About
You take better care of yourself now. You eat with attention, move your body, make plans, set reminders, and often follow through. Your calendar is, at times, tidy. Your inbox is under control. Even your dentist appointments are booked. You invest in your growth: you sign up for courses and, when time allows, finish some books you buy. You’re planning a retreat. You try. And sometimes, you succeed.
But still ... You snapped at Jordan on Monday, even though you’d promised yourself to stay composed. Yesterday, you walked away from Alex’s question, knowing it would only make the next conversation harder. You woke again at three in the morning, replaying how in 2018, you told Claire’s boyfriend that the job sounded “surprisingly legitimate.” You meant it as a joke. No one laughed.
What is that? It’s your emotions doing what they were shaped to do, not necessarily what you need them to do.
Emotions are biological algorithms. They automate where your attention goes, how you interpret what you see, and how you behave. They were carved by evolution to pass on genes, not to make you happy or act in line with your values. Nature doesn’t ask what matters to you. It doesn’t care about your goals, your values, or how you feel. And so your emotions don’t either—unless you intervene.
I’m here to help you understand how your emotional system works and how to patiently refine it into an instrument that supports the life you’re trying to live and the person you want to be. Hi, I’m Malka. It’s lovely to meet you.
I work with emotions for a living. I’m a certified (neuro)psychoanalyst with a PhD in evolutionary anthropology and an MSc in psychotherapy science. I study how emotional systems are built, what they’re built for, and how to work with them in the world we live in.
Through therapy and coaching, classes and salons, I offer guidance and education rooted in biology, shaped by experience, and delivered with care. I help you understand the patterns behind your emotional responses and learn how to shift them.
Emotions shape every atom of your life. They deserve your time, your attention, and your thoughtful care.
You like to read the fine print?
I appreciate that. Here’s the story behind why you might choose to listen to me. My background, my training, and the experiences that have shaped the way I work.
My enthrallment with emotions turned up unexpectedly after the turn of the millennium while studying Slovenian language and literature. At the undergraduate finale, I entertained myself with conceptual metaphors of emotion in everyday language. I grew attached and, treading into marketing, in my postgraduate assignment, I examined how emotions influence purchasing decisions. By then, I found myself increasingly curious, drawing me to pivot into mental disciplines. I pursued a BSc and an MSc in psychotherapy science and entered psychoanalytical training. As my understanding of the biological foundations of the mental world expanded, I augmented my background with neuroanalytical training and a PhD in evolutionary anthropology, later leading to a postdoc in human ethology.
What does this mean for my work with you?
Rooted in a psychoanalytic orientation, I am trained in depth approaches that integrate unconscious processes, developmental dynamics, and relational theories. I don’t believe in shortcuts or instant solutions, and instead swear by the patient, deliberate work on changeovers. My grounding in biology reassures me that nothing organic transforms overnight; shaping new mental patterns is akin to tending a tree. It takes time, care, and patience. The insights from affective science declare that emotions are the roots of this tree, even if elusive and capricious. Trimming and shaping them requires a steady hand, devotion, and a willingness to experiment. Practicing in different therapeutic frameworks, including existential and positive psychotherapies, phenomenological inquiry, and my alma mater, psychoanalysis, favored me with a diverse set of tools for this mission. They allow me to style my approach to your uniqueness, always anchored in evidence-based practice.
Of course, theoretical knowledge alone does not cultivate skill; experience does. I honed mine through diverse adventures. My earliest go back attending to kids and teens with special needs in their language learning. Going ahead, I volunteered in youth programs, community centers, and counseling services. As a research assistant in health sector and humanities, I collaborated on national and international projects on mental health and well-being. During my psychoanalytical training and later in my private practice, I worked clinically, addressing emotional, relational, and personality challenges in adults. In the course of all this time, I’ve had the privilege of sharing my time with a colorful spectrum of beautiful people, from high-performing professionals to individuals seeking to rebuild their lives after profound challenges.
In recent years, I’ve narrowed my work to what turned out to still matter the most to me: emotions. I'm developing a range of services for cultivating emotional health, from one-to-one meetings to group programs that foster community and ongoing learning. I enjoy creating digital products: books, classes, and workshops designed to help you navigate the emotional landscape and transform it into an orchestra that plays in harmony with the life you want to live.
My approach has grown deeply rooted in evolutionary theory and affective science. I settled in evolutionary anthropology, but draw from akin disciplines such as evolutionary psychiatry, cognitive and social neuroscience, and relational neurobiology. These perspectives complement and refine traditional mental models, providing a clearer map of the biological underpinnings of emotion, motivation, and behavior. They illuminate not only why you feel the way you do, but also how to work with those feelings to align them with your goals and aspirations.
I'd like to learn more about how I can support your emotional growth. I invite you to explore my resources, join my programs, or reach out to connect.
"You feel, therefore you are."
- Jaak Panksepp
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