About Dr Antonia Dlagnekova
I completed my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in 2013 and have worked as a psychologist for more than a decade across specialist psychiatric services, private practice and community settings. Alongside my clinical work, I later completed a PhD focused on the concept of vigour in people living with schizophrenia.
A large part of my career was spent within specialist psychiatric services, working alongside multidisciplinary teams supporting people with severe and complex mental health presentations. This experience strengthened my interest in psychological formulation, thoughtful assessment, and understanding the many factors that contribute to emotional wellbeing.
Alongside clinical practice, I’ve also been involved in supervision, teaching and research. Each of these roles has encouraged me to remain curious, continue learning, and reflect carefully on the way I work with people.
Working across hospital, private practice and community settings has reinforced an enduring belief: while diagnosis and evidence-based treatment each have an important place, people are always more than the difficulties that bring them to therapy.
Psychological difficulties rarely arise in isolation. They develop within the context of our experiences, relationships and circumstances. Taking the time to appreciate that broader context often opens the door to new perspectives and possibilities.
For me, therapy is not about telling people who they are or who they should become. It is about creating the conditions in which they can better understand themselves, make sense of their experiences, reconnect with what matters most to them, and move towards a life that feels authentic, meaningful and their own.
Qualifications
PhD (Mental Health), University of Pretoria (2020)
MA (Clinical Psychology), University of Johannesburg (2013) — with Distinction
BSocSci (Honours) (Psychology), University of Pretoria (2011) — with Distinction
BSocSci (Psychology), University of Pretoria (2009) — with Distinction
Academic and Research Contributions
Alongside my clinical work, I have remained actively involved in psychological research. My work has focused on schizophrenia, motivation, anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, and positive mental health, with the aim of contributing to evidence-based psychological practice.
My peer-reviewed publications include:
- Dlagnekova, A., & van Niekerk, R. L. (2015). The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder among South African university students. South African Journal of Psychiatry.
- Dlagnekova, A., van Staden, W., & Masenge, A. (2021). Validity and reliability of the Vigour Assessment Scale in avolitional schizophrenia outpatients. Schizophrenia Research.
- van Staden, W., Dlagnekova, A., & Naidu, K. (2022). Validity and reliability of the Staden Schizophrenia Anxiety Rating Scale. Diagnostics.
- Dlagnekova, A., & van Staden, W. (2023). The validity of a therapeutic invigoration task in avolitional schizophrenia outpatients. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
- Dlagnekova, A., & van Staden, W. (2024). Vigour as a marker of positive mental health among social media respondents. Journal of Affective Disorders.
I have also had the opportunity to present this work at international conferences, including the World Congress of Psychiatry (2022) and the International Network for Philosophy and Psychiatry (INPP) Conference (2024).
While research forms an important part of my professional background, my greatest interest remains working alongside people in therapy. I value research because it helps me stay curious, informed, and grounded in evidence—while recognising that every person who walks through my door is far more than a diagnosis or a set of findings.