Let's talk about what matters the most to you

In the first session, we focus on conceptualizing your goals for the therapy, your current life situation and your wishes for the future. We discuss what to work on and how to approach it, as well as what it takes for you to feel comfortable and safe during therapy. It is natural that goal and topic of therapy will change over time and we will always adapt the therapy as we go along. In each session I will check in with you to make sure that we are on the right track.

The first session can feel overwhelming, especially if you don't have previous experience with being in therapy. It is normal that we don't fully get to the bottom of things the first time we talk. In the first session we mostly focus on establishing a safe space and build up a connection, which creates the foundation for deeper exploration in the sessions to come. Opening up and understanding complex emotions take time. Change will happen once we are given the space to express those emotions that used to feel complicated. With patience we can create this safe space together, where you can get to know and understand yourself better and achieve the change you are looking for in life.

TALKING THERAPY

I have experience with topics such as...

Anxiety
Depression
Self-worth
Suicidal thoughts and self-harm
Difficult upbringing
ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
Loneliness
Stress reactions
Stress
Relationships
Family
Education and career

MY BACKGROUND

Psychologist with a holistic interest

I am a trained psychologist (cand.psych.) from Copenhagen University. During my studies I have focused specifically on clinical psychology and adapting therapy to the individual client, and I have gained practical experience with therapy. In my work I prioritize carefully choosing the methods needed for each client, their situation and life story.
My interest of actively including the body in therapy shows in my choice of therapeutic approaches, which includes EFT, ISTDP and Mindfulness-based therapy. These methods includes the signals of the body and our nervous system and the therapeutic process.

Experience and engagement: From volunteer work to private practice
My experience includes working as a volunteer counsellor in Headspace Copenahgen and Brunhilde (free therapy for women), where I have build up many hours of volunteer counselling experience, especially with adolescents and I have covered a broad spectrum of topics of therapy. After finishing my studies I have worked in a school for special needs adolescents, being especially involved in STU (youth education for adolescents with special needs). Here I have been directly involved in individual treatment, cooperation with families and the public health system, as well as structuring the day to day life and education adapted to adolescents with psychological disadvantages.

Since then I have practiced as a psychologist in a private clinic, where I have performed individual therapy and advised parents and families of clients. My broad experience includes clients of different age, different cultural background, psychological issues and courses of life. I'm dedicated to adapting the treatment to each client to be able to help you with your unique situation and needs.

Hør mere om terapi her

Find out more about therapy here

Therapeutic method

I work eclectically, meaning that I use several different methods and I adjust the approach carefully to the individual client. Generally, I put emphasis on including the body as a tool for exploring and process the emotions and experiences, that you bring to session. The starting point will always be your current situation in you day to day life, and the emotions that present themselves as we talk.

Via EFT (Emotion-focused Therapy) and ISTDP (Intensive Short-term Dynamic Therapy) we dive deep into the emotions that naturally show up as we talk about your life. Throughout our upbringing, society and culture we unfortunately often learn that certain expressions of emotions are not welcome. This can make it challenging for us to express emotions such as anger and sadness, and therefor make it difficult to process those experiences that made is feel angry or sad. In therapy we practice making room for these emotions.

I integrate methods from Mindfulness-based Therapy as well, as a way to recognize and explore emotions and experiences that might be difficult to connect with. This might include exercises during the session and small homework, always adapted to your current situation and focused on what is meaningful to you.

Diagnoses: individual understanding and respect for your words

Through my education and experience I have a knowledge of psychiatric illnesses and diagnostics. I know that for some it can be very meaningful to be diagnosed, while for others it can feel stressful and limiting. My approach is that we are shaped by our life experience and how we make sense of it. Psychiatric diagnoses is one way to categorize a type of experience or behavior, but it's not the only way. No matter if you have a diagnosis or not, you are always welcome to bring up the topic during our sessions. Your understanding of the situation and the words that are meaningful to you, are what is important to me.

The mind, the body and the whole person: Empowering the connection with the body

My approach builds on the concept that body and mind being deeply connected. From the moment we are born, we react to the signals from our body, but as we grow up, we might learn to suppress certain emotions. In therapy we practice giving space to even the most difficult emotions. Ignoring the signals our body is giving us can make it difficult to understand ourselves and limit our possibilities of acting on what is important to us. Therapy gives you the tools necessary for exploring and understanding your own emotions and how to act on them appropriately. By strengthening the connection with our body we come to know ourselves better, we process meaningful experiences and we build up the ability to calm ourselves and experience a deeper connection to our true self.

Why do we need to talk about body and emotions?

The reason I work with a body-oriented focus, is that everything we live through, everything we learn about ourselves, is processed through the body. Throughout our lives we react to signals from our body, like a rumbling in the belly, tightness in the chest or excitement in arms and legs. As kids, we need adults to help us make sense of those signals, in order to understand and react to what our body is telling us. That is what parents do, for instance when they tell a crying child, “I understand that you are upset”. But the interpretations made by adults are not always perfect, and sometimes adults in our lives had their own difficulties handling certain emotions. Then we might grow up with the understanding that it is better if we don’t cry, or don’t raise our voices or don’t draw too much attention to ourselves. We might even learn to completely ignore those sensations and impulses in our body, because it feels unsafe to give in to the need to cry or to take space.

The problem with ignoring those signals from our body, is that we end up understanding ourselves less and lose the opportunity to react to situations that carry importance to us. And we lose the chance to process the experiences that triggered these emotions. To feel anger can be a signal to you about your boundaries with others, but if you cannot let yourself feel that anger, putting boundaries and enforcing them becomes tricky. Or if we don’t let ourselves be moved by the grief of loosing a loved one, it makes it hard to process and accept that person being gone. We can end up afraid that these emotions will be too big or unstoppable if we let them out. But that is not the case. In therapy you will experience how to enter these emotions or memories that you might normally avoid, and you will see how emotions vanish once we have given them space. I will also give you the tools to exit the emotion when you need to, so you can explore your inner life with a sense of calm and safety. And we will talk about how to interpret the signals your body is giving you, to help you recognize yourself and react accordingly.

Body and mind are deeply connected, so much that it’s hard to talk about one without mentioning the other. Our nervous system connects everything, so that when we see or think of something with emotional value, we will immediately see changes in our lungs, heart, guts, bladder, and muscle tissue. This information travels the same way back, so when we actively slow down our breathing or relax our muscles, we send a signal to the brain, that all is good. This way we can practice putting ourselves in situations that might stir up difficult memories or try new things, that used to pose a challenge to us.

In short, by strengthening the connection to our body:

- We come to understand ourselves better

- We can process significant experiences

- We build up the ability to calm and comfort ourselves

We gain a greater sense of connection and authenticity