During my studies in Psychology and Special Education in the 1990s, behavioral therapy was the predominant approach at universities. However, when I encountered constructivist and systemic therapy, I immediately felt drawn to it.
Systemic therapy understands people not as isolated individuals, but as part of relational systems — families, partnerships, workplaces, and social environments. Personal habits, reactions and communication difficulties that create problems are not viewed as “defects” within a person, but as patterns that have developed over time and for a good reason.
Rather than focusing exclusively on problems, systemic work identifies resources, strengths, and alternative perspectives. Small, well-placed interventions can initiate significant change within a system. When the relevant dynamic is addressed at the right moment, shifts often occur faster than expected.
Systemic therapy has become the gold standard in working with couples, families, and relational systems because it addresses not only individual symptoms but the interaction patterns that maintain them. By focusing on communication, roles, and recurring dynamics, it creates sustainable change precisely where relationship difficulties originate — within the system itself.
My role is collaborative and process-oriented. Together, we explore new viewpoints and practical steps that fit your individual context and current life situation. This can change problematic habits fast into more useful behaviour.

Sometimes difficulties cannot be explained solely by the current moment. In some situations, clients react with an intensity that does not match the present challenge. Emotional responses may feel automatic, overwhelming, or disproportionate.

In such cases, I integrate elements of schema therapy, originally developed by Jeffrey Young.

Schema therapy works with deeply rooted emotional patterns (“schemas”) that were formed in childhood. These patterns once helped us adapt to our environment and “survive”. However, later in life they can restrict flexibility, distort perception, and trigger repetitive conflict or self-defeating behavior.

Typical signs that schema work may be helpful include:

• recurring (relationship) conflicts with similar emotional dynamics

• strong feelings of shame, abandonment, or rejection

• excessive self-criticism

• emotional withdrawal or overcompensation under stress

In therapy, we identify these patterns and explore how they are activated in the present. The work goes beyond intellectual insight. It includes experiential methods that allow old emotional states to become conscious and transformable.

The goal is not to analyze the past endlessly, but to increase emotional freedom in the present — enabling more appropriate, flexible responses to life’s current challenges.

Alongside psychotherapy, awareness practice plays a central role in my work.
My background includes traditional meditation training in monasteries in Southeast Asia and retreat centers in Europe, as well as education in contemporary mindfulness-based methods, including programs with medical and psychological foundations.
I regularly teach courses and lectures on mindfulness, meditation, and philosophical aspects of Buddhist psychology.
In therapy, awareness serves as a catalyst for change. Without mindful attention, it is easy to miss the critical moment in which a different response becomes possible. Developing awareness helps clients recognize automatic reactions and gradually expand their range of choices.
When appropriate, I integrate mindfulness exercises into the therapeutic process to deepen emotional insight and strengthen self-regulation.

A large part of my professional life has been connected to universities and research teams across Europe, focusing on the functioning of the human brain and emotional systems.

I consider scientific evidence essential when evaluating what genuinely helps people. Although research findings are not discussed explicitly in every session, they inform my clinical decisions.

My priority is always effectiveness. If integrating validated methods from different therapeutic traditions increases the likelihood of meaningful and lasting change, I do so. For example:

• Cognitive-behavioral techniques for behavioral restructuring

• Schema therapy when early emotional patterns restrict present functioning

• Evidence-based addiction guidelines in addiction-related work

• Communication and empathy training rooted in humanistic approaches

This integrative approach ensures that therapy remains both scientifically grounded and individually tailored.

Growing up in a small rural village in southern Germany sparked my curiosity about other cultures and ways of living. Over the years, I spent approximately a decade living and traveling across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

These experiences shaped my understanding that there is no single “correct” way to live. Each individual and each family must discover what works best within their cultural, relational, and personal context.

In therapy, I aim to broaden perspectives, introduce flexibility, and encourage a lighter, more experimental stance toward life.

My multicultural perspective is particularly valuable in couples therapy, especially when partners come from different cultural backgrounds. By clarifying differing meanings, expectations, and communication styles, long-standing misunderstandings can often be resolved and new forms of connection can emerge. It is also crucial for my work with expats.