About the talk:

Dr. Łukasz Cichocki runs Pan Cogito Hotel in Krakow, which is part of an integrated programme to treat people with schizophrenia. By integrating the principles of respect, listening and involvement, he creates the conditions that allow the employees of Pan Cogito Hotel to experience being together with all members of society, an essential element of their therapy.

Dr. Cichocki graduated in medical studies from Jagiellonian University and completed his PhD, with the dissertation topic: ‘Defence mechanisms in course of schizophrenia’. For eleven years he has been working as a psychiatrist in a community psychiatry system in Cracow. His patients, most of them with serious mental disorders, teach him how important it is to listen to other people, to respect them, but also to help them recognize and respect limits. Lukasz is the Secretary of The Polish – German Association for Mental Health, member of board of Association for Development Community Psychiatry and Care. In 2010 he was awarded The Stefan Leder Prize by the Polish Psychiatric Association for the studies about effectiveness of psychotherapy in treating people with schizophrenia.

Recorded during: TEDxKraków 2010

Original subtitles: Krystian Aparta

Translated by: Joanna Stefańska (reviewed by Krystian Aparta)