Welcome to my website! Practice for Systemic Therapy and Counselling
Energetic – Empathetic – Solution-oriented
„Our Heads Are Round so Our Thoughts Can Change Direction.“
Francis Picabia
Do you have the feeling that there is no progress in your life?
Do you feel paralized by a crisis or a conflict? Do you feel disoriented in your life? Do you feel overrun by stress and daily hassles? Do you want to relieve yourself of motionlessness? Or do you want to focus on your personal development and growth?
I offer psychological counselling and therapy based on the systemic approach. I work solution- and resource-oriented, creative and always with my opposite. Treating you as equal and the respect for your individual life journey matters to me. In my counselling you are not just seen as a client, but as a human being and you can express yourself the way you really are.
To me counselling doesn’t mean to present ready-made solutions, but to create a space in which you feel perceived as a human being. Together we question problematic conditions and develop solutions.
The solution is already inside of you – I offer the space to discover it.
Please scroll down for further information about my counselling approach and service.
I am looking forward to meeting you.
Yours faithfully
Valeska Gerst
My counselling approach
Relaxation is the root of change.
Therefore it is important to me that you feel understood and comfortable in the counselling session.
Through our life journey we have to face (several) crises and difficult times (in general). They are part of our life. Stress, conflicts and seemingly irresolvable problems can paralyze us. We feel petrified, helpless and often frustrated. Do you ever feel bogged down?
To seek help in a problematic situation or a crisis is not a sign of being „weak“ or “ill“, but a witness to courage and inner strength to solve a problem. Within every crisis lies a challenge giving you the chance to emerge with new-found strength.
Without movement there is no change.
You don’t dance tango on your own. You need another person. Counselling provokes impulses, which causes changes. Contact creates movement which sets us free and brings us forward. We need movement to separate from our motionlessness, from a crisis, our „inner muddy bog“. I assist you on your way to regain your inner flow of movement.
In the initial session we get to know each other and clarify expectations or questions. We also discuss your aims and issues for further cooperation.
More than the treatment of a „mental health illness“ I am interested in the whole person with its individual ideas, perceptions and needs.
My systemic approach is influenced by (e.g.):
- the solution focused brief therapy by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg
- narrative approaches from the systemic therapy
- Sculpture and constellation work
- Imaginative procedures
- the embedment of the individual in a wider context or system and the interactions between them
- the work with inner parts/ traits of the personality
- the non-violent communication by Marshall Rosenberg
My counselling service
I offer counselling, resolution and mentoring of personal problematic situations or conflicts. These can be e.g., personal and professional re-orientation, crises, internal conflicts or conflicts with others, far-reaching decisions, coping with stress, difficulties with superiors, relationship issues, separations, losses, deaths, etc., but also interest in a deeper self-awareness and personality development.
Procedure and fee
Appointments by arrangement.
There is no fixed quantity of needed sessions. You decide how many session in which amount of time seems reasonable to you (it often varies from a single one to 5-10).
Fee:
Counselling session (50 min) Orientation to GOP/ Gebührenordnung für psychologische Psychotherapeut:innen
Initial session 35 €
Unfortunately there is no reimbursement of costs by the health insurances. Payment is made on account.
Please note the 24 hour cancellation period if you can’t attend an appointment. Otherwise I will have to charge you the full price of the counselling session.
Please understand that I can’t answer a phone call while I am in counselling session. Please leave a message and I will come back to you as soon as possible.
For further contact information please click here.
About me
I am a psychologist (M.Sc.) and healing pracitioner for psychotherapy. Training in systemic counselling and therapy at the Institut für systemische Therapie (IST) in Berlin.
I studied psychology in Trier and Berlin and graduated in clinical and health psychology.
Dancing and movement are my passion.
I have several years of professional experience in the ambulatory and stationary counselling, mentoring, diagnosis and treatment of different mental health problems and illnesses, in ambulatory crisis support and personality development.