Guidelines of my work

Many people do not realize that the condition they are suffering from is often a stress disorder. To understand that the mental or physical symptoms are due to a body's adaptation to stress requires a basic understanding of how our brain works. During my doctoral studies at the University of Trier, I was able to develop such a model which is simple and clear to elucidate. With this model in mind your own illness can be better understood. Moreover, it is possible to derive basic physical and psychological treatment options for the treatment of people suffering from a stress disorder.

This model is new and based on scientific findings from modern stress research. I always understand therapeutic implications holistically. Psychotherapy, psychological counseling, proper nutrition, adequate physical activity, proper sleep habits and, if necessary, adequate medication (only by a medical doctor) should go hand in hand. I myself am a psychologist and not a physician and therefore cannot recommend or prescribe any herbal or pharmaceutic drugs. However, I can recommend that you should consult a medical doctor if I think that makes sense and will complement your treatment in a positive way. Often it is much easier to adjust several of the influencing parameters at once, than just one.

I understand my psychotherapeutic work as one parameter in a holistic approach. It is based on an appreciative humanist idea of man. Within the scope of psychotherapy, very different problematic areas can arise that go beyond the mere treatment of symptoms. Possible topics may be:

• Assistance in coping with various stressors, such as one's own illness or existing chronic illnesses. In addition, dearly beloved people in our surrounding may become ill or may possibly die, which is also a big stressor and should be emotionally reflected and sufficiently discussed, so that you and your body are able to cope with it.

• Assistance in coping with critical life events, such as the change of residence, the change of employer, or stress at work - or for children and adolescents at school.

• Help with relationship issues, different attitudes regarding the desire to have a child and preconceptions how to raise a child, or an unfulfilled desire to have a baby, which can put stress on a relationship.

• Help to clarify the question of whether you are looking for a relationship, what you expect from it and motivational support in your efforts to find your right partner.

Inadequate coping of these experiences can make one unwell and thus stand in the way of a positive recovery process. A pure symptom treatment without preventive strategies would often jeopardize long-lasting results of a successful therapy. In addition to the prevention of new stressors, it is often just as important as

• to strengthen one's own self-confidence, which has not been adequately formed in childhood and adolescence due to bad experiences.

• The reflection and the awareness of one's own needs and idiosyncrasies, combined with the question of what kind of person one would like to become, often helps to develop one's own character and increase your self-esteem.

• Often it is also crucial to give support in the search for meaning in one's own life. This requires motivation in the construction of future visions and the confirmation that one can accomplish a lot, if one only wants it.

• Due to the longer life expectancy it is never too late to deal with the clarification of these questions, so that even in old age you can still feel confidence and joy in life that may radiates to others.

• The confrontation with the supposed finiteness of life and the fears that can come along with it is often a reason for a restrained and anxious lifestyle. But insights from research about near-death-experiences and philosophical considerations can diminish uncertainties and promote serenity and curiosity. Life can be filled with new spirituality if you are open to it. This could complete the new enrichment of your own new life.

All these topics go beyond the actual treatment of symptoms in which the cognitive behavior therapy was scientifically examined and secured for its efficacy. However, overcoming or resolving the problems just mentioned with other suitable methods does not seem to me to be less important in the course of a responsible holistic treatment. If you also want to tackle these kinds of issues, you need several methods that go beyond pure behavior therapy and have to. That's why I find it professional and useful to also use Roger’s “Person Centered Therapy”, “Logo Therapy” or “Existential Therapy”, “Positive Psychology”, and “Gestalt Therapy”, to name but a few.