POMOCOWNIA Foundation aims its activities at individuals and families in crisis, especially at people going through or experiencing divorce. We focus on two main areas:

i) family crisis prevention, psychoeducational assistance, therapy and minimizing negative impacts of family crisis.

In this field POMOCOWNIA conducts lectures, workshops, therapeutic consultations, and support groups for children, adolescents and adults. The activities of the Foundation are targeted at the residents of the City of Warsaw, especially those who are in personal, family and life crisis.

ii) family crisis intervention – emergency therapy, execution of contacts between parent(s) and child(ren) based on court verdicts, conducting psychological interventions for families in divorce crisis.

In this area POMOCOWNIA provides systemic support for families in crisis by close cooperation with Municipal Welfare Centre Office workers, children’s guardians, judges, and teachers and offers consultation, training and lectures run by family crisis support experts.

POMOCOWNIA Foundation provides therapy for divided and/or conflicted family structures and helps establish and maintain parent-child contacts.

Our main goals in arranging the parent-child contacts are:

– providing opportunities for parent-child meetings in a safe, neutral place, usually without the presence of the other parent

– providing specialized insight into the relationship through the presence of POMOCOWNIA Foundation psychologists in all meetings

– informing the court about the dynamics of the meetings and the quality of cooperation between the parents.

The main goals of our therapeutic activities aimed at the members of divided family structures are:

i) child-centered therapeutic work on family relationships

ii) psychoeducational therapeutic work for parents.

Parent-child meetings are held exclusively at our premises in a specially adapted room in Warsaw’s Wola district. The meetings are run by a team of experienced and continually supervised psychologists. Subsequently to each session meeting notes are drawn up and forthwith passed on to the relevant court in order to be accessible for inquiry.

Every psychologist who takes part in the parent-child contacts is there for the child. Their role is to:

– give support, assistance and watch over the child’s physical and mental well-being and

safety

– foster the child’s relationship with the parent present in  the meetings

– observe the child’s relationship with the parent

– observe the behavior and attitude of the parent

– provide feedback to the parent attending the meetings immediately after the session.

If the court’s order states that one of the parents shall not participate in the sessions, then he or she must not be present at POMOCOWNIA’s premises (this ban includes also our waiting room).

The full responsibility for the execution of court’s orders lies on the child’s parents, not on the POMOCOWNIA Foundation. We also believe that it is not POMOCOWNIA specialists’ role to convince or encourage the child to meet one of the parents.

The Foundation provides an opportunity to prepare a given child for the parent-child sessions in the form of individual consultation meetings (this being obligatory for children above 7 years of age and recommended for younger ones).

Detailed rules for conducting therapy at POMOCWNIA Foundation are outlined in the therapeutic contract.

POMOCOWNIA’s Team

The Board:

Joanna Żewakowska

The President of POMOCOWNIA Foundation

Joanna is a psychologist, a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and an expert witness at the District Court of Warsaw for the diagnosis of families in divorce crisis. She completed a four-year training at the RASZTÓW Institute of Group Analysis. Joanna is an experienced professional and has been giving psychological support to people in need at institutions such as the Wolski Hospital, Psychological and Pedagogical Centers, and also at her own office. Joanna has trained pedagogical staff and specialists working with families. She conducts consultations and individual therapy for adults and adolescents; runs therapeutic, psychoeducational and support groups. She also consults parents and children in divorce crisis. Joanna has writtem research papers on families in divorce crisis, and is a member of AFCC (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts – an interdisciplinary and international association of professionals working with families in divorce crisis).

Paweł Maciaszek

The Vice President of POMOCOWNIA Foundation

Paweł is a therapist, a family mediator, and a social probation officer at the Warsaw Wola District Court. He is also a psychosocial skills trainer and a business coach. Paweł is the founder and President of the SKAT Association (Warsaw Club of Active Dads). He specializes in helping people in personal and relationship crises and in divorce-related therapy. For many years he has been conducting couples therapy, individual therapy, support groups, including ones for people in divorce crisis. Paweł also runs custom-designed Adult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional Families support groups for people aged 35 plus and 45 plus. He is an author of numerous educational programs and social prevention projects, among many others, on relationship disorders. Paweł has been a social activist and for 5 years served as the chairman of the Commission for Social Dialogue on Children, Youth and the Family of the City of Warsaw.

Specialists:

Katarzyna Balik

Katarzyna is a forensic and penitentiary psychologist. She studied at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw and took training at the Institute of Forensic Expertise in Krakow. She is currently undergoing Ericksonian therapy training (the so-called Curriculum) at the Polish Ericksonian Institute. Katarzyna is a family mediator at the Polish Mediation Center. She has extensive expert witness experience in the diagnosis of families and minors. Katarzyna has been working with families in crisis helping them to deal with issues such as divorce, parenting and communication difficulties, adoption, various forms of conflict and domestic violence.

Dominika Padzik

Dominka is a psychologist and a psychotherapist currently in the process of certification at the Professional School of Psychotherapy at the Institute of Health Psychology recommended by the Polish Psychological Association. She has completed: i) a number of social and psychological support courses; ii) Level I training at the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Center in Sopot; iii) mediation training at the Center for Postgraduate Studies and Training at the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities. She gained experience by working with patients: i) at Social Welfare Centers (for more than 4 years she conducted classes for parents and worked with families in crisis); ii) the Crisis Intervention Center iii) and at various foundations. Dominika completed an internship at the Prof. T.Bilikiewicz Regional Psychiatric Hospital in Gdańsk and currently, in addition to working at the POMOCOWNIA Foundation, she cooperates with Warsaw-based counseling and psychotherapy centers.

Malgorzata Pawlak-Krzaczek

Małgorzata is a psychologist, and a Solution Focused Brief Therapy specialist. She is currently undergoing training at the Dialog Psychotherapy Center. She has completed courses related to helping people who experience domestic and sexual violence. Małgorzata has extensive knowledge and skills related to crisis intervention, especially for victims of violence. Apart from her work at the POMOCOWNIA Foundation, she cooperates with the Children’s Ombudsman Office where she provides psychological assistance and support to children and parents on the telephone and chatroom helplines.

Monika Piekarczyk

Monika is a psychologist and a Solution Focused Brief Therapy specialist, a vocational counselor, and a manager of social innovation. She has completed First Degree Studies in Domestic Violence Prevention. Monika has experience in working with: i) socially excluded people; ii) violence  affected families; iii)  children and adolescents from dysfunctional families; iv) intellectually disabled patients and vi) people suffering from mental disorders. She has been a long-standing employee of the Social Welfare Center and MONAR (a Polish non-governmental organization helping people who suffer from drug addiction, AIDS, and the homeless).

Magdalena Włodarczyk

Magdalena holds a master’s degree in psychology and is a Social Clinical Psychology graduate. She is a certified pedagogue and parenting skills trainer. Magdalena has completed a one-year course in Children-Related Forensic-Psychological Assessment at the Nobody’s Children Foundation in Warsaw.

She works as a specialist in psychology at the Assessment Team of Court Specialists at the District Court Warsaw Praga in Warsaw. Magdalena has participated in numerous courses and conferences in the fields of: diagnosis, forensic-psychological assessment and parenting competencies. She gives lectures and individual consultations at the POMOCOWNIA Foundation.

Administration Staff:

Anna Gorazd

Foundation coordinator

Julia Durakiewicz

Supports the POMOCOWNIA Foundation in accounting and finance issues

Katarzyna Malinowska

Supports the Foundation in administrative issues and in logistics

The POMOCOWNIA Foundation is supported by Alkalia accounting office.

Contact

Please contact us via email: fundacjapomocownia@gmail.com