My Methods
I learned the basis of my counseling skills at the GFK-Institute. “GFK” is the abbreviation for the integration of the following three methods:
Gesprächspsychotherapie: Conversational psychotherapy according to Carl Rogers. Person-centered counseling in an attitude of acceptance, empathy and congruence.
Focusing a Mindfulness and recourse to body awareness as a resource.
Körpertherapie: Involvement of the body on various levels.
The basic values of my counseling are empathic listening, acceptance and presence in the moment. These come from the person-centered approach. This approach focuses on the relationship between the person giving advice and the person seeking advice. The counselor has an accompanying role rather than an expert role.
Focusing complements this approach. Focusing about giving space to the knowledge that is already present in the body, to create a connection to the inner experience. This can be a very brief moment of pause – how does it feel right now? But it can also be a longer session. Similar to a meditation, we then take time to deepen existing perceptions and thus find new insights.
For me, the body is a natural part of a person and I therefore include it. This can be through perception exercises, certain movements, physical expression or touch. During the session, we discuss together what is appropriate at the moment. This is particularly important because each person has a different approach to the body and it is extremely important to me to respect the respective boundaries.
Further Training
- since 2023: MAS in Career Counseling at ZHAW
- 2022: Training at
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In addition to my training, I have also studied various other approaches, whether through self-awareness or intellectual exploration. Elements of these also flow into my work. However, I do not claim to have studied the respective approaches or methods in depth:
- discrimination-sensitive, feminist and pleasure-oriented approaches (Sara Ahmed, Silvia Federici, bell hooks, Mai-Anh Boger, adrienne maree brown, …)
- the work around gender and therapy by Alex Iantaffi
- Deliberate Practice and Feedback Informed Therapy(Scott Miller and Tony Rousmaniere) as methods I look to in order to improve my counseling skills. In this context, I also learn a lot from the podcast Very Bad Therapy.
- Focusing-oriented Art Therapy according to Laury Rappaport
- Nonviolent communication according to Marshall Rosenberg