About us
Roman Barták is the pioneer of dark therapy in the Czech Republic and the founder of the Dark Therapy Centre in Kozlovice. He is dedicated to personal development through stays in the dark, which help people find peace, inner balance and a deeper understanding of themselves.meme.
Mgr. Kateřina Čigášová
Psychologist, coach and crisis inter.
I am a psychologist, coach and crisis interventionist. I enjoy the outdoors, hiking, mindfulness and meditation.
Roman Barták
Founder, owner and guardian of the Centre
"I am a man of many roles and passions." Originally a scientist specializing in biogeography and landscape ecology, he is also a practicing conservationist and educator - both in traditional academic settings and in alternative forms of teaching. I have been undergoing darkroom therapy regularly since 2012 and offering it myself since 2013. I am fascinated by its simplicity, depth and extraordinary effectiveness. Darkness, in my opinion, creates ideal conditions for stopping, settling down and listening to one's own inner self - something that is noticeably lacking in most of us nowadays.
Pioneers from the beginning
Dark therapy has gained popularity in the Czech Republic since the very beginning and several providers have gradually emerged. Nevertheless only two of them have begun to engage more seriously in systematic research into its effects on humans - and we are proud to have been one of them. In collaboration with psychologist Mark Malus, we have been involved in several studies on the impact of Restricted Sensory Stimulation (REST) on mental health.
The results showed a significant improvement in the existential perception of the meaning of life, the level of mindfulness and self-evaluation. Another study showed a statistically significant decrease in symptoms of anxiety, depression and other psychopathological symptoms. The results are summarized in the study:
Malus, M., Kupka, M., Dostal D. Restricted environmental stimulation and psychopathology (2017)
Link
Researchers from Canada
The world's leading figure in research on the phenomenon of darkness and limited sensory stimulation is undoubtedly Canadian psychologist Peter Suedfeld, who visited our centre in the Beskydy Mountains in 2016.
In his early studies, he focused primarily on the psychological effects of sensory deprivation, a condition in which a person is exposed to a minimal amount of external stimuli. However, he gradually reformulated the whole concept into a more positive framework and defined a new approach known as REST - Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy.
It no longer deals only with extreme deprivation, but with the therapeutic use of controlled environments with limited stimuli, both in the field of clinical psychology and in the field of personal development and stress management
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