Varvara Barysheva is an occupational therapist and a graduate of the Complutense University of Madrid. Her work is grounded in person-centred care, the founding principle of occupational therapy.

Varvara was born in Moscow and lived there until the age of fourteen, when she moved to Spain with her family. She attended Spanish school from the third year of ESO and went on to study here.

Between 2022 and 2026 she studied Occupational Therapy at the Complutense University of Madrid. She is now continuing with a master's in Early Intervention at the European University (2026-2027), the field that works with children in their first years of life and with their families.

She completed her clinical placements at four centres in Madrid. At Ramón y Cajal Hospital she worked with patients with upper-limb conditions: Sudeck's syndrome, arthritis and osteoarthritis. She took part in functional assessment, learned to apply the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), and adapted exercises to restore mobility, strength and manual dexterity.

At the STIMA geriatric centre she took part in programmes for older people with cognitive decline, including Alzheimer's disease: cognitive stimulation activities, maintaining independence in everyday tasks, social-skills training, and animal-assisted therapy sessions.

At the DACER centre she worked with people with acquired neurological injury and neurodevelopmental conditions, and in the adolescent mental health unit at Infanta Leonor Hospital she supported young people in structuring daily routines, planning their time, self-care and body awareness.

What matters most to her in working with a patient is reaching a genuine mutual understanding, and she considers empathy and active listening her key professional qualities. She is preparing her final degree project for publication at the Complutense University's annual occupational therapists' congress.

She sees patients in Russian and Spanish.

Outside work, Varvara enjoys sport, cooking and social media.