Irina Sahnjuk graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tartu (2010) and completed a residency in child and adolescent psychiatry as a minor speciality (2015). Since then, she has continually improved her knowledge by attending local and international conferences. Irina has also taught at Tallinn University and Tallinn Health Care College. In her daily work, Irina mostly specialises in the assessment and treatment of mental and behavioural disorders in schoolchildren and adolescents. She is also engaged in teaching and practices psychotherapy (EMDR) to provide some change hand in hand with inspiration and challenges. Irina is a member of the Estonian Psychiatric Association and the Estonian Junior Doctors' Association.
The job of a child psychiatrist is often similar to that of a detective. Both have to collect as many clues as possible from as many sources as they can, including family members and others (e.g. psychologists, teachers, instructors). But unlike a detective, child psychiatrists aren't looking for a culprit. The aim is to put together all the clues to get the full picture. The greatest joy comes from finding a way to understand the child's worries and appropriate solutions from the full picture.
