Faculty of Social
and Economic SciencesComenius University Bratislava
Main menu
Faculty of social and economic sciences CU > Departments > Institutes > Institute of Applied Psychology > Members of Institute > Martina Baránková

Martina Baránková

doc. Mgr. Martina Baránková, PhD.

Professional focus

nonverbal behaviour, psychology of emotions, compassion, facial expressions

Education

2026 FSEV UK – Associate Professor (doc.) in the field of Psychology

2025 – present Specialisation studies in clinical psychology, FiF UK

2019 FSEV UK – PhD. in the field of Social Psychology and Psychology of Work

2016 FSEV UK – Mgr. (Master's) in the field of Social Psychology and Psychology of Work

Training and professional courses

2026 – Course in logotherapy with Dana Krausová

2017 – 2025 – Long-term psychotherapy training in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy at the Society for Existential Analysis and Logotherapy (SLEA) in Prague

2018 – Training in psychotherapy Compassion Focused Therapy training – Basic and Advanced with Nicola Petrocchi

2016 – 2017 Training in psychotherapy Emotion Focused Therapy Level A with Leslie S. Greenberg and Ladislav Timuľák

2016 Training in FACS – Facial Action Coding System, Paul Ekman Group; Ekman, Friesen & Hager, a tool for measuring facial expressions

2016 Training in psychotherapy Emotion Focused Family Therapy training with Joanne Dolhanty

Research projects

Principal investigator: Comenius University Grant no. UK/329/2018 supporting a young researchers' project: "International comparison of spontaneous facial reaction to a compassionate stimulus"

Principal investigator: Comenius University Grant no. UK/190/2019 supporting a young researchers' project: "Analysis of facial expression elicited by a compassionate stimulus"

Co-investigator: Self-criticism versus self-affirmation in the form of internal monologue in the context of emotion processing and social competences. VEGA 1/0578/15 2015–2018.

Co-investigator: Intercultural aspects of compassion, self-compassion and self-criticism and testing their modulation. VEGA 1/075/19 2019–2022 Co-investigator: APVV project: Public trust, resilience and perceived threat of COVID-19 (PP-COVID-20-0074)

Co-investigator: Compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in various helping professions: Development and measurement of intervention effectiveness and creation of diagnostic parameters through physiological indicators, self-report tools and qualitative data. VEGA 1/0054/24

Teaching

Master's thesis seminar I.

Health Psychology

Basics of Neurophysiology

Developmental Psychology

Methodology and Methods of Psychology – Quantitative Methods

Psychology of Unemployment

Statistics I.

Community Psychology

Membership in professional organisations:

ECPA – European Community Psychology Association

The Compassionate Mind Foundation

SLEA – Society for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis

Selected publications

  • Baránková, M. (2026). Compassion-Focused Therapy. Comenius University in Bratislava.
  • Uhrecký, B., & Baránková, M. (2026). Keeping things in the right distance: Emotion triggers and regulation strategies of physicians. Journal of Health Psychology, 13591053261477499.
  • Greškovičová, K., Šoková, B., Baránková, M., & Halamová, J. (2025). Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic: A cluster analysis in a representative sample. Current Psychology, 44(23), 18571-18585.
  • Šoková, B., Baránková, M., Halamová, J., Krizova, K., & Richterová, S. M. (2025). Qualitative analysis of compassion satisfaction symptoms and experiences in speech therapists. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 38859.
  • Baránková, M., Halamová, J., Strnádelová, B., & Kanovský, M. (2025). Differences Between High and Low Self-Critics in Compassionate Facial Expression. Psychological Reports, 128(3), 1967-1981.
  • Šoková, B., Greškovičová, K., Halamová, J., & Baránková, M. (2025). Breaking the vicious cycles of self-criticism: a qualitative study on the best practices of overcoming one's inner critic. BMC Psychology, 13(1), 266.
  • Halamová, J., Kanovský, M., Krizova, K., Šoková, B., Baránková, M., & Figley, C. (2024). The development of the Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue scale. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1406467.
  • Šoková, B., Baránková, M., & Halamová, J. (2024). Fixation patterns in pairs of facial expressions—Preferences of self-critical individuals. PeerJ Computer Science, 10, e2413.
  • Krizova, K., Halamová, J., Strnádelová, B., & Baránková, M. (2024). Psychometric analysis of the GAD-7 questionnaire in Slovak helping professionals. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 17, 100803.
  • Baránková, M. (2023). Approaches to the Study of Compassion. Comenius University in Bratislava.
  • Halamová, J., Kanovský, M., Strnádelová, B., Baránková, M., & Greškovičová, K. (2023). The development of the revised COPE 68 inventory with English and Slovak versions. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1202571.
  • Baránková, M., Greškovičová, K., Strnádelová, B., Krizova, K., & Halamová, J. (2022). Let Us Take It into Our Own Hands: Patient Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(21), 14150.
  • Halamová, J., Kanovský, M., Krizova, K., Greškovičová, K., Strnádelová, B., & Baránková, M. (2022). The factor structure and external validity of the COPE 60 inventory in Slovak translation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 6703.
  • Halamová, J., Greškovičová, K., Baránková, M., Strnádelová, B., & Krizova, K. (2022). There must be a way out: The consensual qualitative analysis of best coping practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 917048-917048.
  • Bailey, G., Halamová, J., & Baránková, M. (2020). Qualitative analysis of self-compassion, self-protection, and self-criticism in emotion-focused therapy video sessions. Psihoterapija, 34(2), 203-223.
  • Kanovský, M., Baránková, M., Halamová, J., Strnádelová, B., & Koróniová, J. (2020). Analysis of Facial Expressions Made While Watching a Video Eliciting Compassion. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 127(2), 317-346. Doi: 10.1177/0031512519897512
  • Laco, M., Polatsek, P., Dekrét, Š., Benesova, W., Baránková, M., Strnádelová, B., Koróniová, J., & Gablíková, M. (2020). Effects of individual's emotions on saliency and visual search. The Visual Computer, 37(6), 1581-1592.
  • Uhrecký, B., Gurňáková, J., & Baránková, M. (2020). Emotion regulation strategies in paramedic crew leaders during a simulated stressful task: A qualitative inquiry. Studia Psychologica, 62(2), 89-108.
  • Baránková, M., Halamová, J., Gablíková, M., Koróniová, J., & Strnádelová, B. (2019). Analysis of spontaneous facial expression of compassion elicited by the video stimulus: facial expression of compassion. Československá psychologie, 63(1), 26-41.
  • Baránková, M., Halamová, J., & Koróniová, J. (2019). Non-expert views of compassion: Consensual qualitative research using focus groups. Human Affairs, 29(1), 6-19.
  • Halamová, J, Koróniová, J., & Baránková, M. (2019). Differences in guided imagery between high and low self-critical participants: Consensual qualitative research analysis. The Qualitative Report, 24(12), 2977-2996.