Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist
Director of the Child and Youth Protection Center of Zagreb has been working with children for thirty years of her career. As a child psychologist of Children’s Hospital Zagreb, she often worked with abused and neglected children who had not had the necessary protection from adults. This is the reason why she was among the first professionals in Croatia to recognise the issue of child abuse and neglect and to devote her further work to that issue. She is the founder of the Brave Phone, help-line for abused and neglected children and of the Child and Youth Protection Center of Zagreb. The Center has been recognised as a model of good practice by the Council of Europe and was, as such, presented in the UN. She received several awards of recognition for her work. One of the outstanding achievements was the Child Protection Center Multidisciplinary team award received by the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) in 2008. Besides her professional work she has been active in scientific work and published and presented at international conferences a number of scientific and professional papers. She has published books, handbooks and brochures for parents, children and professionals. She is especially devoted to disseminating her knowledge and experience to future professionals and works at the Faculty of Philosophy in Osijek and Croatian Studies in Zagreb. She is a permanent court expert for abused and neglected children.