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Trauma + deep process
For trauma, deep-seated issues, and whatever needs to change
What Gestalt therapy is—and what it isn't
Gestalt therapy is not a fix-it program.
It doesn’t ask: What’s wrong with you? – but rather:
What wants to be seen and felt within you?
The approach is based on the idea that we don’t change by working on ourselves. Rather, we change by stopping working against who we already are—and instead giving that part of ourselves a space where it can reveal itself and transform.
"Change comes about when you become what you are – not when you try to become what you are not."
(after Arnold. R. Beisser)
What my process looks like
We start with what is present right now—not with a diagnosis, not with a reconstruction of your life story, but in the here and now:
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What do you feel?
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What tightens up?
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Where does your attention go?
From this connection, the deeper layers open up. We arrive at the places in your life where you have developed strategies to cope with the tensions between your basic needs—between closeness and boundaries, between security and growth, between being seen and staying true to yourself.
Some of these strategies have supported you. Some have since become more restrictive than you are right now. In our work, we always honor what has been.
Then, together, we explore what is seeking a new expression today—through dialogue, through the body, through experimentation. Not to eliminate anything, but to allow what is alive within you to come into motion and unfold (anew).
Trauma + the nervouse system
A particular focus of my work is on body-focused, resource-oriented trauma therapy.
Trauma is not what happened. Trauma is what gets “stuck” in the nervous system—because it could not be fully processed or “digested” at the moment it occurred.
It often manifests not as a memory, but as a reaction:
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as freezing, as hyperarousal,
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as a vague sense of shame,
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as a withdrawal from one’s own body.
Even the reactions that have become too restrictive today were once solutions. A body that freezes, a dissociated feeling, hypersensitive vigilance—these are not flaws. These are the ways your system found to survive when nothing else was possible. In our work, we honor this—and, step by step, give the nervous system the opportunity to realize that other possibilities exist today.
Pace is everything here. We go only as deep as your system can handle. We build up resources before we approach what is distressing. We work with the body, with movement, with presence—not against it.
This approach integrates insights from Polyvagal Theory (Stephen Porges), Somatic Experiencing (Peter Levine), and attachment and trauma research (Bessel van der Kolk, Dan Siegel)—and embeds them within the dialogical approach of Gestalt therapy.
The Difference from a shorter clarification process If you are facing a specific issue and seeking guidance—whether in your career, regarding a decision, or during a life transition—a shorter clarification process may be the more appropriate framework. Gestalt therapy in the narrower sense begins where the focus is not on a single issue, but on a deeper movement: trauma that needs to be resolved. Patterns that extend beyond a single situation. A life that wants to reshape itself. If you’re unsure which framework is right for you, we’ll clarify this together during the initial consultation.
Framework and Duration Gestalt therapy processes are designed to be in-depth and ongoing. The length of our work together is determined by the process itself—often ranging from several months to a few years, with varying frequency. We regularly check in together to see where we stand. A process is also allowed to come to an end.
Who this work is for
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People with developmental or attachment trauma—even without a clearly identifiable “cause”
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People with somatic trauma responses (chronic tension, dissociation, inner numbness, feelings of emptiness)
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People who realize: I understand a lot—and yet nothing changes
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People who sense recurring patterns in relationships or in life that run deeper than rational thought can reach
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People who need a space where there is room for what has not been allowed to surface anywhere else