Equipo

Leidy´s parents are both Chinese, but she was born and raised in Spain. Therefore, she has encountered and experienced two very different cultures.

Her parents have educated and raised her in the same way as they were educated, following the values ​​of Chinese culture. On the other hand, having been born in Spain, she attended a Spanish nursery since little and lived in a neighborhood with a significant Spanish population. As a result, whenever she is asked if she considers herself Chinese or Spanish, she doesn’t know how to answer. Being a “Third Culture Kid” her culture, as she usually answers, is “hybrid” and this led to issues of identity and sense of belonging, which she had learned how to resolve them and can help others to do so. She considers herself lucky to have been able to know two cultures, and to “pick” from each one the parts, thoughts or values, way of being, living and/or behaving with which she has felt most at ease and identified. So she feels that she can understand better those who have had a history of migration and who have felt at some point like «the outsiders or the ones who didn’t fit in.»

For as long as she can remember, she has been able to speak both Chinese and Spanish. Since she was 5 years old, she went to a «Chinese school» every week. This has enabled her to communicate with natives without giving them the impression that Leidy grew up in another country. Moreover, from the age of 6 to 18 she attended a bilingual school, St Michael’s School, giving her an early exposure to English as well.

The decision to study Psychology and Speech Therapy, was influenced by her friend´s suggestion. They admired the way she listened and advised them. She is very thankful for this because throughout her academic journey, her passion for these two professions has only grown and, nowadays she still learns and enjoy them.

During her Double Degree in Psychology and Speech Therapy, she had the opportunity to do her speech therapy internship at the UCM University Clinic, focusing primarily on children and adolescents. She had the opportunity of observing and working with a wide variety of problems (language, speech, reading and writing disorders, dyslexia, atypical swallowing, Autism Spectrum Disorder, voice problems, etc.). Meanwhile, she completed her Psychology internship at the Arroyomolinos City Council´s Youth and Education Department, where she worked in the clinical, educational and social domains. This experience led to her decision of dedicating herself to the clinic, so she proceeded to study the Master’s Degree in General Health Psychology at the URJC (Rey Juan Carlos University). Throughout her various internships, she worked with adults aged between 18 to 65 who had depression, anxiety, breakup issues, social isolation, substance abuse issues with the goal of lowering consumption and preventing relapse, relationship problems… These experiences sparked her curiosity about trauma, attachment difficulties and dissociation, so she decided to take Level I of EMDR to gain other skills and offer higher quality care.

Leidy works from an integrative approach, relying mainly on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy but also applying other techniques such as ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), in order to adjust to each patient´s needs and address each area of ​​their life (emotional, cognitive, physical, behavioural…). However, the most important thing for her is not what approach is used, but rather to show active listening in order to understand, plan and work as a team for each patient´s well-being.

With a German mother and a Spanish father Clara has grown up in a bilingual and multicultural environment on which she has built her personal skills and interests. Clara has grown up in Madrid, with her parents and her paternal family, but she has been in constant contact with her German family spending her summers in Munich, Stuttgart and Berlin.

She spent her schooling from kindergarten to the age of 18 at the German School in Madrid, with teachers and classmates of different origins. Nowadays she values especially the promotion of independent learning and critical thinking that the school provided her, while at the same time she is aware of the high academic demands of this educational system.

Since adolescence, Clara has had a special interest in understanding social relationships and emotions. In secondary school and after completing training, she worked for three years as a school mediator providing support to the school psychologists in the resolution of conflicts between primary students. She loved the experience of supporting the little ones who were more alone or who had a fight, teaching them to manage emotions and to empathize with others. It was there that she understood that children’s problems are no less important, since difficulties that may seem minor have a major impact on the little ones.

Studying Psychology at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, she was interested in behavior analysis as an evidence-based approach that allows an efficient therapy adapted to each person and their context. She extended her training at the Center for Applied Psychology at the UAM with a training in Motivational Interviewing, a methodology focused on supporting the client with the change they want to achieve. which helps them to explore and resolve ambivalences so that they can engage and persist in the direction they have decided to take.

