Psychotherapy

The reasons people seek psychotherapy vary from person to person, but there are often feelings of dissatisfaction with some aspect of their life. It may be that they are asking difficult questions about who they are, why their personal or professional relationships are not satisfactory or why life feels dull or meaningless. There can also be symptoms such as anxiety, worry, sadness, hopelessness, insomnia or stress that leads to seeking psychotherapy.

Using a psychodynamic approach symptoms and problems are seen as intrinsically meaningful, that is, that they have something important to tell us. Furthermore, this approach suggests that experiences early in life affect how we see ourselves and the world around us and how we deal with later problems. My task in therapy is to listen to the story you share with me through your spoken words, your emotional and your physical expressions and help you develop new insight. Together we make sense of what has surfaced and you can begin to develop new feelings, thoughts and behaviours. By understanding the connection between what you have experienced in life and the problems you face today, this can lead to new behavioural patterns and an increased ability to make healthy choices in your life. You develop the ability to have control over your life and no longer be constrained by your history.

Research has shown that the relationship between therapist and patient is the factor that contributes most to change and I put great emphasis on that particular aspect. We work together in the relationship within the context of a safe and respectful framework. I adhere to patient confidentiality.

Looking forward and building on strengths and abilities are an equally important part of the therapeutic process as looking back to understand the origin of the problems. Also learning to stay in the moment and dare to experience the feelings and sensations that are there, it is also central to therapy. Thus the therapeutic process moves between past – present – future in a constant and recurring flow.

Trauma Therapy

War, torture, migration, abuse, sexual abuse, accidents, assaults and sudden death are examples of events that can be traumatising and that may require professional treatment to get through. A potentially traumatising event is an event that can not be taken care of by the psyche with the usual resources and coping strategies. Instead of the experience being stored as a common memory, a split occurs and the event is stored in a fragmented form. For example, parts of the event may be impossible to remember, emotions and memory may not fit together and the body’s reactions can also be split off from the original event. All this can lead to strong feelings suddenly surfacing without the person understanding why, or different body parts may be painful or feel numb without medical explanation. Sometimes memories from the event are recalled but without the associated emotions.

With many years of experience working with people exposed to different types of trauma, I have a lot of experience in identifying the various ways victimization can present and continue to be a painful obstacle in life, long after the traumatic event has occurred. In a trauma therapy an integration of the trauma is achieved so that it can be included as a more consistent experience in your general life story.

I am trained in eye movement therapy (EMDR).