Teodora Pavkovic
Psychologist, Parenting Coach & Digital Wellness Consultant
Educating, engaging and empowering children, adults and organizations by helping them become emotionally smart and digitally well.
Helping you stay present, emotionally connected and focused in the Digital Age.
ABOUT ME
With clients spanning across 3 continents, I am an international psychologist, parenting coach and digital wellness consultant with over a decade of international experience helping children and adults improve their emotional and mental well-being.
The practical workshops, inspiring talks and in-depth one-on-one sessions I conduct with my clients focus on raising emotional awareness, connecting with inner strengths and learning how to use technology in mindful and intentional ways as individuals, families and communities.
I first became interested in Parenting in the Age of Technology in 2016. While living in Singapore, where I practiced as a vision therapist and a psychotherapist, I suddenly began noticing children all around me glued to screen-based devices. Whether while sitting in the bus, at the dinner table in a restaurant or while being pushed around in a stroller, the moments in which children would typically be connected either to themselves, their environment or to their parents were suddenly becoming moments in which they were connected to a screen-based device.
This got me asking: What happens to the parent-child connection when you insert a device in between?
It is still too early in this tech-connected social experiment to answer this question, but my mission has become to educate children, parents and wider communities about the vital importance of safety, connection, attention and affection in this Digital Age - these are the pillars of not just healthy child development, but any healthy relationship and society too. My approach involves utilizing the principles of emotional intelligence and positive psychology practices to help you become digitally well - whether you are a parent, school, brand or company.
I define being Digitally Well as: "using technology mindfully, intentionally and humanely in such a way, that it doesn't tarnish your psychological and emotional well-being or the psychological and emotional well-being of others."
To learn more about my professional and academic background and find out how I can help you, please explore my website and get in touch.
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American Psychological Association
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British Psychological Society
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Co-chair Parenting Professionals Working Group, Children's Screen-Time Action Network
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Board Advisor Trehaus School, Singapore
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Board Advisor Made of Millions, New York
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Board Advisor, Turning Life On
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Parent Ambassador, Children and Screens
Academic Background
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BSc Psychology
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MSc Foundations of Clinical Psychology
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Professional Diploma in Psychotherapy
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Certified in Core 100 Strategic Intervention Coaching Certificate
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Certified Digital Wellness Educator
Professional Affiliations
Workshop Themes
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Digital Wellness 1.0 and 2.0
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Emotional Intelligence training for teachers, therapists, parents and children
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Positive psychology & mindfulness training for children
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Building resilience in children: training for parents and teachers
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Adolescence: the challenges and opportunities
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Self-expression: improving authenticity, connectedness and communication
Speaking Engagements
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Big Bang Data, Art Science Museum, Singapore
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Humane Tech Conference, New York, NY
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Wellness Summit, Singapore American School, Singapore
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HUMANITECH (organizer), Virtual Digital Wellness Conference
In ACTION
NEWS & EVENTS
Virtual:
"Post-Pandemic Digital Families: Choosing
Health & Safety On and Offline"
For this year's Digital Wellness Day, I am partnering up with rock-star lawyer and children's digital rights expert Dr. Elizabeth Milovidov to bring you the latest insights on Digital Wellness as well as practical strategies to help your family flourish in the post-pandemic world.
>>Friday May 7th 2:00pm EST<<
The second annual Digital Wellness Day is supported by some exceptional partners: The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, The Digital Wellness Institute and the makers of The Social Dilemma, among others.
I am especially excited to be offering FREE COACHING SESSIONS to those who register: there are only 3 of them however, so please be sure to register ASAP!
Selection of Past Events:
"Is your Screen-Time affecting your Mental Health?"
You’re invited to join me at this week's Mental Health Summit on the new voice-only platform Clubhouse!
>>Wednesday April 7th 7:00pm EST<<
The first Clubhouse Mental Health Summit in February was such a hit that Forbes magazine wrote a piece about it, so I'm really honored to be representing the Digital Wellness field at the second one.
Click the button here and you will be taken to my Clubhouse profile - when there, be sure to follow me and click the bell so that you are notified when we go live.
Psssst: Do you need an invite to join the platform? Let me know and I'll send you one.
Women's Breakfast: Caretaking while WFH
> November 19th 9:00am EST <
With the outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent shift to working from home, the boundaries between work, caretaking and self-care have crumbled. How do you balance virtual school with project deadlines? Zoom meetings with health insurance phone calls?
Join us for a candid conversation with professional women who are grappling with these issues about the lows and highs they’ve experienced over the past 8 months.
