on my life’s journey.
About me
Once I finished my psychology studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, I traveled to Latin America to work there as a psychologist for refugees and migrants.
I lived in several Latin American countries and traveled to many others, spending almost 3 years of my life outside Spain. This experience not only allowed me to start my professional career in psychology but also gave me the possibility to get to know myself better, as well as a multitude of people, communities, cultures, and worldviews.
Upon my return to Spain, I decided to begin my own process of self-knowledge, reparation, and integration with an exceptional therapist. This process of therapy is considered by many professionals to be essential for good practice, as it enables the psychologists to be aware of their countertransferences and/or projections during their professional practice, allowing them to minimize these and to work from the greatest neutrality.
Why do I offer therapy in English?
Throughout my life, I have had the good fortune to live in several countries around the world, including some English-speaking ones.
During my childhood, I spent a whole month in Ireland learning the language and culture of the country. After that, in high school, I went on several student exchanges to the Netherlands and the United States. At university, I went back to the Netherlands, to Utrecht, to do my Erasmus there while I was studying psychology.
In addition to all this, my interest in working in the humanitarian and refugee world has led me to become a psychologist for refugees from many parts of the world, including African and Middle Eastern countries where the language in common has been English.
Making my knowledge and fluency in this language available to all those who need it is nothing more than offering the possibility of taking care of themselves to people who find themselves in a foreign country where they do not master the language or who simply find it easier to open up in their own language.
How do I work in Integria Psychology?
The basis of my work as a psychologist is the bond, which can only be achieved through honesty and commitment with all the people who decide to show me their vulnerabilities.
I try to look beyond the symptomatology, beyond the pigeonholing of the manuals into disorders or pathologies, to meet the person who has suffered such significant damage that prevents them from living fully and peacefully.
Offering a safe, trusting, and welcoming space in which to sustain all that suffering is key to my way of working. This space, which we will create through getting to know each other, will allow us to begin a journey in which you will be the protagonist of the journey and I will be your companion, who will be there when your strength falters or you lose your way at times.
Something that is always present in my sessions is gratitude, for the courage of all patients to open their pandora’s box and show me their darkness, for letting me into their lives and trusting me to do so.
Training in clinical psychology:
- Degree in Psychology from the Autonomous University of Madrid. Specialisation in Clinical and Social Psychology.
- Postgraduate Course ‘Mental health, cultural processes and
psychological interventions with immigrants, minorities and the socially excluded’. - Expert Degree in Contextual Therapies from the University of Almeria.
- Qualified health psychologist by the Official College of Psychologists of Madrid (M-29765).
- XII Jornadas Estatales de Psicología contra la Violencia de Género & Workshop ‘Herramientas conceptuales y metodológicas para una psicoterapia feminista en violencia de género’ – Consejo General de Psicología de España y COP de Murcia (XII State
- Conference on Psychology against Gender Violence & Workshop ‘Conceptual and methodological tools for feminist psychotherapy in gender violence’ – Consejo General de Psicología de España and COP de Murcia).
Course ‘Psychological care for victims of gender-based violence: assessment, therapeutic intervention, and tools’ – FOCAD - Course ‘Personality disorders, trauma and structural dissociation’ – FOCAD
- Course ‘Trauma, attachment, and dissociation’ – COP of Seville
- Training of Child Sexual Abuse Mediators – FAMPI – ECPAT
- Course ‘Sexual Diversity and Prevention of Homobitransphobia’ – PIHAT
Training in social and community psychology:
- Master’s Degree in International Solidarity Action and Social Inclusion from the Carlos III University of Madrid.
- Diploma in Protection of Migrants and Refugees from the University of Buenos Aires.
- Course ‘Refugee Women Support Groups’ – CRS.
Promoter in Gender Rights – Carolina Muzzulli - Course on ‘Intervention with Asylum Seekers for Gender Reasons’ – ONG Rescate.
- Course ‘Social Intervention with Minors at Risk’ – Learn to Learn
III International - Conference on Female Genital Mutilation & Workshop “Prevention and Intervention on Female Genital Mutilation” – UNAF
- Seminar “Break the Chain: Migrant Women and Sexual Exploitation” – Diaconía
Work experience:
- European Union Asylum Agency External Expert Trainer on Vulnerability.
- Health psychologist at Málaga Acoge Association
- Trauma-Informed facilitator in Chayn.
- Health psychologist at the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid.
- Collaborating psychologist in private clinics
- Psychologist at Jesuit Refugee Service
Experience in the treatment of:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bereavement
- Gender (gender-based violence; sexual assaults; positive psychology)
- Ulysses Syndrome
- Attachment and emotional dysregulation
- Simple and complex trauma
- Personality disorders
- Dissociative disorders
- Adaptive disorders
“The empowerment of refugees in the Vallecas CAR through Participatory Action Research (PAR)” Final Degree Project – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
“The mental health of the inmates of the Internment Centres for Foreigners”. Thesis – University of Buenos Aires – Pending publication.
Languages:
- English C2 (TOEFL)
- French B2
Volunteering:
SOS Racismo Madrid: Psychological care for the inmates of the CIE of Aluche.
