Krasi Kirova, Registered Psychologist

GradDip(Arts), BA(Psych)(Hons), MPsych(Counselling), MAAPi

Hi, I am Krasi Kirova. I am a practicing psychologist in Malvern East and I am passionate about what I do because it matters. I help people when they are stuck and want to move towards something new and better but they don’t know how. I guide them how to do life differently, becoming free from worn-out and familiar patterns and reaching what they truly want and need. I know from my own life journey that you can overcome difficulties and setbacks with the support of others and you can live fully on your own terms. Read more about my approach here.

From as long as I can remember my favourite pastime was reading books, immersing myself in a hundred other lives and experiencing a range of unfamiliar emotions.  Even though I didn’t recognise it back then, it was the beginning of my lifelong fascination with psychology.

Growing up in Bulgaria, my interest in literature and history first led me to a Bachelor degree in Greek Philology. After moving across the world to New Zealand, I seized an opportunity to pursue my other passion.  And so I completed a Graduate Diploma and later an Honours degree in Psychology at The University of Auckland.  At that time I knew it was the right professional path for me but I felt I needed to experience more of life before helping others make sense of their own.

Over the next 8 years I worked in publishing, administered psychological assessments for recruitment and co-ordinated a program for a not-for-profit mental health organisation. It wasn’t my professional development, however, but the birth of my first child that made me take stock of where I was heading. The right time had come to go back to university and make the transition into the field of professional psychotherapy.

Following this, I completed a Masters in Psychology at Monash University and have worked various roles including counselling in private practice and Monash University Health Services, as well as co-facilitating schema groups for complex trauma at The Victoria Clinic. I have also contributed for The Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) Dad Newsletter and participated regularly in a weekly show on mental health on SBS Radio Bulgarian.

Does personal experience matter in the work of a psychologist? Well, I believe it absolutely does!

The family and place where we grow up, the people that join us along the way and the challenges we face in life impact our personal and professional development and enhance the skills we have, including our work. And I am no different. As a psychologist, maintaining an awareness of my life journey helps me connect with my clients on a deeper personal level and support them confidently on the path of their own.

As a result of first-hand experience in my family, I have developed a strong interest and competency working in the area of abusive relationships and domestic violence. I am capable and considerate in supporting women who are experiencing abuse in their relationships and can recognise the intricate dynamics of family violence.

Similarly, my life of migration has deepened my understanding and compassion of what profound changes relocation brings. It affects you deeply, from the sense of loss of family and friends, to the need to forge a new version of self and navigate it with respect to the old.

And perhaps most profoundly, becoming a parent has certainly been my biggest life lesson to date. It turned my life upside down and gave me a new meaning and direction. It has also informed my academic research into the area of women’s mental health post-birth.

For more information, you can read an interview with me here.