FAQ
Here You can find answers on some frequently asked questions about therapy
Am I right here ?
It is good and important to get the right information about psychotherapy and counseling in advance. This enables quick help even in everyday crises, expands personal resources, your own room for maneuver and sovereignty.
Whether psychotherapy, counseling, supervision or coaching for yourself or or something else is necessary can be determined quickly. A suitable solution for the current situation can then be found in a personal conversation or clearing.
If my services do not cover your individual needs, I will be happy to provide my specialist knowledge and experience to support you. So of course I give tips and information on alternative offers from other specialist departments or recommend qualified ones Colleagues from other disciplines.
How long does a therapy session last?
A session usually lasts 50 minutes.
How do you get an appointment with a therapist ?
You can easily make an appointment with a therapist yourself, even without a doctor's referral. To do this, just sign up via email directly under: jw.psychotherapie@gmail.com and I will get back to you within a few days.
Addresses of other therapists are available from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, the Chamber of Psychotherapists and from search engines such as therapie.de.
What happens during a first conversation ?
The first interview can look very different depending on the subject. Some therapists will first listen carefully and let the patients report freely. Others will ask more structured questions about symptoms, triggers and therapy motivation. In an initial conversation, there should always be room for the patient's questions. My goal in the first sessions is to understand how and what we want to work on together and to start a trusting working relationship with you. It is a good idea to talk about the wishes, goals and the timeframe of the joint work and to ask any questions that may arise.
What is psychotherapy based on depth psychology ?
Psychotherapy is the "treatment of the soul". That means, it is a treatment of the sick that starts with the soul, the behavior and the experience of the suffering person.
It is a scientifically found form of controlled human relationship. The treatment takes place with different psychological methods, in contrast to a drug treatment. As part of psychotherapy, the specific conditions are provided to enable the reduction of mental and physical suffering.
But not every exchange about psychological difficulties is psychotherapy. In everyday life, conversations are often held about professional, partnership, social or emotional problems. Be it with partners, relatives, friends or colleagues. It would not be right to attribute therapeutic significance to all of these conversations.
Psychotherapy is about a planned and conscious process based on scientifically recognized theories and clinical experience. It may only be used by people who have completed a qualified training and have the appropriate official approval.
When is a psychological therapy recommend ?
There can be many, completely different reasons for the thought of considering psychotherapy: From a seemingly insurmountable stroke of fate or a life crisis to behavioral problems or even permanent, severe mental disorders. At the same time, many of those affected find it difficult at first to decide to start psychotherapy, because there are no generally valid or clearly measurable threshold values for mental problems, such as physical complaints, which should be consulted by a doctor if they occur or if they are exceeded.
How can one differentiate psychological counseling from psychotherapy ? This distinction is important both for clients and for the inner attitude of therapists.
Psychological counseling is more solution-oriented and can be used for limited, non-pathological problems (e.g. educational counseling, conflict management, support for divorce, etc.). Enlightenment, psychoeducation (imparting knowledge about psychological processes) and a more directive approach are used here.
Psychotherapy encompasses a continuous, long-term process and aims to change deeper-lying personality traits, psychological processes or disease-related symptoms. Depth psychological procedures in particular are revealing (ie learn to recognize connections with one's own biography) and above all non-directive (ie following the client's inputs, no fixed processes). It's less about educating clients (even if psychoeducation can be incorporated), but about helping them to understand more about themselves on an experience-oriented basis and changing inner patterns and ways of experiencing. Working with the therapeutic relationship is part of it.
For us as therapists, it is important to have a clear picture of our role and approach in these overlapping but different forms of intervention. Only in this way can we determine with the client at the beginning of a treatment which type of intervention is indicated and explain what the client can expect. An unclear attitude on the part of the therapist to this point of her own work as well as a change from one form to another while working with a client usually leads to orientation problems and difficulties in the process, since the line is missing.
Do I need psychotherapy ?
The very fact that someone asks themselves this question at all can be an indication that there is a stressful problem or that the emotional needs are getting bigger and bigger.
Often this thought and decision-making process is then accompanied by one's own fears and insecurities and has therefore been postponed again and again up to now. The most common fears consist of shame in front of the prejudices of others or that others might think that you are "crazy" when you go to a psychotherapist for support. In addition, some people - especially depressed people - tend to blame themselves for their condition and associate them with the feeling of having personally failed.
Such fears are on the one hand easy to understand and yet mostly unfounded. So going to the therapist rather indicates a caring approach to one's mental health - just like a visit to the doctor for the benefit of the body.
So if you are plagued by emotional stress or problems and cannot cope with them yourself, you should - just like with physical illnesses - seek professional help. Especially if the mental disorder has been spreading over a longer period of time or even worsening more and more.
Psychotherapy can be advisable if the person concerned, for example
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feels overwhelmed with his personal circumstances, problems and worries,
if you have difficulty concentrating or
if disturbances of the usual flow of thoughts are noticed,
when the feeling arises that you can no longer cope with everyday life tasks (school, study, job, household, family) on your own,
if all previous attempts at self-help have been unsuccessful,
if the level of suffering increases and thoughts of suicide may also arise,
if there are alcohol problems or other addictive substances are consumed,
if painful fears or depression have existed for a long time,
if there are physical complaints (e.g. pain, sleep disorders, dizziness, cardiac arrhythmias, etc.), but no physical causes could be determined,
and much more
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For the person concerned himself as well as for his relatives often only these or similar pictures of suffering are visible. As mental illnesses, they are difficult to recognize for the layperson and, if left untreated, can easily develop a negative dynamic of their own. Further health problems could also be triggered and thus further exacerbate the problem situation.
Final words for anyone who is afraid or worried about a therapeutic conversation ?
Psychotherapists know that excitement, shame, or even fear can arise before the first conversation. You will endeavor to catch these feelings and create a safe atmosphere.