After completing an internship in recruitment for Sales Hunters she decided to focus her Final Degree Project on primary prevention of psychosocial risks related to working from home. In her opinion, the relationship between performance and well-being at work is unquestionable and in that sense, working for the integration of each member of the team is always beneficial. She developed a program aimed for companies interested in evaluating and reducing the psychosocial risks related to teleworking.

During the Master in General Health Psychology, she completed an internship at the Mental Health Center ITA Moscatelar in the Eating Disorders Unit. For Clara, eating is «just» one more symptom, the tip of the iceberg, of a deeper problem that requires multidisciplinary attention and always working as a team with families.

Clara was selected for her second MPGS internship at Sinews, under the guidance of the psychologist and coach Eva Herber, her current supervisor. With her guidance she has been able to learn and get an approach to Positive Psychology and Strengths Coaching. where she discovered the therapeutic power of focusing on what the patient already does well and promoting it, instead of focusing on what he/she does wrong and trying to correct it. In her work with adult patients suffering from depression, work stress, self-esteem problems and cultural adaptation difficulties, she shone with her own light and the company integrated her as soon as she finished working with the team.
She is currently in training in the child and youth department to work again with children and adolescents, where early intervention prevents problems from developing into major difficulties.

Clara offers a safe space to freely express the difficulties or situations that generate distress and thus accompany and treat, with respect and without judgment, the personal needs of each patient.

Née au Canada au sein d’une famille espagnole, elle vit jusqu’à l’âge de 19 ans à Montréal, ville reconnue pour sa multiculturalité et pour son ouverture au monde. Sa formation académique est bilingue française et anglaise depuis son enfance.

À 16 ans, elle représente le Canada dans le programme Ruta Quetzal, déclaré comme étant « d’intérêt universel » par l’Unesco. Elle participe dans l’expédition de l’an 2000 en parcourant l’Espagne, les États-Unis et le Mexique, ce qui représente une expérience de vie très enrichissante et ce qui marque sans doute son histoire.

En 2003, elle débute ses études de Médecine à l’Université d’Alcala à Madrid. Tout au long de sa formation, elle participe dans divers programmes d’échange universitaires, qui lui permettent de se déplacer dans différentes facultés de Médecine en Europe. Dans le cadre d’un de ces programmes, durant sa deuxième année d’études, elle voyage en Slovaquie pour se former à l’Hôpital Universitaire Louis Pasteur à Košice. Plus tard, elle étudie sa 5ème année de carrière à la Faculté de Médecine de Montpellier en France, avec une bourse Erasmus. C’est là-bas qu’elle s’initie dans le monde de la Neurologie et de la Psychiatrie, entre autres.

Une fois obtenue la Licence en Médecine, elle réalise un internat en Neurologie à Segovie (Espagne), dans l’équipe du Dr Duarte. Durant les premières trois années, elle complète sa formation dans différent hôpitaux de Madrid (Hospital U. Ramón y Cajal, Hospital U. 12 de Octubre, Hospital U. Puerta de Hierro) ainsi qu’à Valladolid (Hospital U. Río Hortega). Durant sa dernière année de résidence, elle retourne dans sa ville natale au Canada pour faire un stage externe au Montreal Neurological Institute, où elle se forme en troubles du mouvement, démence, sclérose en plaques et hospitalisation.

Une fois devenue Neurologue, elle décide de poursuivre sa formation et fait un deuxième internat en Psychiatrie, à l’Hôpital Reina Sofia de Murcia (Espagne). Elle accède à se former dans pratiquement tous les dispositifs du réseau de Santé Mentale de la région et s’expose à différentes orientations psychothérapeutiques.

En 2021 elle débute comme coordinatrice du Programme de Psycho-Gérontologie et de Diversité fonctionnelle du Centre de Santé Mentale d’Alcobendas à Madrid. Elle traite aussi des patients adultes de Psychiatrie Générale du milieu extrahospitalier, et s’occupe des urgences psychiatriques durant les gardes à l’Hôpital Universitaire Infanta Sofia de San Sebastian de los Reyes (Madrid).

