University studies are a time filled with new and positive experiences, but they also represent a stressful period during which students face major life changes. For this reason, psychological counselling for students is an essential component of every modern university and one of the important prerequisites for ensuring student well-being. The aim of the Student Psychological Counselling Office is to provide students with support in overcoming academic and personal difficulties in order to improve their quality of life and increase the effectiveness of their studies.
The Psychological Counselling Centre initially operated at the level of the University of Osijek, but it was recently transferred to the Student Psychological Counselling Office at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek. It is important to note that psychological counselling remains free of charge and available to all students of the University of Osijek.
Since February 2023, two full-time professional associates for student psychological counselling have been employed at the Student Psychological Counselling Office of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek. Their role is to provide counselling assistance and support to students throughout the University of Osijek, while adhering to the strict ethical standards of the profession that ensure the privacy and confidentiality of personal information.
Staff of the Student Psychological Counselling Office
Sanja Diósy, mag. psych., is a psychologist at the Office with several years of experience in psychological counselling and working with different age groups. She graduated in 2016 from the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek. She began her professional career at the Psychological Counselling Centre for Students of the University of Osijek in 2016, where, in addition to providing individual and group support to students, she also actively worked on preventing psychological difficulties among students by organising various psychoeducational workshops, as well as reducing the stigma associated with mental disorders through lectures and media appearances.
She is currently enrolled in postgraduate professional training for behavioural and cognitive therapists at the Croatian Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies. She is a member of the Croatian Psychological Chamber and the Croatian Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies.
Maja Matković, mag. psych., is a psychologist at the Office. She graduated in 2018 from the Department of Psychology at the University of Zadar with a thesis entitled “The Relationship between Hypochondriasis, Somatisation and Dysfunctional Health Beliefs”. During several years of work at the Osijek Social Welfare Centre and the Korčula Social Welfare Centre, she gained significant experience in psychological assessment and counselling work with individuals of different age groups and with a wide range of difficulties. She successfully passed the state professional examination in the field of social welfare and obtained the basic licence to perform psychological services issued by the Croatian Psychological Chamber, of which she is a member.
She is currently enrolled in postgraduate professional training for behavioural and cognitive therapists at the Croatian Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies. She continuously pursues further education in the fields of psychological assessment and psychological counselling.
Advisers to the Student Psychological Counselling Office
Assoc. Prof. Ana Kurtović, PhD, graduated in 2002 from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Rijeka, obtained her master’s degree in 2006 and her doctoral degree in 2010 from the Postgraduate Doctoral Study Programme in Psychology at the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. Since 2003, she has worked continuously at the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, where she is the course coordinator and lecturer for courses in the fields of clinical psychology, disability psychology and communication. She is the head of the lifelong learning programme Social and Emotional Learning in Education at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek. Her area of scientific interest is clinical psychology, specifically risk and protective factors related to mental health. Since 2016, she worked as a counsellor at the Psychological Counselling Centre for Students of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, where she also served as Head of the Centre. She continuously pursues further education in the fields of psychological assessment and psychotherapy.
