My Services
Describe your image
“You don’t have to learn how to love yourself. You just have to remember there was nothing wrong with you, to begin with. You just have to come home.” Nayyirah Waheed
So… how do we get home?
Evidence has shown that counselling/ psychotherapy can gently assist in dealing with and transforming challenges, such as anger issues, relationship problems, low self-esteem/ self-confidence, depression, anxiety, bereavement and many other problems.
I work with a wide range of areas, such as attachment styles, relationship with self and others, relationship difficulties, bereavement, depression and anxiety, stress management, embodiment, mindfulness and abuse.
This by no means is an extensive list and just as people are very individual, so are their challenges in life.
Whilst I have an integrative, eclectic approach to counselling/ psychotherapy consisting of many different approaches, all of my work is based on the principles of Carl Roger’s
“Person Centred Approach”.
I believe every person deserves to be treated with unconditional positive regard and must be met in a non-judgmental and empathic way.
Every person has the natural drive to strive towards healing and wholesomeness.
If a person is met with empathy, acceptance and without judgement, I strongly believe healing can happen out of their own capacity and instinct. You are the expert on yourself.
Respecting and nurturing every person’s basic need for autonomy is of utmost importance to me. This is why a good therapist works towards “losing their clients.”
A special passion of mine is Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing, as it can greatly assist in becoming aware of our felt sense and body's wisdom.
Our bodies and our precious felt sense have been marginalised nowadays, particularly in our Western World. Unfortunately, this is also often the case in talk-therapies.
Focusing can be an amazing way to “find your way home” and reconnect with your physical state, be it well or unwell. Focusing is based on the conviction, that your body holds wisdom and truths in it and that our somatic experience (physical sensations) should not be viewed as separate from or lesser than our thoughts and feelings.
When you get angry, you might notice a sensation of heat in your body. This is your nervous system in action. Mind and body are inseparable and when separated for too long, both suffer.
Feelings and somatic expressions are solidly linked and equally as important. Sometimes, due to conditioning, we can be so disconnected from our bodies, that we get an uncomfortable sense of being “highjacked” by our bodies at certain times.
Focusing can support you in connecting with all of your parts.
This can assist when feeling overwhelmed by a particular reaction continuously, i.e. anger, fear or anxiety,
Focusing can re-establish a sense of familiarity and safety within the body, which leads to more confidence, connection and security.
“The first key to lasting life change is being in a relationship of compassion and strength with your emotional states” – Ann Weiser Cornell
One of my special areas of interest when working with clients is Attachment Theory
(John Bowlby). This might surprise you, as Attachment Theory has become very associated with Attachment Parenting of late, hence associated with babies and children.
However, it is relevant throughout all of our lifespans and greatly affects how we are with ourselves and others. Our attachment style, which we form depending on the interactions with our caretakers during the first 12 months of our lives, determines how we relate to ourselves and others.
Regarding the dynamics of your relationships, you might ask yourself
“Why do I always do this?”
“Why does xyz keep happening to me?”,
“Why is this so difficult for me?”
Perhaps you feel a sense of emptiness inside or find it very difficult to connect/ stay with yourself?
There’s a good chance that this could have something to do with your attachment style. Becoming aware of how you relate can be very helpful in understanding yourself and others, to heal and to have choices in your actions.
Experts reckon that around 35% of people in the Western World have an insecure attachment style. It is very common!
We might feel avoidant of big emotions or relationships altogether, or we might regularly feel very anxious and are afraid to lose our partner.
Having an insecure attachment simply means finding relationships and life itself a little harder compared to a secure attachment style. Coping can be more challenging, stress is more difficult to deal with, there’s more withdrawal from social activities, fewer relationships and a tendency toward solitary solutions to problems.
Obviously, we cannot travel back in time and change our attachment style as such, but we can become aware of how it influences us in relationships. This can lead to more self-compassion, better communication and understanding with our loved ones.
Relationships can be more difficult and complicated, when we have an insecure attachment style. We might feel avoidant of big emotions or relationships altogether, or we might regularly feel very anxious and are afraid to lose our partner.
When we have an insecure attachment style ourselves, it can be difficult not to repeat the same with our own children. The early years can be very intense and challenging and a certain level of self-awareness and knowledge often help to be that secure base for our children.
I had the pleasure of training under KH Brisch, MD in the University Clinic of Munich, who has helped to make Attachment Theory and related practical knowledge more accessible to parents. I gained certificates in SAFE and BASE. I work with parents on reflecting their own ideas, strengths and vulnerabilities when it comes to their parental role. I provide knowledge based on science (Attachment Theory), which helps to navigate your way around important topics such as separation anxiety and sensitively meeting your child’s needs without disregarding your own needs continuously.
I believe techniques like Marshall Rosenberg’s “Non-Violent Communication (NVC)” -- also referred to as Compassionte Communication -- can be a valuable tool to make a safe connection with self and others. Years of conditioning have manifested a language of blame, shame, bribery or accusation when conflict arises. Non-violent communication can help to connect to our and others feelings, needs and vulnerability.
In Rumi’s words:
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
ExpressiveArts
“Art is the meeting ground of the world inside and the world outside.”
Elinor Ulman
Using expressive arts in therapy is not about creating a beautiful image or having great skills.
It's a very powerful way to communicate from deep within. Things, which are difficult to express with words often can find their expression through images.
I hold a Professional Diploma in Expressive Arts Therapy and am delighted to offer this approach to my clients if they wish.
“It is difficult to convey in words the depth and power of the expressive arts process. Really, you must taste it to understand it.”
Natalie Rogers, PhD.
