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 Individual therapy

Psychotherapy is a fascinating process of self-discovery, analysis and understanding. It is a deep and complicated process that doesn't work overnight. Most mental disorders and individual problems and difficulties have developed over a long period of time. Sometimes they stem from an early childhood. This is why in some cases treatment can take months or even years. Despite its long treatment time, therapy can enable lasting changes that can lead to a healthier and happier life.

Areas of Expertise

  • Depression and other affective disorders (bipolar and manic disorders)

  • Reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders, support in the event of suddent change, crisis situations and overburdening situations (such as separation, divorce, loss of a loved one, mourning,  diagnosis of a terminal illness)

  • Psychosomatic disorders

  • Anxiety, Phobias, anxiety attacks

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder 

  • Disorders of personality and behaviour

  • Sleep disorders

  • Burn-Out, work related stress and difficulties in the workplace

  • Relationship problems and problems with a partner

  • Eating disorders

Deep Psychology​

 

The central assumption in this approved and empirically proven type of psychotherapy, is that not only do we shape our lives through our will, but that everything we feel, think, and decide also depend on unconscious motivations. These factors, which we cannot perceive and influence, include, amongst others, internal conflicts that particularly affect our adult life, even if they occurred in early childhood. These conflicts affect our feelings and thoughts, as well as our relationships with other people. In adulthood when we experience, for example, a painful separation, these unconscious conflicts can once again severely burden us and even make us ill. My role is to help you to discover these unconscious influences of your mental health. At the same time, I support you in better solving your conflicts, enabling you to enjoy a healthier and less stressful life. Sessions take place once a week in a sitting down position.

Psychoanalysis
 
Psychoanalysis is considered the archetype of psychotherapeutic treatment. Since its emergence at the end of the 19th century, it has been in constant evolution all the way into modern days. Sigmund Freud’s realisation that much of mental life operates outside of our awareness was groundbreaking. Psychoanalysis is a deep, individualized form of talk therapy, which encompasses an open conversation aiming to uncover ideas and memories long buried in the unconscious mind. It is an intense process of self-examination and feedback from the analyst. It involves confronting your painful and undesirable feelings, memories, thoughts, and impulses. Dream work and dream interpretation are also part of this process. Psychoanalysis can bring about structural changes and modifications of personality, as well as promote healing, understanding of oneself and one's relationship dynamics with others and encourage creative expression. It can be a powerful treatment for those wishing and willing to delve into deep self-reflection. Sessions take place multiple times a week usually in a lying down position.

Free Association

The ground rule of psychoanalysis is free association. It is also one of the hardest. It means to speak freely without censoring yourself, to enable extensive exploration of unconscious beliefs, emotions, and desires. Freud said that to associate freely is to “... say whatever goes through your mind. Act as though, for instance, you were a traveller sitting next to the window of a railway carriage and describing to someone inside the carriage the changing views you see outside.”

― Sigmund Freud, On Beginning the Treatment (1913)

What can I expect from the first therapy session?

The first session is an opportunity for us to meet and get "a feel" for each other. It is an important session for me to have a very general understanding about the things that you are struggling with and maybe already be able to judge whether the type of therapy that I offer might or might not be helpful in your case. Sometimes we would need one or two more sessions in order for me to make that judgement properly. For you the first session is a chance to have an idea of how I work and to get a sense of how comfortable you might be working with me in the future.

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