MAJA O'Brien, Obituary.

Maja O’Brien Picture: Petra O’Brien

MAJA O'Brien, who has died aged 78, was a well-known psychotherapist and talented musician.

As an adult, she moved to the UK and carved out a successful career, teaching at Oxford University.

Away from work, Dr O'Brien loved music and the outdoors, even cycling across Vietnam in her 60s.

Maja O'Brien was born in Zagreb, Croatia, on June 29, 1940.

Her father, Savo, was a doctor of medicine, while her mother, Lida, was an engineer.

She had a younger brother and sister, who were both born after the Second World War.

During the war, Maja was cared for by her grandmother and moved to Italy with her in 1943.

The family was reunited in 1945 in Zagreb, where Maja went to school, before she studied psychology at the city's university.

After working briefly in a psychiatric hospital in Croatia, she moved to the UK to improve her English, initially as an au pair.

She met her husband, Terence O’Brien, in Birmingham and they moved to south London.

The couple married in 1968 and adopted their daughter, Petra, ten years later.

From 1968 to 1971, Dr O’Brien worked at the Henderson Hospital, a therapeutic community in Sutton, Surrey, for people with personality disorders.

Following her research there, she gained her PhD in Psychology from University College, London.

For several years, Dr O’Brien taught at the Roehampton Institute, where she was made convenor of the Diploma and gained an MA in psychological counselling.

In 1996, she moved to Oxford, to collaborate on a book on integrative approaches to therapy, which became a seminal text for training.

Dr O’Brien ran a private practice, worked for Oxfordshire Mind and taught on Oxford University’s Psychodynamic Practice course.

She also went on to run the doctoral programme at the Metanoia Training Institute in London.

Outside of her professional life, Dr O'Brien had many passions, chiefly music.She sang Croatian and British folk songs with her husband, who accompanied her on guitar or mandoline, and was involved in choirs most of her life, including East Oxford Community Choir.

On retirement, Dr O’Brien took up the flute and passed every exam.

She was a member of Oxfordshire Adult Flute Group for several years and first led a group of fellow flautists to Croatia in 2013, which became an annual visit.

Dr O’Brien loved the outdoors and swam at Hinksey Pool every morning in the summer.

She enjoyed mountain-trekking and cycling and took part in a sponsored bike ride across Vietnam for Oxfordshire Mind in her 60s.

As a member of a local walking group, Dr O'Brien also went on annual weekends away in different parts of the UK.

Dr O’Brien had a special gift for friendship and hospitality and was an excellent cook.

Her family was always important to her, and while her marriage ended in divorce, she remained good friends with her ex-husband.

Dr O'Brien will be remembered for her positivity, intelligence, her passion for music and for her adventurous life.

She died recently in unexplained circumstances