Dr Zamora was born in Montreal, a city known to be multicultural and diverse. Both her parents are of Spanish descent. She lived in Canada until the age of 19 and her academic education was bilingual in French and English up to then.

At age 16, as part of her extracurricular activities, she represented Canada in a cultural program called Ruta Quetzal, which was recognized by UNESCO to be of «Universal Interest». She got to travel around Spain, USA and Mexico, and it proved to be a very inspirational experience.

In 2003, she moved to Spain to pursue her education in Medicine at the University of Alcalá (Madrid). While being in Medical School, she had the opportunity to undertake exchange programs throughout Europe. Slovakia was one of the destinations where she studied during the summer of 2005 (Košice’s University Hospital Louis Pasteur). Another destination was France, where she spent her fifth year in the “Faculté de Médecine de Montpellier”. This is where she had her first clinical contact with Neurology and Psychiatry, which would one day become her specialties.

Once she achieved her medical degree, she went on to pursue her specialty as a resident in Neurology at the Hospital Complex in Segovia (Spain). During the first years, she completed her training with rotations in different hospitals in Madrid (H. U. Ramón y Cajal, H.U. 12 de Octubre, H.U. Puerta de Hierro) and in Valladolid (H.U. Río Hortega). As a senior resident, she moved back to her hometown Montreal to undergo an internship at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where she trained in Movement Disorders, Dementia, Multiple Sclerosis and Neurology wards.

After completing her specialty in Neurology, she undertook a second Residency in Psychiatry at the “Hospital General Universitario Reina Sofía” in Murcia (Spain). During that time, she took experience with different orientations in psychotherapy. Some of her clinical rotations were Dementia-Psychogeriatrics, Adult and Child/Adolescent Outpatients-Community Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Eating Disorders, Personality Disorders, Adult and Child/Adolescent inpatient Psychiatry, Addictions, and long-term Mental Health Rehabilitation.

In 2021-2022, she worked as a psychiatrist in the public health system and was the Coordinator of the Psychogeriatrics and the Functional Diversity Programs in Alcobenda’s Mental Health Center (Madrid). She also assisted adult outpatients and attended on-call duties at the “Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía” (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid).

Alicia always considered Medicine as her second love; her first one, without a doubt, were books, which she saw as an opportunity to discover new worlds, people, and lives. Along the road she also realized that mastering English meant a huge expansion of possibilities and could be the icing on the cake on her future ahead.

She studied Medicine in Valladolid and during the summers of those years and thanks to the International Students Exchange Program, she had the chance to appreciate the practice of Medicine in other countries: Zagazig (Egypt), Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, USA) and Torino (Italy). With this, Alicia was also able to become aware of cultural differences and the fact that, despite everything background and life experiences, all patients have the same needs.

After passing the MIR exam with flying colors, Psychiatry was her choice in the Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid, where the great volume of population and the excellent medical services assured a wide range of challenges and training to become a general psychiatrist. Alicia dedicated her special training to neuropsychiatry in the city of London at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, where she acquired experience in the treatment of the psychiatric consequences of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, among others.

When she finished the specialty training her first job took her to Complejo Asistencial Bennito Menni of Hermanas Hospitalarias in Ciempozuelos (Madrid) which allowed her to get a fuller picture of Psychiatry (chronic patients, institutionalized for schizophrenia, learning disabilities, autism and more). Later on, she became a member of the nascent Brain Damage Unit Hospital Beata M.ª Ana, a landmark centre for the treatment of stroke and traumatic brain injuries. It was then when she really understood how relevant the psychiatric care is, specially of the patients suffering from the devastating consequences and side effects of their conditions.

Her work in Hospital Fremap de Majadahonda from 2008 to 2022 was dedicated to the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders secondary to traumatological and medical diseases considered work-related (severe traumatic injuries and brain damage), as well as chronic pain (complex regional pain syndrome, chronic low back pain, neuropathic pain and others) and the psychiatric disorders exclusively work-related (particularly post-traumatic stress disorder). The treatment of patients with disabilities requires to tame your gaze to be able to grasp the person as a whole, paying attention not only to their
difficulties, but also to their strengths and with the aim of enhancing them, always keeping the person in sight.

