Welcome to our psychotherapeutic practice

As humans, we are "group beings" by nature. We develop our personality, characteristics and abilities develop in close contact with other people. Experiences from interpersonal situations can therefore have a strong influence on us, positively as well as negatively. That is why the relationship is at the center of every psychotherapy.

In a group psychotherapy, one does not only get feedback from the psychotherapist. Each group member also receives feedback from several, very different people. The participants make the experience that others approach their problems in a completely different way than they do themselves, which means that each individual has experienced their psychological burdens, symptoms or impairments on a completely new level, understand and work on their psychological burdens, symptoms or impairments on a completely new level.

The group-therapeutic relationships thus offer the participants important development opportunities. They learn to better perceive their needs, experience their own self emotionally, perceive other people realistically and holistically, to draw boundaries and to recognize the contradictions between their own and other people's perspectives. In addition, the participants should experience being able to permanently detach themselves from ties without feelings of guilt and to say goodbye.

Furthermore, in the group process, the participating persons should have important corrective experiences when the group reacts differently to the relationship offers than they know from their environment. In the process, the participants are given the opportunity to further develop their own identity.

It is perfectly normal to feel fear at first before starting group therapy, inhibitions or a certain amount of insecurity. This happens to almost all people and over time it changes for the better in the vast majority of participants.

At least once in our lives, each of us has had a negative experience in a group, or experienced a slight at the hands of a group, or experienced an unwanted relationship breakdown during a conflict. This makes it all the more important to develop a sense of belonging and to experience that it is not only me who feels this way.

This is also where the role of the psychotherapist comes into play. She leads the process and provides a safe framework for all group members, so that each individual is seen and is seen and held by the group.

In their interactions with each other, participants experience how they shape their relationships with other people. They learn to better perceive their own feelings, affects and sensations and at the same time to be more open to other people and their needs, motivations and points of view more openly. In this way, symptoms such as the depressive syndrome, psychosomatic impairments, fears of all kinds and/or obsessive thoughts and actions triggered by a mental disorder, can be understood as the result of failed interpersonal relationships - an important step in reshaping relationships in the future.

The focus of depth-psychologically based group therapy is on experiencing and understanding of a fundamental, inner, partly unconscious dynamic, which makes us form relationships over and over again in a certain way. This dynamic is itself the result of previous relationship experiences, which are usually unconscious inner motives and patterns.

These unfold within a safe framework and open group communication, the focus is on three areas: The relationship experience in the group, current conflicts, and one's own life story.

The group is not given a topic. The participants talk about what they are currently and share their ideas and fantasies as freely as possible. The new can then be tested in everyday life and brought back to the group for further development.

To ensure an open and safe space for all participants, the confidentiality of all participants is paramount. Nothing that is discussed in the group may be disclosed to the outside! (An appropriate confidentiality agreement will of course be signed before the therapy begins).

All issues raised are treated with respect. Mutual respect is the basic prerequisite for a successful process. This creates a familiar and understanding atmosphere is created, in which the participants can work through their can work through the topics they have brought with them.

Maintaining confidentiality is a central part of our practice philosophy. We take great care to keep your personal information and conversations strictly confidential to provide you with the space and feeling of safety and peace during your therapeutic companionship.

The leading figure in the field of psychodynamic group therapy research is Irvin D. Yalom. He has been researching the processes within a group since the 1970s, his work on factors of effect in group therapy still determine the scientific discourse on this topic.

According to Yalom's model, participants in the group experience the same relationship problems that they also experience in their everyday world. With the help of the group, participants can become aware of their neurotic patterns of interaction; this process is called insight. This newly acquired awareness enables them to change their experience and behavior, which they can then immediately apply in the group. This experimentation with new interpersonal behaviors and their repercussions on the experience of the participants is called interpersonal learning. But probably the most researched impact factor is group cohesion. What is meant by this is colloquially, the sense of community or belonging within a group. The ability of a participant to establish a good relationship with the group promotes not only the willingness to take risks and open up to others. This gives the participating person more feedback, which makes it easier to achieve the therapeutic desired change can be realized.

Here is an overview of all 11 impact factors according to Yalom:

1. Hope for healing
2. Universality of suffering
3. Communication of information
4. Altruism
5. The corrective recapitulation of the primary family
6. Techniques of interpersonal interaction
7. Imitative behavior
8. Interpersonal learning
9. Group cohesion
10. Catharsis
11. The existential experiences (death, fear, loneliness, meaninglessness)

The composition of the group follows the latest scientific standards of psychodynamic group therapy.

Currently, we have several semi-open groups, some of which are women-only groups. Semi-open means that if a member leaves the group, the place is filled by a new person. In these groups, up to a maximum of 9 people participate. They take place weekly, last 100 minutes per session and are offered in two languages (German and Russian).

In some cases, it makes sense to combine group therapy with individual therapy, which is then decided on a case-by-case basis in the psychotherapeutic consultation. In this so-called combination therapy, the weekly group sessions are combined with additional individual sessions. In most cases, these take place every 14 days and serve as an accompaniment and consolidation to the group therapy.

If you are interested in group therapy, we will first make an appointment with you for a counseling session in the form of a psychotherapeutic consultation. During this appointment, we will discuss your symptomatology and see whether group therapy would be the right approach for you. If so, we will look for a group from which you can benefit the most.

The costs of group therapy or combined treatment are covered by statutory health insurance in the same way as individual therapies are covered by the statutory health insurance. Of course, you can also attend your therapy as a self-payer or privately insured person. The prices are based on the current GOP rates.