Consultation
You will be supported, advised and assisted in defining and understanding your problems. This process usually takes a single meeting but may require a couple of sessions. The support and psychoeducation is helpful in difficult or crisis situations. This initial contact also allows you to decide if I and my work methods suit you.
Consultation does not oblige you to engage in psychotherapy. However, if you are considering starting a therapeutic process it is during those few meetings that we will consider whether it is the right time for you, and if so what your goals may be. I will advise you on the appropriate methods of work, taking into account the difficulties you report.
On-line psychotherapy
When you do not have a viable access to a psychotherapist near you (e.g. due to long waiting times), technology can help. The effectiveness of on-line cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy in treating mood and anxiety disorders has been demonstrated in numerous studies over past 20 years.
What you should consider before deciding on this form of therapy is:
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whether your internet connection is good enough to carry a conversation without "technical issues"
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whether you can ensure adequate conditions for a private conversation: enough time (so that it is possible, for example, to gradually return to activities after the meeting), and peaceful surroundings where you won’t be disturbed or overheard. During an online therapy session you cannot be for example in a public place or a car.
Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy
How you feel depends on how you think. Also, your thoughts, feelings and behavior are interrelated, which often gets you stuck in a vicious circle. Those two statements are especially important in my work as a cognitive-behavioral (CBT) therapist. We work together to identify your vicious circles and change the patterns of thinking and behavior that are unhealthy. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy focuses on your current difficulties and puts a smaller - in comparison with other therapies - emphasis on the past. Your problems are a starting point to setting therapeutic goals on which we will focus. CBT is considered a short-term therapy, however, it can last up to several dozen meetings.
CBT is recommended for depression and other mood disorders as well as anxiety disorders like: panic attacks, general anxiety disorder, health anxiety (so-called "hypochondria"), phobias, social phobia or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). CBT is also used in treating eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic stress, sleep problems, psychoactive substance abuse, ADHD or psychosomatic disorders.
Schema Therapy
Schema therapy derives from cognitive-behavioral therapy, and as such is also based on scientific evidence. It has been demonstrated to be helpful in treating personality disorders (mainly borderline personality disorder) and is being used in the treatment of anxiety disorders and mood disorders.
In addition, it proved to be a very useful method in dealing with a wide range of emotional problems that cannot be classified as specific mental disorders, (in situations when a person does not have a psychiatric diagnosis but clearly feels that "something is wrong" in some area of ​​his/her functioning). One might repeatedly experience excessive emotional reactions in certain situations, no matter how well he/she understands the problem and despite often knowing how he/she would like to behave and feel instead.
At the roots of those problems are our schemas, which activate in specific situations and generate a given reaction. We all have such schemas because we have all experienced difficult and / or traumatic events in our lives. The goal of the therapy is to weaken the influence of patterns on our lives by reaching the underlying unmet needs (eg the need for security or acceptance). During therapy, these needs are recognized and understood. Above all, the person learns to satisfy them in a healthy way, first with a strong support from the therapist, and over time more and more independently.