After a family relocation, she went to Alicante, where she was part of the Public Health System (Centro de Salud Mental Altabix, Elche, and Santa Pola), and just like in her daily work in Frema, Alicia cared for patients suffering from the most frequent mental disorders: anxiety, depression, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder. She repeatedly asserts that she likes taking patients off medication much better than putting them on medication, and using as less as possible, choosing the drug with the most appropriate profile for each individual patient.

In the last 12 years she has combined her clinical job with the translation from English to Spanish of medical texts for GEA editorial, which allows her to maintain her medical English updated as well as staying informed of the numerous advances in the field of Medicine.

To our Sinews team, Alicia brings a great deal of experience with patients who suffer from medical problems and neurological disorders, which allows to treat each person as a whole and offer them integral solutions from a humanist standpoint.

Gema Rubio Herranz es psicóloga general sanitaria de adultos y parejas. Su actividad profesional y áreas de mayor interés son los Trastornos de Ansiedad (crisis de pánico, fobias, ansiedad generalizada…), Trastorno Obsesivo, Trastornos por Estrés, Trastornos relacionados con el Estado de Ánimo (depresión, trastorno bipolar), Trastornos del sueño, Duelo, el Juego Patológico (ludopatía) y la Terapia de Pareja. Ejerce como psicóloga en la clínica privada desde hace más de 20 años.

Her professional career began as a resident psychologist in the Clinical and Health Psychology unit of the Department of Psychology in the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). Since then, she has enjoyed a successful private practice.

Además, es docente del Máster Universitario de Psicología General Sanitaria de la Universidad Europea de Madrid (en la asignatura de “Estrés y afrontamiento”). Siempre ha trabajado para complementar su actividad clínica con la investigación (obtuvo su tesis doctoral cum laude sobre ludopatía), las publicaciones científicas y la docencia, fue profesora en el campus de Madrid de la universidad americana de Saint Louis y ha desarrollado distintos talleres psicoeducativos para pacientes (trastorno de pánico con/sin agorafobia, técnicas de relajación, manejo de estrés y TDAH en el adulto entre otros). Cuenta con una amplia formación, experiencia laboral e investigadora en el campo de la psicoterapia Cognitivo-Conductual.

Marta jest psychologiem i psychoterapeutką. Pracuje z dziećmi, młodzieżą i dorosłymi. Marta pracuje integrując nurt humanistyczny z technikami wywodzącymi się z innych szkół psychoterapii takich jak poznawczo-behawioralna czy systemowa, zawsze dostosowując metody pracy do indywidualnych potrzeb pacjenta.

Urodzona w Warszawie, od dziecka uwielbiała podróżować i z dużym zaangażowaniem i łatwością uczyła się języków obcych. Jedna z tych podróży przywiodła ją do Madrytu z założeniem, że spędzi tutaj jeden rok podczas wymiany studenckiej Erasmus na Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Nie są jej więc obce wyzwania z jakimi spotykają się studenci studiujący za granicą. Dzięki temu niezwykłemu doświadczaniu udało jej się nawiązać przyjaźnie z osobami z różnych stron świata, z którymi utrzymuje bliskie relacje do dziś. W rezultacie Marta zdecydowała się przeprowadzić do Hiszpanii i założyła tu wielokulturową rodzinę. Zna w związku z tym zarówno blaski jak i cienie życia poza granicami swojego kraju. W trakcie doskonalenia zawodowego w dziedzinie psychologii pracowała jako nauczyciel angielskiego w szkole Kids&Us, oraz w dwujęzycznym ośrodku Gymboree, prowadząc zajęcia rozwojowe dla dzieci od 0 do 6 lat i ich rodzin.

