where I can help and how I work
Focus
I offer counselling and psychotherapy for people in difficult life situations and people suffering from mental health problems and/or from symptoms such as exhaustion, insomnia, nervousness, tension, self-doubt, hopelessness, and rumination.
My main emphasis is the treatment of depression, anxieties, burnout and symptoms linked to:
- life changes (like separation, divorce, moving, retirement, changes regarding work situation, changing relationships with family members)
- conflicts (with partner, kids, collegues, employer...)
- grief, losses
- social isolation and loneliness
- overworking
- traumatic experiences (recently and/or in childhood with primary caregivers)
- relationship problems
How I work
I am a trained cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist. On top of this, I am trained in other therapies specific to different forms of depression, and am currently training in emotion-focused therapy.
The most important thing for me is to plan your therapy individually and always keep your goals, your needs and your time-frame in mind.
The most important thing is, that you can feel save with me and feel understood.
Together we will discuss what works best for you in your specific situation and I will help you to get better.
I safe, trusting therapeutic relationship can help and heal in itself but it can also be the foundation to work with other therapeutic methods.
Psychotherapeutic Methods
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions (e.g. beliefs, thoughts and attitudes) and behaviour and coping strategies. It is highly effective for treating different disorders and recommended as the first line of treatment for a majority of psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders. The client will find out what has caused his problem and learn tools to cope with it, focusing on the here and now. These tools will be used to create new, positive experiences.
Emotion Focussed Therapy
Emotion focussed therapy focusses on emotional experiences. It helps to be aware of what your feel, to understand your emotions, to give meaning to your emotions, to regulate them (between feeling too much and feeling nothing/numb), to accept them, and listen to the message they offer. Harmful emotions that aren’t functional and cause you stress can be changed.
Emotion focussed Therapy is helpful to treat a variety of problems where emotional difficulties are the core, such as depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, borderline-personality-disorder, insecurities and relationship-problems.
Interpersonal Therapy (episodic depression)
Interpersonal Therapy is an effective therapy in the treatment of episodic depression and is used after outside events triggered a depressive episode.
It focusses on the here and now and not so much on experiences that have long passed.
Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) (chronic depression)
The cognitive behavioural analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP) is a talking therapy, developed by James P. McCullough.
It is recommended as a treatment for chronic depression (depression that lasts continuously for two or more years) and particularly to treat early onset depression (starting during adolescence). This kind of depression often has its roots in traumatic interpersonal experiences with the primary caregivers (e.g. trauma, neglect, insults) and often leads to ongoing problems with relationships, anxiety, a tendency to interpersonal avoidance and feelings of hopelessness and frustration about previous treatments.
The therapy helps, in little steps, to fight hopelessness and start to get beneficial social interactions. Clients will discover what they need from others and how to get what they want. They will become empowered to make new, positive experiences in daily life and this often starts an upward spiral.