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My psychotherapeutic approach is primarily based on a humanistic, trauma-sensitive view of mankind. Studies have long shown that the most powerful factor in the success of psychotherapy is neither therapy method nor experience - rather the relationship - the experience of being seen and heard from one human being to another - has proven to be the most vital factor. The following principles are central to my work: • True listening creates regulation and connection with the other person. • Connection to your own body enables energy flow, regulation, and integration. • Everything works better when you are relaxed. • Every moment offers an opportunity to get in touch with yourself and practice self- acceptance. • Following the body's signals leads the way to the natural core self. Trust in the Body's Innate Wisdom and Healing Powers My therapeutic stance is shaped by the conviction that our mind, psyche, body, and nervous system are best at healing themselves. This might sound sarcastic to some: Why am I not already healthy and feeling great? Believing in the body's self- healing powers does not mean that we don't need support. In fact, burden and stress are usually accompanied by a disconnection from the self. As a result, the brain lacks vital signals from the body, and blocked emotional energy can no longer flow freely. A compassionate presence and a safe space where one can truly be oneself are the prerequisites for rediscovering and reviving this lost connection. Depending on one’s past experiences, it can take time to build trust in another person and in one’s own body. My trust in the body’s wisdom is rooted in years of personal therapy and self-experience across a wide range of modalities, including Gestalt Therapy, EMDR, NARM, Somatic Experiencing, Shiatsu, Neurofeedback, Feldenkrais, Craniosacral Therapy, and Rolfing. It is also firmly grounded in the humanistic tradition, which I encountered during my Gestalt training and which forms the heart of my therapeutic approach. To me, a humanistic approach means meeting the patient as an equal and showing up as a whole person, both in touch with my vulnerabilities and strengths. I meet my clients as I would wish to be met: with respect, curiosity, appreciation, and human dignity. Methods used to support the self-healing In the following list of used methods, I would like to point out the extent to which they incorporate the element of self-healing: Gestalt therapy Gestalt therapy is based on humanistic values and is rooted in the tradition of mindfulness, psychoanalysis, and Gestalt theory. The latter posits, among other things, that an 'open Gestalt' strives for completion. This implies that systems are self-organizing as long as an exchange—or connection—is possible. These systems can be social groups or the organism itself. Accordingly, Gestalt therapeutic interventions include those that promote exchange between systems. To achieve this, elements of the system are often symbolized so they can be observed from outside the person—for example, through chair work or identification with a symbol. In this way, feelings, needs, child or adult parts, and much more can be represented. In this exchange, emphasis is placed on allowing these elements to express what feels most important to them. The therapist may suggest experiments so that missing, split-off, or underdeveloped aspects can be experienced and integrated. The patient is invited into these experiments and ultimately decides for themselves what resonated internally and what value it holds. The central element in Gestalt therapy is contact—another word for connection. Somatic Experiencing Somatic Experiencing is a body-based trauma therapy method that uses primarily a bottom-up aproach. This means that sensorimotor and emotional information originating from the body and the senses are central to the processing of stress and trauma. We all know that anxiety and trauma do not disappear just by cognitive processing. Research has demonstrated that traumatic memories are primarily stored in implicit procedural memory, consisting of sensory, emotional, and interoceptive information. Peter Levine’s core principle is that trauma symptoms resolve when unfinished defensive responses can be brought to completion. The essence of trauma is, after all, the inability to defend oneself and being overwhelmed. To track these instinctive reactions, one must follow the inner trail noticing the subtle signals of the bodily system and giving them the space to unfold naturally. In other words, much like in NARM, it is about locating blocked life energy and allowing it to flow again. In this way, trauma can be naturally discharged and transformed - similar to how it occurs in the animal kingdom - and the bound energy becomes available to the organism once more and homeostasis is restored. NARM (neuro-affective relational model) NARM is a psychotherapeutic approach specifically designed for developmental trauma, building upon the principles of Somatic Experiencing and Gestalt therapy, among others. It assumes that we are born with full vitality and life energy, but that during our development, we adapt to our environment and our parents in ways that diminish this natural life force. NARM supports clients in rediscovering their own natural vitality - for it lies within us and can never be truly lost. When we are connected to this life force, conflicts, tensions, and symptoms often resolve on their own. In reality, this process should be envisioned as a gradual one: it is about reaching a state where our body is optimally connected to its resources and the environment - a state Porges calls the ventral-vagal state. Since life is not static, our states are also dynamic and do not last indefinitely. However, the more often an individual experiences this state of connection, safety, and inner peace, the more this neural network is strengthened and the easier to move into it. This, in turn, solidifies one's trust in their self-healing powers and a positive belief in one-self and the world around us.  EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) EMDR is a trauma therapy method in which bilateral stimulation signals to the brain that it should begin processing now, without dictating how that processing should occur. The guiding principle is that the process works best the less the therapist (or the client) intervene. This approach relies on the trust that the brain will process exactly what is most important in the moment, in the specific way that is best. It is fascinating to witness how overwhelming experiences are transformed into processed memories in this way and how the brain draws on its own resources during this process. A note about body therapy and touch  If you go to a psychotherapist, you expect to have conversations sitting down without any touch. My body-oriented training and own experience with various body therapeutic methods in recent years have brought me ever closer to the body. Through the scientific and personal research of the functioning and evidence of body therapy - which ultimately lead to me writing a book about it - I have realized, among other things, that access to certain topics and problems is hardly possible through traditional talk therapy, e.g. early developmental trauma, experiences of early neglect or near-death experiences. I therefore offer a body-oriented approach with or without touch, if you wish and if there is sufficient mutual trust. This offer is an extension of my previous psychotherapeutic approach.