Profile
Maria Baran, Ph.D. is a cross-cultural psychologist specializing in the psychology of migration and acculturation, in particular psychological resilience of migrants and intercultural competence.
In addition to her academic role, she offers consultations and short-term psychological support to migrants in crisis, and conducts intercultural competence training. She also works pro bono as a psychologist for clients of the Rak&Roll Foundation that provides support for cancer patients, and Nagle Sami Foundation, which supports individuals who experience sudden personal loss.
Throughout thirteen years of training experience, she has collaborated with various organizations, such as BASF, Gemalto, Wedel Lotte, PMP, PAIiIZ, ZPP, the Leon Koźmiński Academy, and SWPS University. Her professional portfolio also includes intercultural training sessions for numerous management teams in Polish and international corporations, and facilitation of adaptive training and cultural awareness sessions for expatriates residing in Poland.
Dr. Baran co-developed recommendations for foundations, which specialize in providing support for Ukrainian refugees. The recommendations were published as Superbohater w spódnicy. Odporność psychiczna Ukrainek uciekających przed wojną w Ukrainie do Polski - raport z badań i rekomendacje dla trzeciego sektora (Superheros in Skirts: Psychological Resilience of Ukrainian Women Fleeing to Poland during the War – Research Report and Recommendations for the Third Sector). She also contributed to another project – “Gościnna Polska 2022+. Jak mądrze wesprzeć Polskę i Polaków w pomocy osobom uciekającym przed wojną w Ukrainie?" (Welcoming Poland 2022+. How to Wisely Support Poland and Poles in their Efforts to Help People Fleeing the War in Ukraine?) – which provided recommendations for the integration policy concerned with the migration triggered by Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Dr. Baran is a member of the ResWell Multi-national Resilience & Well-Being Research Collaboration, the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, the Polish Association of Social Psychology, and the Identification With all Humanity Lab.
In 2017, she won the second prize in the Solomon Asch competition for the best article by a young researcher, organized by the Polish Association of Social Psychology.
As a lecturer in the Erasmus+ GLOBAL Minds program, which provides education and training for future intercultural trainers, she teaches classes in cross-cultural psychology.