kaya ariel woytynowska
Psychologist. Coach. Specialist in Music Performance Anxiety.
For almost my entire life, I have been around music theatre – usually very close to the opera singers. Alternating and combining roles of assistant, friend, website builder, social media person, photographer, video operator and page turner, I found my true vocation in something almost no one does: providing professional, science-based, empathetic mental health support to classical musicians.
I specialise in mental coaching, developing psychological skills for a performing career and managing music performance anxiety.
My grandmother is an Olympic medalist (female kayak single, Rome 1960 for the aficionados), so I grew up enjoying and appreciating sport along with the unique psychological challenges it creates – not unlike those encountered by professional musicians.
I appreciate and I love musicians. Due to my background studying classical singing (and also some piano and violin for fun), I’m familiar with the specifics of the music career, the issues with orchestras, agencies, managers, stage directors, crazy schedules, empty schedules, jump-ins, auditions and so on.
I have a Master’s degree in neuropsychology. For years I have been following the latest discoveries in neuroscience and continuously integrating them into performance-focused psychological support. Thanks to my internship under the supervision of Dr. Ágota Lénárt, the head psychologist of the Hungarian Olympic team, I had the chance to gain experience in providing psychological support even before I graduated. Together we started our research project, which aims to assess and support the mental health of Hungarian opera singers and classical musicians. We have published the results of our joint work at national and international conferences and in professional journals.
As an enterprise and executive coach, I assist my clients in navigating constant change in the corporate sector. My primary focus is on developing and strengthening transparency, effective communication and leadership integrity.
