Prof. Monika Bogdanova

Prof. Monika Bogdanova, DSc, is a psychoanalyst, lecturer and researcher with many years of professional experience in working with children and families. At the centre of her clinical and scientific work are the earliest stages of child development, the relationship between the baby and its parents, the psychic experience of pregnancy and motherhood, and the prevention of disorders in early childhood.

She has been working with children and families since 1998. Her professional path includes work as a psychologist at SOS Children's Villages, an educational counsellor, a psychotherapist at the “St. Sofia” State Psychiatric Hospital for Children with Cerebral Palsy, as well as psychoanalytic practice.

Since 2010 she has been actively engaged in developing models for the early support of babies, young children and their families in Bulgaria, integrating experience from French and German practice. In 2015 she founded “Zeleniyat Dvor” – a psychoanalytic centre for welcoming families, and in 2018 – the “Françoise Dolto” Centre for the Development of Babies and Children up to 5 Years of Age.

Clinical and scientific interests

• psychoanalysis with babies and young children;
• the psychic experience of pregnancy and motherhood;
• work with prematurely born babies and their families;
• perinatality and early child development;
• diagnosis and prevention of disorders in early childhood (0–3 years);
• early socialisation and baby–parent relationships;
• psychic development and the formation of subjectivity;
• the body and its place in clinical practice;
• support for parents and families;
• training and supervision of specialists working with children and families.

Academic and professional activity

Prof. Bogdanova teaches at the Faculty of Pedagogy of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". Her scientific work links pedagogy, psychoanalysis and clinical understanding of child development.

She defended her doctoral dissertation on the topic “The Foster Family as an Alternative Form of Raising and Educating Children Deprived of Parental Care”, and obtained the scientific degree “Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences” with the study “A Synergistic Model for the Professional Orientation and Counselling of Children and Young People with Specific Needs”.

She has more than 100 scientific and professional publications. Among her more recent works are “Welcoming the Newborn through Words and into the World. Perinatality and Psychoanalysis”, “The Baby, the Child and Their Language” and “The Question of the Body in Clinical Practice”.

Specialisations and qualifications

She has undertaken specialisations in France and Germany in the field of psychoanalytic work with babies, children and families. She conducts training and supervision for specialists from various professional fields, including psychologists, educators, speech and language therapists, and social workers.

Professional memberships

• Bulgarian Association of Psychotherapy – Chair;
• Bulgarian Psychoanalytic Space – full member.