Our services and the mental challenges of different life stages
In addition to psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, psychological counseling and coaching in business and personal affairs belong to our core competencies. Some of us are also certified specialists in psychiatry, in psychotherapeutic work with children, in psycho-oncology, and in supervision of teams or of psychotherapeutic and social work.
Detailed information on the services offered by each of our psychotherapists can be found on the team-page, but we are also happy to answer to all of your questions by phone.
Psychotherapy and counseling in different stages of life
Each phase of life involves specific needs, desires, crises and conflicts. People cope and respond to the developmental tasks and demands of life in more or less comprehensive ways. Accordingly, problems and disorders as well as corresponding counseling or therapeutic needs present themselves differently in childhood, youth, adulthood or advanced age.
Children
Children suffer and can become mentally disturbed when the inner and/or outer developmental conditions don’t meet their basic needs. This may for example be the case with an illness or a disability, with separating or seriously ill parents, with immigration problems or stressful school situations.
Children express their problems and difficulties in many different forms: through various fears, aggressive or withdrawn behavior, separation problems or strong sibling rivalry, attention disorders, lethargy, psychosomatic disorders, school problems, learning disorders, problems with peers, overactive behavior, bedwetting, and more. In psychotherapy with children the illustration of conflicts in interactive play complements verbal communication. Regular meetings with parents are an indispensable part of the treatment of children.
Adolescents
Adolescents often find themselves unexpectedly and simultaneously confronted with the most diverse and demanding challenges elicited by their development. Inner conflicts with physical changes or gender identity, career choices, leaving the parental home, exams or other arduous tests and in general the search for one’s own place in the social network can generate high demands, which often lead to mental crises or disorders. Affected adolescents can feel very misunderstood and at times become seriously suicidal. Suffocating anxieties, depression, eating disorders, addictions, compulsions, destructive and antisocial behavior, ongoing performance limitations in school or at work are further examples of challenges that may confront adolescents today.
Adults
Adults benefit from psychological counseling or psychotherapy when they feel generally impaired or overburdened in certain areas of life such as work, family, relationships or illnesses. The problems can manifest themselves in persistent depressive moods, for instance, in the loss of feelings of pleasure, interest and motivation, but often also in anxiety or panic attacks or in general uncertainty and related disorders, in compulsions, sleep disorders, eating disorders, and addictions as well as somatic symptoms.
Senior Citizens
In psychological counseling or psychotherapy with senior citizens, it’s again essential to pay attention to the characteristics of this period of life. Advanced age brings increased losses of lifelong relationships, identification-forming activities and physical capabilities. It can be difficult to let go of goals that one has pursued for a long time and now are no longer reachable and to develop appropriate skills that adapt to the changing circumstances. Depression can easily result from feeling superfluous or burdensome when retirement brings the loss of professional recognition, professional role-identity, and work-relationships.
Sorting out the past, adapting a constructive approach to the anticipated lifetime, cultivating mindfulness in relating to close people, recognizing past achievements, and openly confronting perishability and death can relieve patients and their caregivers and contribute to more relaxed and serene life in old age.