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Marios Onisiforou was born in Limassol, Cyprus 1940. He graduated from Athens University Medical School (1967) and specialized in Psychiatry in England for five years (1968 to 1973). Degree: Diploma in Psychological Medicine (72). Since his retirement in 2000, he runs his private practice. He is also member of the primary and secondary medical board of the Social Health Services.
Work
Marios was with the Psychiatric Services of Cyprus since 1973. Between 1980 and 1996 he was in charge of the Psychiatric Clinic of Limassol Hospital. From 1996 up to 2000 he was the Director of the Mental Health Services. In 1985, Marios Onisiforou founded the first Systemic Family Therapy Center in the Limassol Psychiatric Clinic, where many psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers were trained. Supporters in this effort were Yiannis Laouris, Dina Mousteri and others.
Contributions in Systemic studies
Marios Onisiforou spent five months at the Institute of Psychiatry, London (1984/85) on a Government scholarship, where the Milan approach was popular at the time. He also spent two months in USA under Fulbright Scholarship where he had brief courses in systemic therapies (1990). At the end of the 90s, he participated in two systemic education programs by the Tavistock Clinic of London conducted by visiting professors of the Clinic. He was then in charge of the second advanced course in my capacity as the Director of the Mental Health Services.
Teaching experience
Marios was a part time professor in two Colleges in Nicosia (Intercollege, Frederic) for seven years. His subjects included: psychopathology, psychiatry, psychology, ethics, supervising postgraduate students in psychotherapy. I introduced the systemic thinking to the students which was well received.
Work experience
He worked mainly as a psychiatrist since 1968 in England and Cyprus but I do also systemic therapies and mediation. I conducted mediation courses up to 40 hours duration to groups like educational psychologists, prison wardens, teachers of secondary education, community nurses, therapists etc. Now my educational program is approved by the Authority in Human Potential Advancement.
Books
- ‘Peaceful Conflict Resolution, An Introduction to Mediation’ (2004).
- ‘The Psychopathological Self’ (2007). It is a textbook in Psychiatry (460pp) where there is an extensive coverage of systemic thinking and therapies.