Kryska Marquard

Kryska is a clinical psychologist who has worked in the field since 2010, supporting individuals, families and communities through periods of uncertainty, loss and change. She works to create a space where people feel safe, understood and valued — with empathy, curiosity and respect for how complicated a life can be.

Her path has run through a wide range of clinical and community settings. Early on she supported youth at risk and adolescents in conflict with the law at Usiko Stellenbosch, facilitating group interventions and taking part in wilderness therapy programmes. At the Saartjie Baartman Centre she provided trauma counselling to women and children affected by intimate partner and gender-based violence, and through CANSA she walked alongside individuals and families affected by cancer, coordinating the Relay for Life programme in the Overberg. She also served as office manager and school counsellor for Community Keepers.

She trained as a student clinician at the Welgevallen Community Psychology Clinic, interned at Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital with people experiencing acute and severe mental health difficulties, and completed her community service at Southern Cape Correctional Services, working with complex presentations, trauma and rehabilitation-focused interventions.

Alongside her private practice, Kryska works with the Department of Social Development, providing psychological services to children placed in secure care — young people navigating complex emotional, behavioural and developmental challenges within highly structured settings. She guest lectures at several universities and supervises clinical psychology students and interns, and is completing a PhD at North-West University on psychological work in secure care environments.

At the heart of her work is a belief in the healing power of a trusting therapeutic relationship: a warm, thoughtful, non-judgmental space in which people can explore their experience, reconnect with their strengths and move towards greater clarity and resilience. Healing is usually gradual, and small consistent steps are what make change last.