Dr Despina Sfakinos

MASTER CERTIFIED Coach (ICF)

Overview

Despina is passionate about psychological wellbeing, leadership development and helping individuals and organizations achieve their goals. She completed a PhD in the Coaching Psychology Unit at the University of Sydney, in which she explored the relationship between self-awareness, psychological wellbeing and leadership performance. Her research involved an in-depth investigation into what self-awareness entails and she developed a theoretically grounded model on how to develop this important ability.

Although, often relegated to the realm of “soft skills”, it is becoming increasingly evident that self-awareness is an essential feature of development, both personal and professional. As such, a central component of Despina’s approach to coaching is developing self-awareness. Furthermore, her approach is based on cutting edge research in leadership development, complexity theory and psychological principles of change. Despina believes that leadership development coaching is an important process for everyone to engage in including those who wish to enhance their self-leadership capacity (leadership that we exercise over ourselves).

QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD, University of Sydney, School of Psychology, Coaching Psychology Unit

• Graduate Diploma of Psychological Practice, College of Psychological Practice

• Honours in Psychology (First Class), University of Adelaide

• Bachelor of Arts (Major Psychology), University of Adelaide

• Associate Diploma of Arts (Graphic Design), University of South Australia

Accreditations

• Master Certified Coach (MCC, ICF)

• Hogan Personality Assessments (HPI; HDS; MVPI)

  Affiliations

• Member, International Coaching Federation (ICF)

• Member, Australian Psychological Society (MAPS)

• Member, AHPRA

• Member, APS Interest Group in Coaching Psychology