Marta rozpoczęła swoją karierę jako psycholog we wczesnej interwencji, uczestnicząc w projekcie badawczym dotyczącym dziećmi urodzonych przedwcześnie i ich rodzin na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim we współpracy z Instytutem Matki i Dziecka w Warszawie. Ukończyła studia podyplomowe z terapii dzieci ze Spektrum Autyzmu oraz pomocy psychologicznej w innych trudnościach takich jak zaburzenia lękowe, depresja, ADHD, zaburzenia zachowania, doświadczenie przemocy czy bullying. Prowadziła warsztaty dla rodziców wspierające ich w codziennych trudach wychowania oparte na założeniach Rodzicielstwa Bliskości i komunikacji bez przemocy.
W pracy terapeutycznej z dziećmi używa technik bazujących na zabawie, gdyż jest to najbardziej naturalny sposób wyrażania przez dzieci ich potrzeb i emocji. Marta zawsze stara się, żeby rodzina czuła się częścią oddziaływania terapeutycznego jako czynnik sprawczy zmiany i wspólnie z rodzicami omawia i proponuje sposoby, które mogą ich wspierać w codziennych zmaganiach.

Marta może pomóc rodzicom odnaleźć odpowiedzi na następujące pytania: ¿Jak wspierać dzieci w osiąganiu kolejnych rozwojowych kamieni milowych? ¿Co robić, gdy dziecko doświadcza frustracji i napadu złości? ¿Jak wspomóc dziecko w nawiązywaniu kontaktów z rówieśnikami? ¿Jak rozmawiać z nastolatkiem? I na wiele innych kwestii, które niepokoją rodziców.

W trakcie swojej 10-letniej praktyki, kontynuując pracę z dziećmi i młodzieżą, Marta dalej szkoliła się, zbierając narzędzia oferowane przez różne szkoły psychoterapii i poszerzając swoją praktykę o pracę z dorosłymi. Jako psychoterapeuta dorosłych, Marta może pomóc osobom z objawami depresji czy zaburzeniami lękowymi, osobom, które mają trudności w nawiązywaniu satysfakcjonujących relacji czy w adaptacji do nowych okoliczności, osobom, które przechodzą przez sytuację stresu i żałoby lub są po doświadczeniu traumy lub przemocy.

Dzięki 4-letniemu szkoleniu w nurcie terapii Gestalt, Marta wprowadziła do swojej pracy nowe techniki, które w sposób holistyczny traktują ludzkie doświadczanie z perspektywy tu i teraz. Jej priorytetem jest stworzenie w gabinecie atmosfery zaufania i akceptacji, w której pacjent poczuje się wysłuchany i zrozumiany, bez oceniania. W takich warunkach stwarzamy możliwość pacjentowi do zadbania o siebie i znalezienia odpowiedzi na kwestie, które uniemożliwiają mu osiągniecie poczucia satysfakcji i szczęścia. Praca terapeutyczna to towarzyszenie drugiej osobie na drodze do poszerzenia świadomości o jej mechanizmach zachowania, tak żeby z pomocą terapeuty mogła zmienić te, które przestały jej służyć.

Dr Alma Moser, née en France d’une mère française et d’un père allemand, a grandi dans un environnement diversifié et international, vivant dans plusieurs pays européens et aux États-Unis (Floride). Au cours de ses études secondaires, elle a également passé six mois à Toronto, au Canada, où elle a découvert la culture et le mode de vie canadiens.

Dr Moser a choisi la médecine en pensant à la psychiatrie avec l’idée d’approfondir ses connaissances sur la façon dont le corps et l’esprit fonctionnent ensemble et les influences qu’ils ont l’un sur l’autre. Après la première année de médecine au Luxembourg, le Dr Moser a poursuivi ses études à l’Université Catholique de Louvain en Belgique. Puis en tant qu’étudiante universitaire, elle a décidé de passer un semestre à Santiago du Chili, pour travailler en espagnol dans un service de psychiatrie local. Au cours de ses études, elle a expérimenté ce que cela signifiait de commencer à vivre et à travailler dans un nouveau pays, avec une nouvelle culture, une nouvelle langue et en reconstruisant un réseau social. En 2019, après avoir épousé un Espagnol, le Dr Moser s’est installée avec sa famille multilingue à Madrid.

