1. Could you tell us a bit about your background and the journey that led you to where you are today?

Dr Christos Kokkinos has devoted his life and professional career to exploring the profound relationship between the body and the mind. From an early stage, he understood that illness is not merely a biological event but a complex message transmitted from the psyche through the body. This conviction shaped his scientific vision: to bridge medical knowledge with psychological understanding and to provide people with the tools to take an active role in caring for their own health.

His education, deeply rooted in neuroscience, psychology, and psychosomatic medicine, led him to develop a new interdisciplinary approach to treating psychosomatic disorders. Throughout his career, he has combined clinical practice, research, and teaching, creating an integrated model centered on activating the patient as an agent of change.

As a supervisor and expert in postgraduate programs, he has guided hundreds of health professionals toward a contemporary understanding of psychosomatics, teaching them that every symptom seeking understanding rather than suppression. He lectures at universities and international organizations around the world, organizes training programs, and collaborates with health institutions in various countries, promoting the integration of psychosomatic education into university curricula.

He follows his patients both in person and online while traveling, maintaining a warm, human connection based on trust and authentic communication.
In 2024, he was honored in London with the International Psychosomatic Medicine Scientist Award, recognizing his pioneering contribution to the unification of psychology, neuroscience, and medical practice.

2. What has been the most significant milestone or accomplishment in your professional journey so far?

In the scientific and educational work of Dr Christos Kokkinos, two achievements stand out as milestones: his inspiration and proposal for a European program -an ambitious initiative for the prevention of psychosomatic manifestations in childhood- and the creation of a pioneering postgraduate program in Psychosomatic Medicine at the Saint Petersburg Medical School in Russia.

The postgraduate program, unique in the academic field, was designed by Dr Kokkinos to offer an in-depth, experiential education for professionals in both mental and physical health. Its philosophy is based on the certainty that every health professional -whether a physician or a psychologist- will eventually face the need to understand or address a psychosomatic symptom.

Dr Kokkinos developed a curriculum that combines theory, experiential training, and clinical practice, incorporating all schools and approaches of psychosomatic medicine. Students learn to recognize the early signs of psychosomatic processes, understand their psychological roots, and intervene promptly before symptoms consolidate into illness. At the same time, they are trained in self-regulation skills that they can transfer to their patients.

The goal is to shape professionals who do not see the patient as a collection of symptoms but as an integrated organism of body and soul. The program stands as a new educational model, a contemporary bridge between psychology, neuroscience, and medical practice.

The second major milestone is a groundbreaking European initiative that links education with health. The program aims to train 5,000 teachers, school psychologists, and social workers across 27 EU member states to identify early psychosomatic indicators in children. It focuses on creating reliable tools, prevention strategies, interventions, and the promotion of mental well-being, using an evidence-based approach drawing on child psychiatry, psychology, and psychosomatic medicine, in collaboration with universities, research centers, and existing epidemiological data.

These two projects encapsulate the essence of Dr Kokkinos’ philosophy: knowledge holds true value only when it becomes a tool for prevention, education, and care.

3. How do you see your industry transforming in the near future, and what role do you or your organization aim to play in that evolution?

Dr Christos Kokkinos views psychosomatic medicine as one of the most dynamic and emerging fields of our time, a crossroads where science, psychology, and the philosophy of health converge. He believes that the coming years will be defined by a model in which the psychological, biological, and social dimensions of human life interact continuously and inseparably.

As science increasingly reveals the connection between stress, emotions, and physiological functions, the need for professionals who understand this interrelation becomes essential. Dr Kokkinos envisions psychosomatic medicine becoming a core subject in medical education, a foundation of clinical practice and an integral part of modern health systems.

His role in this transformation is pivotal. Through his academic programs, books, lectures, seminars, and international collaborations, he is building the foundation for a new generation of professionals who perceive the human being through the unity of body and mind. He actively works to establish international networks of collaboration among universities, research institutes, and healthcare organizations, aiming to integrate psychosomatic medicine institutionally into medical education.

His mission is to bridge scientific knowledge with humanity, so that medicine can once again become a relationship: a dialogue, an act of understanding and presence. As he often states, “The health of the future will not rely solely on pharmacology, but on self-awareness, on the human ability to regulate, prevent, and heal.” Dr Kokkinos does not simply follow the evolution of his field; he helps shape it.

4. What key message or piece of advice would you like to share with aspiring leaders and professionals striving to create an impact?

Dr Christos Kokkinos’ message to young professionals is profound, humanistic, and simple: “always remember that the essence of science is the human being”. In a world that measures success by numbers, titles, and achievements, the true leader is the one who inspires transformation, who listens, understands, and acts with empathy. Knowledge acquires meaning only when it is transformed into an act of care and service.

He urges young scientists to remain curious, open-minded, and conscious, to seek not only to know but to understand; not only to heal but to accompany others on their journey toward recovery. “Empathy,” he says, “is the most powerful tool a health professional can possess. Without it, no technique has real value.”

His own journey demonstrates that leadership is not imposed, it is inspired. Through his Psychosomatic Therapy book series,

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his international lectures, and educational programs, he transmits the philosophy of connection: that the mind and the body are two sides of the same coin, and that true health lies in their harmony.

To the leaders of today and tomorrow, he extends an invitation: to dare to dream differently, to create from love and service rather than ambition, and to remember that every meaningful change begins within. As he often reminds his students, “He who heals the human being, heals the world.”