My name is Ana Bijelić. I was born in 1979 in Šibenik where I live and work. Quite a few years ago, coping with emotionally overwhelming circumstances, I decided to look for a helping hand and relief, unaware that this self-searching quest would open a completely new chapter in my life. With a master’s degree in economics, I had an office job that had always made me quite unsatisfied because it wasn't the job I desired. However, I didn't know what it was that I wanted, what was the job I was meant to be doing. Although I didn't know how things would turn out, I was sure that the answer would arise if I was patient and persistent enough.

The turning point happened in 2014 when I enrolled into the Center for Integrative Development in Zagreb, an education that deals with personal development through body psychotherapy. I was interested in deeper research of my own inner world because at that point I had already understood that I was the common denominator of external circumstances that made me unsatisfied and that, if that was correct, I was the only person who can change it. Reaching into my own psychological world and forming a cause-and-effect relationship between this world and the outer, I found the answers to the questions that troubled me. At the same time I discovered a totally new perspective on how human beings function, on principles that govern not only ourselves but our world as well, even if we're unaware of them. Furthermore, I realized that this is what I wanted to do – instead of working with papers, I want to work with people, and transmit this newly found knowledge. I decided to wrap up my office career and lay the foundations for a new beginning. At that point the idea of Restart was formed.

My expertise in economics made me determined and focused in reaching my goal – having a job I’ll enjoy. I kept working toward that goal regardless of whatever came my way in the meantime, and a lot of it did – from other people's reactions to my own fears. Alongside education in body psychotherapy, I was interested in expressive arts therapy so I started Clinical Expressive Arts Therapy program. These two types of therapies complement each other perfectly, suiting not only my personality but my understanding of therapy as an artistic process as well. As a result, I proudly opened the Restart Centre in 2017.

I chose the name Restart because it consists of the words the meaning of which is important to me, not only in my work but in the understanding of life as well. My own new start in life as the essence of the word restart, followed by the word start which means ‘to begin’, ‘to take off’, doing what it takes in order to embark on a journey, whether inner or outer. The word estar in Spanish, a language I love, means ‘to be’, ‘to exist’, the very foundation of life. The word rest because sometimes you need to stop and relax, see where you are. The last, but no less important, is the word art because I simply love art.

I am very inspired by being near or in the sea. I like to observe the fickleness of the waves and the constancy of the sea. I compare these waves with human feelings and thoughts. From the sea’s perspective, although each wave is different, they are essentially the same – all of them are the sea. Every thought, every feeling, every sensation that appears within us is actually just the movement of our inner sea – the part of us that is permanent. By working in psychotherapy, I want to encourage people’s curiosity and desire to learn about those deeper parts of ourselves that are like the sea and that do not dissipate when the waves arise.

I'm extremely happy to be working in my beloved hometown, an important companion on this journey called my life.