En bref, Dr Moser connaît parfaitement l’expérience des expatriés et des multilingues et est capable de faire preuve d’une grande empathie envers les patients qui se trouvent dans cette situation.

Au cours de ses cinq années de résidence en psychiatrie en Belgique, elle a travaillé avec des patients de tous les âges et a eu l’occasion d’exercer sa profession dans différents environnements de travail tels que l’hôpital, les Urgences, le centre de santé ambulatoire et l’hôpital de jour, où elle a pu apprendre et mettre en œuvre des traitements validés pour des pathologies mentales comme la dépression (y compris post-partum), l’anxiété, la schizophrénie, le trouble de l’attention avec hyperactivité ou les troubles alimentaires, entre autres.

De plus, Dr Moser est en dernière année d’une formation de quatre ans en psychothérapie psychanalytique pour enfants et rédige une thèse sur “les secrets de famille“ et leur impact sur le transgénérationnel. Elle a travaillé avec des enfants et des adolescents souffrant d’autisme, de troubles du comportement, d’automutilation et de pensées suicidaires.

En tant que Thérapeute, Dr Moser reste au plus proche des patients et de leur histoire, sachant que chaque sujet est unique, avec ses propres ressources et défis, et mérite des réponses et une aide sur mesure. Cela nécessite de bonnes connaissances théoriques et de la souplesse, associées à une médication uniquement lorsque celle-ci s‘avère nécessaire.

Vickie Andrews has international training and experience in clinical psychology using a cognitive-behavioral focus in individual, group and couple’s therapy. Her clinical experience covers a wide variety of pathologies, from eating disorders to anxiety and mood disorders. Her main areas of interest include the difficulties of cultural adaptation, couple´s therapy and difficulty in relationships, the psychological problems facing women, and working with young adults at the university age.

After working in a Crisis Center in Fort Collins (CO. USA), she moved to Latin America where she became part of a multidisciplinary team as a therapist at a family medical clinic, and in a NGO with underprivileged women and children.
After marrying a Spaniard, she settled in Madrid, where she successfully completed a Master in Clinical and Health Psychology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She is raising three bilingual children and understands the struggles that expatriate women face. At present, she combines her private practice at Sinews with her job as a therapist to the student body at Saint Louis University.

Andrea grew up in a family atmosphere with relatives of different nationalities: American, Spanish, English and Argentinian. Andrea was in contact with both languages, English and Spanish, throughout her development, hence her early bilingüism.

After completing a module on social integration, during which she worked for the Red Cross in their departments of employment and immigration, Andrea began her studies in Psychology at the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas de Madrid. During this training period, she balanced her studies with her work as a counselor, intervening in crisis situations, in a hot line destined to children and adolescents at risk (Teléfono ANAR).

After graduating in Psychology, Andrea continued her postgraduate training at the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Madrid doing a Master in Clinical and Health Psychology, to which she would add a specialization in cognitive behavioral therapy with children and adolescents. During this period, Andrea also developed various collaborative works with the IES Padre Piquer and Fundación Norte.

It was during the course of the Master when Andrea passed the rigorous selection process to do her internship in Sinews. After two years of training with us, in which she carried out her own cases, primarily from the Adult Department, and simultaneously received training on Educational Psychology with the team working in Kings College in Soto de Viñuelas, Andrea was selected as the best Master’s student of 2013 - 2015 and was elected to join SINEWS clinical team.

Since then, Andrea has acquired extensive experience in clinical work, she has attended numerous adults and adolescents with a diversity problems: bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, complicated grief or mood disorders among others. Andrea´s gained experience on psychoeducational assessments in children and adolescents is also worth mentioning.

One of the populations with which Andrea has gained great experience is college students. Andrea has collaborated with Saint Louise University as a counselor, and since 2015 is in charge of the counseling service offered at the Instituto de Empresa University (IE), treating students who require professional help to cope with their difficulties.

In addition to her clinical work, Andrea has also shown an interest in teaching. Andrea has developed educational workshops for professionals and university students and is an internship tutor for students doing their Masters in Clinical and Health Psychology at the Universidad Europea de Madrid.