Target group
Mental health challenges and the need for support can manifest in many different ways at various stages of life. I work with a wide range of clients whose situations, symptoms, and starting points vary, but who are united by the need to be heard and understood in their everyday lives. Below are key themes and situations in which psychotherapeutic support can be helpful.
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health challenges people face in today’s world. Anxiety may manifest as an intense feeling of fear, tension, or panic that is disproportionate to the actual situation. Our bodies have evolved in an environment where threats were concrete, immediate, and often life-threatening. In such circumstances, a strong state of alarm was vital for survival.
The feeling of anxiety is easier to understand in a situation where we, for example, have to run out of a burning building. When the same intense state of alarm in the body and mind is activated in an everyday situation, such as sitting at a coffee table or in a work meeting, the experience is often confusing, overwhelming, and frightening. If prolonged, anxiety can lead to significant psychological and physical strain and, at worst, substantially limit one’s ability to function in daily life.
There are several different forms of anxiety disorders, and they can manifest in very different ways from person to person. For this reason, it is important that treatment and support are individually tailored to the client’s situation, symptom profile, and personal goals. The right kind of support can help in understanding the underlying mechanisms of anxiety and in finding ways to make everyday functioning easier and gradually strengthen the sense of safety.
Depression
Depression is one of the most common mental health challenges people face in today’s world. It often affects a person’s thinking, emotions, and ability to function in a broad and pervasive way, and is not simply sadness. Depressive symptoms can include a variety of experiences, such as fatigue, hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, and withdrawal, which together form the overall picture of depression.
The feeling of low mood, often considered a central feature of depression, is in itself one of the human’s most important emotions and is related to processing and solving problems. In depression, however, this feeling can become prolonged and persist, eventually significantly limiting one’s ability to function and affecting many aspects of everyday life.
In severe depression, symptoms may also include self-harming thoughts, suicidal thoughts, and a real risk of suicide. In such cases, timely and individually tailored support is especially important to prevent the symptoms from worsening and to gradually strengthen the ability to function.
Fatigue / Burn out
Work-related, study-related, or general exhaustion, often colloquially referred to as burnout, is unfortunately a common phenomenon in today’s world. Exhaustion is often difficult to distinguish from depression, as there is a lot of overlap in the symptoms. However, in exhaustion, environmental factors and how the individual experiences and is strained by everyday demands play a central role. This perspective helps to differentiate exhaustion from other mental health challenges.
High self-imposed demands are very often linked to exhaustion. Such demands can be a significant resource when they are directed toward personally meaningful goals and are flexible. They become a problem when they are inflexible. Finding flexibility is essential to being able to manage everyday life according to one’s own resources and wishes without constant overload.
Both exhaustion and depression affect the whole body, which is why recovery often requires a longer-term and holistic approach. Rehabilitation may include sufficient rest, light or moderate physical activity, strengthening and diversifying nutrition, as well as balancing daily life and adapting to changes in functional capacity.
Trauma
Symptoms related to traumatic experiences often manifest as anxiety, where a single event or situation has led to an intense and difficult-to-manage set of symptoms. Symptoms can also arise in situations where a person is repeatedly exposed to the traumatic experiences of others, such as in demanding helping or client work. This is referred to as so-called secondary traumatization.
A central criterion of the trauma concept is that it involves a life-threatening or exceptionally shocking event. If the criteria for such an event are not met, the symptoms are usually considered within the framework of an anxiety disorder. The focus of the work is on supporting the client’s functional capacity so that everyday functioning is possible at the desired level, or at least better than before.
Although traumatic experiences can feel as if the body and mind are trapped by memories, the body is in constant interaction with the environment and is capable of adapting even to memories. Through this adaptive capacity, the body’s reactions change over time and with ongoing work, so that a past event—in other words, a memory—no longer triggers symptoms in the same way as before. Unfortunately, avoiding symptoms or the memory prevents adaptation at the bodily level and can even reinforce the symptoms.
ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related traits have been found to be more common than previously thought, due to increased research and understanding. Although a formal ADHD diagnosis does not affect a large portion of the population, there are a significant number of people who exhibit ADHD traits. For this reason, understanding one’s own bodily and mental functioning in relation to so-called neurotypical patterns is an important part of supporting well-being for many.
As human beings, we are social and inevitably compare ourselves to others. This comparison can easily lead to feelings of exclusion or inadequacy when one’s way of functioning differs from the neurotypical, even if one has many strengths. When tasks cannot be performed in the same way as others, it can create a sense of slowness, difference, or being “wrong,” even though in reality it is simply a different way of perceiving, focusing, and acting.
For many people with ADHD traits, this leads to high self-imposed demands and an effort to function like others, which can significantly strain daily life and increase the risk of exhaustion. Such demands can be a great resource when they are flexible, but without flexibility, they can become a burden. Accepting one’s own needs and using oneself as a reference instead of others can free one to act more diversely and sustainably. In this way, cooperation with one’s own body and mind replaces constant self-coercion.
Autism spectrum traits and Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Autism spectrum disorder or autism spectrum traits form a diagnostic group that has received increased attention in recent years and has been found to be more common than previously thought, due to increased research and understanding. The autism spectrum often involves differences in social interaction, which can make communication and interpreting social situations challenging with so-called neurotypical individuals.
Individuals on the autism spectrum more often than average experience difficulties in recognizing and verbalizing their own emotions and bodily sensations. This phenomenon is called alexithymia. However, it can also stem from not having received emotional guidance suited to one’s own way of functioning and needs, especially if the surrounding reference group does not align with their natural way of perceiving, experiencing, and organizing the world.
For many people with autism spectrum traits, it is important to understand the people around them and social situations. Therefore, reflection, processing experiences, and understanding one’s own and others’ ways of functioning can be key tools in supporting daily coping and reducing strain. Support that takes individual needs and strengths into account can facilitate interaction and increase the sense of safety in everyday life.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can appear in a milder form, with symptoms that clearly strain daily life, where a person manages daily tasks but experiences constant stress. In its most severe form, OCD can be a mental health disorder that significantly limits functioning and can even be incapacitating.
Underlying the symptoms may be an innate vulnerability, and recognizing and accepting this is important in order to prevent the worsening of symptoms in the future. Even in difficult or long-lasting situations, it is possible to learn to coexist with feelings of anxiety, to observe and question the thoughts associated with the symptoms, and gradually reduce their guiding influence on daily life.
Through this process, an individual can learn to direct their actions toward personally meaningful activities, even if feelings of anxiety remain present as part of the experience. The goal is for obsessive-compulsive symptoms to no longer define daily life, while functional capacity and quality of life gradually improve.
People with disabilities and those requiring special support
I work with a variety of clients who have individual needs for support. The support is always shaped based on the client’s daily life, functional capacity, and life situation, with the goal of finding ways to make daily coping easier and to strengthen overall functioning.
I have extensive experience working with, among others, individuals with developmental disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and injuries resulting from various life situations and environmental factors. In my work, I have also encountered people with mobility and sensory impairments. It is important to me that the work is flexible, individualized, and accessible, and that the client is approached based on their own starting points and goals.