My approaches
I’ve learned the basis of my counseling craft at the GFK-Institute. “GFK” is the abbreviation for the integration of the following three approaches:
Gesprächspsychotherapie, which means Conversational Psychotherapy according to Carl Rogers. Person-centered counseling in an attitude of acceptance, empathy and congruence.
Focusing according to Eugene Gendlin. Mindfulness and recourse to body awareness as a resource.
Körpertherapie, which means Body therapy according to Wilhelm Reich. Involvement of the body on different levels.
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 the advice and the person seeking advice. In this approach, the counseling person has an accompanying role rather than an expert role.
Focusing complements this approach. It is 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.
The body is for me a natural part of a person and I therefore include it. This can be through perception exercises, through certain movements, through physical expression or through touch. What is right at the moment, we discuss together in the session. This is especially 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
- 2022: Basic Training in Couple Counseling IKP
Other Influences
In addition to my training, I’m familiar with various other approaches, whether through experience or intellectual exploration. Elements of these also flow into my work. However, I do not claim to have learned the respective approaches or methods in depth:
- critical of discrimination, 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
