About PPA

The Polish Psychologists’ Association aims to:

1. Provide professional psychological support to the Polish community in the UK in the following areas:       

  • Career planning to take advantage of career development opportunities available,  
  • Promoting tolerance and respect for other cultures by raising awareness of equality & diversity issues especially prejudice, harassment, discrimination, tolerance etc. to help the integration of Polish immigrants into the diverse community in the UK, 
  • Psychological health & development issues: stress management, individual and family psychotherapy.

2. Integrate and provide a forum for the Polish psychological community (the Association members) so it is easier to engage this group in initiatives helping the wider Polish community.

3. Benefit the Polish community in the UK by providing them with a range of psychological services such as counselling, career guidance, psychotherapy, workshops and conferences.

4. Enable the Charity members to help the Polish community, the Charity provides support and a networking platform to its members who are Polish psychology practitioners living and working in the UK. One of the aims of The Polish Psychologists' Association is to enable the Polish psychologists living in the UK to get access to the information necessary to develop their careers and receive support in terms of pursuing their professional development outside their home country.

5. Provide a forum of professionals which acts as a source of information and constitutes a common platform where the experiences can be exchanged and opinions regarding the psychologist’s job can be acknowledged. 

PPA Projects 

There are various projects managed by the Polish Psychologists’ Association. The main aim of those is to widespread the psychological knowledge and to provide Polish people living in UK with the access to a specialists’ help. PPA initiatives since June 2006 include (statistics till April 2008):

  • PPA Open Days – September 2006, April 2007 and September 2007. Events which promote mental health, psychological well-being and development. Series of workshops and seminars are usually offered, together with opportunities to take part in 1:1 consultations. Total number of people who attended Open Days is in excess of 300.
  • Support Group – from March 2008 – series of weekly meetings (12 in total), Klub Orla Bialego, Balham, London. 9 people attend the group on regular basis.
  • Confession Listening – from November 2007 – weekly in two locations in London (Hammersmith & Balham) and soon to commence in Reading.
    Number of people who have benefited: 58 (50 in Balham and 8 in Hammersmith).
  • PPA & Upper Room partnership project – twice weekly consultations from November 2007 (so far 37 1:1 sessions have taken place). Information in English 
  • Telephone consultations – 30 telephone interventions completed in 2007. From June 2008 a regular phone line is connected and the service has resumed.
  • Academy of Women – project aimed at Polish women. The team organised an International Women’s Day event (series of workshops promoting women’s well-being and personal development) attended by 45 women. The group also facilitates fortnightly meetings with 8 women who come to support each other, network and develop skills. Information in English.
  • Advice Centre – family, relationships and childcare psychological advice - 10 regular clients in two locations (North and South London): Klub Orla Bialego, Balham, London and PEEC Family Centre,  Haringey Irish Centre, Pretoria Road, N17 8DX.
  • South Project – in partnership with EU Welcome - expanding access to psychological help and support to providing monthly consultations in Southampton. Since April 2008 5 people have accessed the service.
  • Series of weekly publications – in Polish Express (since 2006) and Dziennik Polski (since early 2007) promoting the subject of psychology and psychological well-being.
  • Careers Advice – on-line help, workshops, seminars and 1:1 career coaching at major job fairs and charity Open Day events; Career Consultations (every second Saturday of the month between 5 and 7 pm at the Polish Centre in Hammersmith, London) and careers phone line (020 3239 4010) - live every Tuesday between 8 and 10 pm.

Should you have any questions regarding our projects or if you would like to receive our regular newsletter about free psychological services, please do not hesitate to contact us via the Contact Form. Please also see our Frequently Asked Questions section for more information in English language.