Who am I?

In my last year of high school, when I was 18, I consulted a psychologist, troubled by a malaise typical of that age and which had as a consequence, among other things, that my performance in studies would plummet. I have to say that it was difficult for me to decide, because I was afraid that a professional, instead of wanting to understand me, would judge me and make me feel guilty about what was happening to me.

Finally I took the step and, fortunately, that psychologist was clear that he was not a judge, and he helped me to explain myself, while trying to understand me. At the end of the visit on the first day, I left his office thinking that what was happening to me was not as strange as I had come to believe, in the evening I slept better and the next morning I woke up optimistic, a feeling I had already forgotten. As the treatment progressed, I managed to value myself more and was able, by myself, to overcome obstacles that had always seemed insurmountable to me. At the gates of the University Entrance Examination, and having managed to go back through the course, I decided to study the Psychology degree.

During the fourth year at the University of Barcelona, ​​I made a new inquiry. The psychology studies provided me with theoretical knowledge about the functioning of the psyche, but they did not help me to overcome a series of fears and weaknesses that dragged me along and that closed many doors to me. In the subjects on clinical psychology I had studied the different forms of psychological treatment. I wanted to remove myself from that suffering, but I knew that it must have a meaning and answer to some cause that I wanted to know. For this reason I chose Psychoanalysis to treat myself, and I started a personal psychoanalysis that led me to face my own fears, doubts and insecurities. Having been psychoanalyzed has made it easier for me to better understand the discomfort of the people who ask for my help, which is why I value it as a very important part of the training I have followed as a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

After finishing my degree and being collegiate, I started practical training on a team specializing in child and youth mental health assistance. At the same time, I also trained on a team dedicated to the care of adults. Having worked in all age groups has enriched my experience.

For thirty years I have been working in an institution of the public network, which has helped me to have a broad view of mental health, learn to work in a team, share common projects and participate in training and teaching activities. I am an internship tutor for students in the final Psychology courses at the University, and for resident psychologists who are starting their profession.

I have continued my clinical training linked to various professional circles, of different points of view, and I currently belong to the European Federation of Psychologist Associations (EFPA), which accredits the title of Psychologist specialist in psychotherapy and to the Psychoanalysis Commission of the Official College of Psychology of Catalonia.

I like to study and write about professional experience. Throughout these years I have had the opportunity to complete the doctoral thesis, for which I obtained the title of doctor, published several articles in scientific and professional magazines, and wrote two books: La incomunicación virtual, published by Edicions Xoroi in 2015, and Agorafobia y crisis de angustia. Causas y desencadenantes, edited with the support of the Official College of Psychology of Catalonia.

I am also a tutor for the Psychology Degree at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), accompanying students from the time they start their degree until they graduate.

I also like to carry out outreach activities, which is why I have participated in conferences in libraries and civic centers.  For more than ten years I have been collaborating on a radio program about current issues related to psychology, on the Olesa Radio station.

I have been working as a clinical psychologist for more than 30 years. When I started, not having experience, I was looking for “crutches” that would give me security in my work, and for this reason I tried to follow to the letter the theoretical and technical principles I had learned in books and classes at university. But little by little I realized that this did not allow me to understand the uniqueness of each person and the particularity of each problem. In fact, I consider that a psychological treatment is, “simply”, a natural process that occurs between two people, who talk and dialogue about the discomfort of one of them and its causes, taking advantage of the knowledge and training that the other has, with the purpose of finding solutions that help to be better with themselves and to alleviate and eliminate suffering.

As I explained before, at one point in my life, consulting a psychologist helped me. For this reason I think it can also be of help to other people.