About
Who I am, what I do, and why I do it
Your acquaintance with yourself is a sketch
You have been present for every moment of your life, yet proximity does not produce full acquaintance. Some feelings never acquire names. Something forgotten continues in a preference or reaction. An apparently incidental association forms a connection you never consider, and even a familiar quality can carry a history you have never examined.
Deeper self-knowledge develops as we follow these details and discover their relations. Each new link makes the relationship firmer and, at the same time, opens another direction of inquiry. There is always more of the self to know.
Hi, I’m Malka; I’m pleased to meet you
I use psychoanalysis outside the clinical framework, as a method for making you more fully known to yourself. I am a certified (neuro)psychoanalyst with a PhD in evolutionary anthropology, an MSc in psychotherapy science, and an MSc in behavioral economics. I am fascinated by what appears when a person is given enough time and attention to surprise themselves. My role is to recognize those moments and help the inquiry follow where they lead.
What brought you here?
You may come out of curiosity, with no further purpose than discovering more of a subject that is entirely your own. A transition may have loosened the roles and certainties through which you knew yourself, or your identity may have remained indistinct without any decisive event. Perhaps something in your life keeps returning, and you want to understand what gives it its hold before trying again to change it.
The work begins wherever you sense that your present account of yourself leaves something unconsidered.
How we can work together
We begin with your experience as it comes to you. My training helps me follow its possible meanings and recognize connections that do not announce themselves. Together, we consider how each discovery belongs within the portrait of who you are and how you came to be.
We can meet privately, in a self-inquiry salon, or through a lecture, workshop, or short course. Private meetings sustain a detailed inquiry over time. Salons show how the same subject changes from mind to mind; explorations bring knowledge about the self into conversation with your own experience.
All three rely on close attention and a willingness to follow a question beyond its first answer.
My practice is an inclusive space
I am an LGBTQ+ allying, kink-aware, sex-positive, childfree-affirming, weight-inclusive, and neurodivergent-informed psychoanalyst. I am an atheist and have no spiritual or supernatural beliefs; my practice is entirely secular. Your own worldview, whatever it may be, has its place in the inquiry as part of your experience. Whoever you are, and however you navigate the world, you are warmly welcome.
You like to read the fine print?
I appreciate that. Here’s the story behind how I got here. My background, my training, and the experiences that have shaped my approach.
My training and work
My preoccupation with the self began while I was studying language and literature. In my undergraduate thesis, I explored cognitive metaphors in everyday language, and in my postgraduate thesis in marketing, I examined how humans make purchase decisions. My growing curiosity about the self behind language and choice led me to another BSc, an MSc in psychotherapy science, and to enter psychoanalytic training. I later completed a PhD in evolutionary anthropology and postdoctoral research in human ethology. I am currently advancing my clinical training through the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society.
Of course, theoretical knowledge alone does not cultivate skill; experience does. Over the years, I honed mine through diverse clinical and research adventures, collaborating on national and international projects on mental health and well-being. In my private practice, I have had the privilege of sharing my time with a colorful spectrum of minds, from high-performing professionals to individuals seeking to rebuild their lives after profound challenges. Working across such different circumstances taught me that shared human experiences acquire a singular form in each person.
What does my background mean for our collaboration
My training has allowed me to look at the self from many angles: as a biological organism carrying an evolutionary history; as a personal history shaped through development and relationships; as a maker of meanings, many of which remain outside awareness; and as the bearer of a first-person experience available to no one else. Together, these perspectives have shown me the extraordinary complexity of a person. Every explanation reveals one aspect while leaving further meanings and connections available to inquiry. The self can become increasingly familiar and continue to surprise us.
Why I chose to take psychoanalysis outside
I believe psychoanalytic knowledge and methods deserve a life beyond clinical treatment. Illness or crisis should not be the admission price for this quality of attention. I have chosen to devote my practice to that wider use. The same attention to feelings, memories, wishes, and associations can satisfy self-companionship, give identity greater definition, or support change with a fuller understanding of the person who must live it.
What would you like to discover?
You may arrive with a precise question, a sense of yourself that has grown uncertain, something you want to change, or a simple desire to see what else there is to know. We can begin with whatever has caught your attention.
A first conversation gives us a chance to consider what you are looking for and whether my way of working suits you. I look forward to meeting you and hearing all about the journey you envision.