Frequently Asked Questions
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a collaborative process between a mental health professional and a client, with the aim of improving mental health and quality of life. It is not simply “talking to a friend.” It is a scientifically grounded method based on building a relationship of respect, trust, and safety. This therapeutic relationship becomes the foundation for exploring the client’s concerns, difficulties, trauma, and personal questions.
How can psychotherapy and counseling help?
Self-awareness
Psychotherapy helps you understand why you think, feel, and respond in certain ways. It focuses not only on the “why,” but also on the “how.” Rather than simply identifying the origin of a problem in the past, it explores how dysfunctional patterns are maintained in the present.
Self-awareness is not static knowledge, but an ongoing process of reflection that leads to a deeper understanding of who we are, what we want, how we live, and how we relate to ourselves and others. It is the foundation of personal growth, emotional balance, and self-regulation.
Symptommanagement
Therapy helps manage symptoms—not merely by “eliminating” them, but by recognizing, understanding, decoding, accepting, and regulating them. Through this process, individuals explore the origins of their symptoms and identify the cognitive and behavioral patterns that sustain them.
This understanding reduces fear and the sense of “losing control.” The therapist provides tools to help manage intense emotions without becoming overwhelmed. Counseling can help alleviate symptoms such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, phobias, eating disorders, sexual difficulties, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
Traumaprocessing
Processing trauma in therapy does not simply mean “remembering and talking about what happened.” It involves helping the brain and body process overwhelming experiences that remain unresolved and continue to affect the present.
When an experience exceeds our capacity to cope, it may be stored as a vivid, ongoing memory (e.g., nightmares, flashbacks, emotional and physical tension), as if it is still happening. Trauma can arise from grief, loss, separation, difficult past experiences, abuse, or sexual trauma.
Behavioral change
Psychotherapy helps identify dysfunctional patterns such as low self-esteem, procrastination, and chronic stress. It provides tools that enable individuals to build their lives and relationships more consciously—without blind spots and without fear.
Is therapy for everyone?
Yes!
Therapy is a process that can benefit most people. It is a life practice that can deepen and refine the relationship we have with ourselves and others. You do not need a specific diagnosis to begin therapy, and no issue is too small or too big to address.
Therapy welcomes, respects, and encourages diversity, and is open to everyone regardless of social, political, or economic background, as well as religion, race, gender, or sexual orientation.
What does a session look like?
An individual session lasts 50–60 minutes. Couples and family sessions last 60–90 minutes. Group sessions last 90–120 minutes, and sessions with adolescents last 45–50 minutes.
There is no “standard” format. The time belongs to the client, who is free to talk about anything on their mind—whether related to the present or the past. No topic is taboo orinsignificant.
The therapist uses techniques and questions to guide the session within a safe and supportive framework. A session should never feel like an interrogation or a one-sided lecture. It is also not about giving “ready-made advice”—an experienced therapist will not tell you what decisions to make (e.g., “leave,” “quit,” “you’re doing it wrong”).
What is the cost of a session?
- Individual therapy: €50
- Couples therapy: €70
- Family therapy: €80
- Group therapy: depends on group size
After the initial meeting, a specific weekly day and time will be reserved exclusively for you. This time will not be offered to another client, and there will be no delays or waiting time before your session. This commitment is mutual.
If a session is canceled without 24 hours’ notice or without notice, the full fee will be charged.
How often should I attend therapy?
Consistency is essential for the effectiveness of therapy. Ideally, sessions take place weekly, especially at the beginning, allowing therapist and client to build trust and establish meaningful therapeutic goals.
Weekly sessions help maintain therapeutic momentum—providing enough time for reflection, but not so much that the connection weakens or goals fade.
However, frequency is not fixed. If appropriate, sessions may be adjusted to one or two per month or, in some cases, more frequent meetings.
How long does therapy last?
There is no predetermined duration. The length of therapy depends on the nature and severity of the client’s difficulties, as well as their goals. Psychotherapy may last from a few weeks to several years.
Can a psychotherapist prescribe medication?
No, psychologists and psychotherapists cannot prescribe medication. The ability to prescribe medication belongs exclusively to psychiatrists, who are trained in medicine and pharmacology.
In many cases, a combined approach is the most effective. A mental health professional may refer a client to a psychiatrist for evaluation if they believe that the severity of the symptoms is interfering with the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
Are sessions confidential?
Confidentiality and privacy are fundamental pillars of the therapeutic process. Anything you share with your mental health professional remains strictly between you.
According to professional codes of ethics, therapists are prohibited from disclosing information to third parties—such as family members, partners, or employers—without your explicit written consent (British Psychological Society, 2018; American Psychological Association, 2017).
Confidentiality may only be broken in very specific and extreme circumstances, including:
- Immediate risk to your life (e.g., serious suicidal intent)
- Immediate risk to the life or physical safety of another person
- Abuse of a minor or another vulnerable individual (e.g., an elderly person)
- A court order—although even in such cases, the mental health professional is obligated to protect your privacy to the greatest extent possible
What happens if we meet outside?
Mental health professionals are trained to protect your anonymity. If you happen to meet by chance in public, the therapist will not greet you first, so as not to put you in an awkward position in front of others. If you choose to greet them, of course, they will respond warmly!
How I Work
My approach is not limited to a single school of thought. My extensive postgraduate and doctoral studies allow me to draw theories and techniques from various psychotherapeutic models, including Existential, Person-Centered, Psychodynamic, and Cognitive-Behavioral approaches.
My philosophy is that therapy should adapt to the individual, not the other way around. I treat each client as a unique case—even when presenting similar challenges—because not every method is suitable for everyone.
I consider the quality of the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist to be the most important factor in effective therapy, regardless of the techniques used. The success of this collaborative relationship enables deep exploration and ultimately facilitates the meaningful changes the client seeks in their life.
Which psychotherapeutic models do I use in sessions?
Existential Psychotherapy
Focuses on fundamental issues of human existence, such as the meaning of life, freedom, responsibility, isolation, and mortality. Rather than concentrating solely on symptoms, the existential approach examines how a person relates to life and their choices. It posits that psychological difficulties are often fueled by these existential concerns. The goal is not just to eliminate psychological pain, but to understand and accept it as part of the human experience, enabling the individual to live authentically and consciously.
Person-Centered Psychotherapy
Emphasizes acceptance and empathy to promote personal growth and symptom relief. This approach is based on the belief that every person has an innate tendency towards development and self-awareness. The therapist does not direct or give ready-made solutions but creates the appropriate conditions—through empathy, authenticity, and unconditional acceptance—so the client can find their own answers and solutions to psychological struggles.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Explores the past and the unconscious to uncover the roots of problems. It holds that thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are influenced by unconscious processes, often including repressed feelings, childhood and adolescent experiences, traumas, and unhealthy past relationships. Therapy aims to bring these unconscious patterns to conscious awareness so the client can understand and manage them.
Systemic (Family/Relational) Therapy
Examines the individual within the networks of their relationships—family, work, friendships, neighborhood, and partners. Even the most solitary or isolated person remains part of a system. The systemic approach asserts that psychological difficulties are linked to communication and interaction patterns within the system. By changing relationships and communication, behavior and emotions can also change.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Focuses on the “here and now” and changing negative thoughts. It posits that our emotions and behaviors are influenced by our thoughts. When we have negative or dysfunctional thoughts, we experience anxiety, fear, sadness, or problematic behaviors. Identifying and changing these thoughts leads to symptom relief and behavioral change. Although CBT is my least preferred approach, I acknowledge that it provides effective tools, especially for anxiety disorders.