I’m Karolina Truś, a psychologist and psychotherapist in training (currently in my fourth year at the Cognitive Institute). I work using cognitive-behavioural conceptualisation, integrating “third-wave” approaches, especially Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and focus exclusively on evidence-based methods. I completed the DBT Comprehensive Training 2024/2025 and work as part of the DBT Consultation Team "Goździki".

I am affiliated with the Polish Society for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy (since 2022) and the Polish Society for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (since 2024). Previously, I was a member of The British Psychological Society (2017–2023, Membership No. 432581).

About me

My approach

I offer a therapeutic approach that is attentive to individual values, which can be particularly helpful for people with experiences of belonging to socio-cultural minorities, the GSRD community, or with migration backgrounds.

A significant part of my work involves providing long-term therapeutic support for individuals whose needs are complex, including those related to neurodiverse traits (such as features associated with autism spectrum and auADHD) and emotional dysregulation. I also work with clients who require adaptations in therapy due to physical or sensory disabilities, learning difficulties, or experiences of chronic health challenges.

I work with adolescents and young adults, adults, and couples. My additional professional interests include the assessment of cognitive functions in the context of neurodiversity, as well as conducting group psychotherapy processes adapted to the specific needs of participants, with an emphasis on measuring intervention effectiveness.

Since 2018, I have been leading workshops in diverse professional contexts, including psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational groups, workshops aimed at enhancing psychological wellbeing and social-interpersonal skills, soft and hard skills training, and professional development programmes.

Professional and Educational Experience

In 2016, I graduated in Psychology from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, completing a research-based thesis. My student placements included a care home and sheltered housing in Lublin, as well as an NGO providing psychological support to the Polish community in London.

I gained clinical experience working on a psychiatric day treatment and assessment ward at Highgate Mental Health Centre, Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust, Islington, London, as well as in an outpatient specialist psychiatric service for people experiencing a first episode of psychosis (Islington Early Intervention Service, Camden & Islington NHS, Islington, London). This practice was accompanied by supervision and training as a Mental Health Practitioner through a collaboration between local NHS services and Middlesex University, which I completed in 2019 (PgDip, Middlesex University).

I continued my professional practice in an outpatient specialist psychiatric service for clients with severe mental health needs, tailored to support individuals with personality disorders (Richmond Recovery & Support Team, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, Richmond, London). At the same time, I trained in group cognitive-behavioural therapy, based on the group process, under the supervision of an experienced CBT and MBCT psychotherapist. The group was tailored to the needs of the Polish community living in the Wandsworth area, provided through the local IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) service (Talk Wandsworth IAPT, SWLSTG NHS, Wandsworth, London). This experience laid the foundation for my further training in cognitive-behavioural therapy.

In 2020, I began training as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner through the collaboration between the IAPT service in Merton and University College London. In subsequent years, I gained experience in low-intensity CBT and clinical triage (IAPT Merton Uplift, SWLSTG NHS, London), conducting group-based therapeutic interventions for the general population (IAPT Wandsworth, SWLSTG NHS, London), and undertaking bank shifts at psychiatric wards with varied specialisations, as well as in the Crisis/Home Treatment Teams and Crisis Line at Springfield University Hospital. Examples of wards included forensic, eating disorders, OCD & BDD, assessment suites, acute inpatient wards, and a national Deaf inpatient service for CYP. In 2021/2022, I worked at the Kraków branch of Zevo Health, providing psychological wellbeing support to content moderators.

At the end of 2022, I relocated to Białystok and began working there. Between January 2023 and March 2025, I worked with private therapy services and began collaborating with the Normalna Przyszłość Foundation (from August 2023), as well as working with IQVIA as a clinical trial rater, assessing cognitive functions in a clinical research setting (July 2023 – June 2024).

Currently, I work in a private practice on Rocha Street in Białystok, as well as in the public SPP ZOZ Dr St. Deresz Hospital in Choroszcz, within the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic (Psychotherapy Service) and the General Psychiatric Ward. In October 2025, I started the fourth (final) year of my psychotherapeutic training in the cognitive-behavioural approach at the Cognitive Institute in Warsaw, accredited by the Polish Society for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy. In May 2025, I completed the DBT Comprehensive Training with the Polish Society for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, preparing me to work in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.