Alchemist of the Human Psyche
Dr. Dragana Favre loved learning ever since she was a child. First it was Science Fiction and Cosmology. Her Yugoslavian years were filled with geographical games with her granddad. Then it comes the slow absorbing of the fact that there is Earth, beyond Earth there is the Solar System, beyond it is the Milky Way, followed by galaxies and the universe. She wished to be an Astronomer but the 90s war switched her dream towards something more down to earth – Medicine. “And then, through Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Jungian Psychotherapy, I found again the stars, this time beyond the universe, for I discovered the Multiverse of the Human Psyche,” she reflects.
While her country was recovering from the war, Dragana managed to enroll for MSc at the prestigious International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Neurosciences, University of Göttingen, Germany. She followed her dream to Alicante in Spain, where she pursued a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, Learning & Memory at the Instituto de Neurosciencias, under the supervision of Dr Angel Barco. The next step was at the Institute of Mental Health, at the Intensive Care of Psychotic Patients Ward, in Belgrade, Serbia. This decision to go back to clinics coincided with her wish to dedicate two years to her mum and the memory of her father who died in the meantime, and instead of pursuing a postdoc, to get in touch with very intimate emotions of her own and of her patients.
In 2010, she again restarted from zero in a country where she didn’t even know the language – Switzerland. In the beautiful Swiss Confederation, Dragana cleared her Specialization in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (FMH in Swiss terms). In 2015, she won an award for the best final exam essay in psychotherapy in Switzerland for an essay on the challenges of the parallel pregnancies of the patient and psychotherapist. She worked for years at the University Hospitals of Geneva as an intern and as an the Head of Daily Hospital for Geriatric Psychiatry. Simultaneously, she obtained an accreditation for Analytical Psychotherapy (Jungian) from the French-speaking branch of the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich. “All this, without neglecting my husband, son, and daughter, who are my brightest stars of all,” she says proudly.
It didn’t take long for Dragana to realize that working in hospitals can be challenging, for it takes a pre-established order to function adequately. On her part, she wanted to go beyond and find the balance between the needed ‘Earth’ order and ‘inner’ chaos. She thus took the first step to establish her private practice in Geneva, in 2017.
Six years down the line, Dragana has emerged as an internationally reputed Psychiatrist-Psychotherapist. She specializes in General and Analytical Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (according to C.G.Jung) and Integrative Treatments in Psychiatry-Psychotherapy. She deals in a variety of problem areas such as:
● Adjustment disorders to today’s world and life circumstances; Existential Stages and Crises, Eco-crises
● Vacuum and Emptiness Experience
● Crisis intervention and work
● Psychotherapeutic support for relatives of patients with cognitive impairment
● Psychiatric-psychotherapeutic support for pregnant women, young mothers, and women going through (pre and post) menopausal period.
Through extensive hands-on experience over 2 decades, Dragana has not only guided patients towards self-discovery and healing, but also learnt lots about society and culture, especially our ecosystem. She is now trying to find a communication channel between this ecosystem in its various forms and human(e) well being.
“My passion is nature in all its incarnations. Flora, fauna, fungi but also the dark matter of universe and the dark shadows of psyche. I like to think of my path, professional and private, as an exploration, a bit of detective work, but with lots of fun and openness to the surprise of the unknown, in people and ourselves. I find inspiration in the alchemical concept of ‘athanor’ – a special furnace in which the heat is the sauce and what is put inside can harmoniously mix. My desire is to achieve that temperature in my professional/private interaction and my goal is to educate people about the importance of togetherness.”
In carving a unique path, Dragana’s journey has not always been easy. Speaking of her challenges and whether she believes in luck or hard work, she says, “There is a lot of serendipity and synchronicity. I had to learn my ‘surrender’ philosophy – how to observe, adapt, and yet stay myself. The most difficult job for a psychotherapist is to define his/her own boundaries or so-called persona; Till where it is me and where the outer world begins. After defining it, there comes the challenge to understand that these boundaries are elastic and part of a spectrum. The magic of empathy lies in that spectrum.”
Thanks to the efforts of pioneers like Dragana, mental health awareness has increased across the globe. But there is no place for the rat race in this field, she believes. Dragana only observes the answers to the 3 most pertinent questions – Is it true, is it kind, is it necessary? According to the answer, her interaction with the world gives it a rhyme and speed.
Her ability to diagnose precarious conditions and help patients heal successfully has seen Dragana win some prestigious awards – Winner of the Best Specialist work 2015; Winner of the Revue Prize of the Group of Psychiatric Day Hospitals 2015; and many others. She’s also a Speaker, an Executive Contributor for Brainz Magazine, and has innumerable publications to her name. In addition, she is active in the Planetary Health Alliance; collaborator of the Let’s Care Together, OFF GHF (Geneva Health Forum) citizen festival; facilitator of ecopsychology-ecopsychotherapy workshops; founder and active in the Pôle médecins du RAFUE; and proud of the values of the Sequoia Network. She adores science-fiction and contemporary art.
Dragana is thus counted among global leaders in the field of mental health. According to her, leadership is kindness with intention, critical, and fair contact with oneself when others are not the threat. Leaders should be those able to step out when their ego becomes contaminated with their inner shadows, and followers should learn not to be ashamed of their current position and be sincere with themselves. Is it their choice or the circumstance? Only by being able to love where we are, we can move further where we love it even more.
Forever fascinated with learning and knowledge, Dragana often spends her ‘me time’ writing sci-fi short stories inspired by Jungian mythology. She stresses the importance of ‘filling your cup’ and shares, “No matter how much I am in love with my job, I am aware that my family is my priority. Without them, there is a missing puzzle. Without a full picture of my puzzle, my well-being is threatened. One can only help others, if one is healthy themself.”