The Next Step: Solutions to the Dilemma
> October 29th 7:00 - 8:30pm EST <
38 million households have seen The Social Dilemma and know that we've made a bit of a mess with how we've designed, implemented and are now consuming our technology.
No one feels the repercussions of this more than the youngest members of our society.
Please join me and Turning Life On founder Adrienne Principe, as we host an incredible line-up of diverse speakers who will be addressing the questions and concerns of youth and their parents specifically.
You will have the opportunity to not only hear them speak during a panel discussion but to also join them in smaller breakout rooms and get your specific questions answered.
Seen the movie? Now join the conversation!
> September 14th @ 8:00pm EST<
This documentary shines a light on the importance of Digital Citizenship in our evolving world, and it's a great starting point for a conversation about how we can take positive action to enhance our digital creation and consumption.
If you are interested in learning how to do exactly that, tune into the Digital Flourishing™ dialogue on 9/14 to hear from the film director, Jeff Orlowski, and our two amazing panels of Digital Wellness industry leaders.
Made of Millions: Original Live Series on Mental Health
- Teodora Talks Tech -
In my first series I addressed Digital Wellness, in the second Positive Psychology, and in Series 3 I shared my top 5 Self-Care Practices.
>> Series 3: The Self-Care Toolbox <<
Click on the button bellow to go to the Made of Millions You Tube channel and watch any of the 15 videos from all 3 series.
"You don't need another videoconference, but you could use some good conversation."
> June 17th & 18th 2020 <
Coming together for the very first time, a diverse community of over 25 thought leaders will be engaging in conversation at the very first inaugural virtual Digital Wellness conference.
Together with my organizing partners I am thrilled to bring you architects, poets, neuroscientists and tech ethicists who will answer some of the most pressing questions around the impact of technology design, implementation and consumption on humanity.
50% of our ticket proceeds will be donated to a women and children's charity in NYC, so please purchase a ticket and share this event with your community.
SOCIAL MEDIA
SERVICES
I work one-on-one with children and parents, as well as adults with non-parenting issues. I help my clients develop digital wellness practices, parent in the age of technology and improve their emotional health and well-being.
Group Work
I deliver tailor-made workshops, talks and trainings to teams at schools, universities, workplaces and cultural institutions.
Consulting
I work with for- and non-profit businesses and organizations who want to align their product, brand and/or culture values with digital wellness and emotional intelligence principles and practices.
Individual Work
RECOMMENDED READING & FREE RESOURCES
Children & Parenting:
"The Optimistic Child," by Martin E. P. Seligman
"Brainstorm," by Daniel J. Siegel
"The Whole-Brain Child," by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
"No-Drama Discipline," by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
"Parenting from the Inside Out," by Daniel J. Siegel & Mary Hartzell
"Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child," by John Gottman with Joan Declaire
"The Empathy Effect," Helen Riess with Liz Neporent
Neuroscience:
"The Brain That Changes Itself," by Norman Doidge
"Wired to Connect," by Amy Banks with Leigh Hirschman
Positive Psychology:
"The Myths of Happiness," by Sonja Lyubomirsky
"The How of Happiness," by Sonja Lyubomirsky
"Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
"The Art of Gathering," by Priya Parker
"Mindset: The New Psychology of Success," by Carol S. Dweck
"Hector and the Search for Happiness," Francois Lelord
Self-development:
"The Person You Mean to Be," by Dolly Chugh
"Why Him? Why Her?," by Helen Fisher
"Quiet," by Susan Cain
"Man's Search for Meaning," by Viktor E. Frankl
"The Schopenhauer Cure," by Irvin D. Yalom
"When Nietzsche Wept," by Irvin D. Yalom
The Guide to Responsible Technology
All Tech Is Human, headed by tech ethicist David Ryan Polgar, is committed to informing and inspiring the next generation of responsible technologists and changemakers and has released its guide to the responsible technology field, with NYU’s Alliance for Public Interest Technology as its education partner.
I was part of the global team of 30+ volunteers who contributed to the creation of this invaluable resource, and am incredibly honored to have also been featured in the Guide in the "Collaborator Journey" section.
This document - the first of its kind - is aimed at college students, grad students, and young professionals looking for inroads into the growing responsible tech field. Pressing issues including misinformation, algorithmic bias, facial recognition and many others have heightened the need for a new crop of dynamic interdisciplinary thinkers. The guide provides a comprehensive overview of the topics, organizations, and new careers emerging in the responsible tech space, and can be accessed at ResponsibleTechGuide.com.
If you have any questions about the Guide or are interested in connecting with any of our featured collaborators or leaders, please get in touch with me via my Contact form below.
