To truly know the world, look deeply within your own being; to truly know yourself, take real interest in the world. Rudolf Steiner
We feel healthy and full of power as long as our body, soul and spirit are harmoniously interwoven and rhythmically flowing in all areas. However, if internal or external influences give rise to disharmony, this throws us off-kilter. Therapy is then a way of uncovering a pathway back to a state of balance.
Through intensive dialogue, we will examine different levels of your life by applying the methodology of intensive biographic exploration under anthroposophic principles, supplemented by Gestalt therapy, systemic conflict coaching and restorative natural remedies. After an extensive initial consultation, a decision will be made as to which path is best suited to help you to return to a place of strength and wholeness. Andreas Valentien
Analytic Gestalt Psychotherapy
Gestalt psychotherapy is a profound psychoanalytical method whose foundations were laid by Fritz Perls at the beginning of the 20th century. The starting point is our present experience and behaviour, both of which are influenced by forces we are not always aware of such as repressed and unresolved conflicts from the past. Gestalt therapy is both a holistically-oriented method which regards the human being as an indivisible unity of body, soul and spirit, and a humanistically-oriented method that focuses on the “healthy person”.In Gestalt psychotherapy, we support patients in seeking new pathways for themselves. Together, we want to pinpoint forms of learned behaviour that are hindering the growth and development of existing potentials. In most cases, symptoms that we need for our survival, such as fear, self-doubt, aggression, withdrawal, pain, friendliness or helpfulness, arise in inappropriate situations. They come to dominate our mental life and thus hinder our “healthy” ability to perceive the current situation in its reality and thereby react to it appropriately.
All that we experience can be said to “occur” in the present, thereby representing the reference point from where we look forward or back. Self-awareness means being in direct contact with external events and simultaneously with our inner life. If we avoid this contact with externalities by fleeing into our thoughts, fantasies, fears or dreams, we lose touch with our real needs. In our therapeutic relationship, we aim to develop a positive change in this behaviour, both in terms of perception and action. In this process, we assume that a person’s visual space is structured into “gestalt or figure” versus “background or ground”. By “figure” we mean a psychological characteristic, namely the predominant need or impulse. The “ground” refers to the surroundings, i.e. the environment or the context. The interplay between the two is dynamic, because – depending on your focus – the same ground can produce different figures.
Systemic conflict counselling
If only one central conflict needs to be treated, this can be revealed through the methods of Gestalt psychotherapy. Every conflict will be embedded in an environment that is then closely involved in the process of resolution. The “system” is illuminated, irritated and changed by careful exploration of the source of conflict.Basic psychosomatic care
Our practice offers “basic psychosomatic care”, which is a form of diagnosis and care of mental and psychosomatic disorders recognised and funded by statutory health insurance companies. This encompasses:- Psychological complaints such as anxiety disorders or depressive syndromes
- Somatoform disorders with physical symptoms but without any clear organic basis as detected by standard lab tests or imaging
- Disorders resulting from physical illness or, in the case of serious somatic disease, advice on ways of coping with difficult mental processes
- Psychosomatic illnesses caused or significantly accompanied by psychosocial factors