Safe space
A psychotherapeutic office is a place where everyone can feel safe.
Relationship
Psychotherapy is a process based on a relationship between a patient and a therapist.
Process
Therapy is a journey-like process that begins in the office, but continues long after the meetings stop.
About me
I hold a master’s degree in psychology and I’m a psychodynamic psychotherapist. I graduated from the Krakow Psychodynamic Center, recommended by the Polish Psychological Association. I am a member of the Polish Society of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. I regularly submit my work to supervision.
I gained experience in working with patients at the Lower Silesian Mental Health Center in Wrocław, the Hospital for the Neurologically and Mentally Ill in Lubiąż, the Psychiatric Center in Lubin, the Wrocław Alzheimer’s Center and the Crime Victims Assistance Center in Zduńska Wola. I also run a private practice.
I work both in Polish and English.
What is psychodynamic psychotherapy?
Psychodynamic psychotherapy was developed on the basis of the achievements of modern psychiatry and acknowledged psychoanalytical concepts. It is based on the theory of mind, which states that understanding mental life requires reflection on the unconscious.
Within the unconscious there are all kinds of desires and fears which, for personal or cultural reasons, are experienced as too threatening to be accepted within oneself. It is also a space where we store the ways of interpreting reality and patterns of interpersonal relationships learned in the course of life.
Keeping all of the above-described elements away from consciousness is possible through defense mechanisms. However, their excessive and inadequate occurrence carries a high price. Defense mechanisms distort the image of reality, separate man from his “real self”, consequently sabotaging development and limiting the possibility of experiencing depth and satisfaction in relationships with others.
Since the elements of our inner world are being revealed in relationships with other people, they can also be observed in the interaction of a patient with a therapist. This makes it possible to recognize them during the session, analyze and modify those that turn out to be maladaptive.
The therapy consists, among other things, in expanding the patient’s awareness of factors that they are unaware of, and which have a significant impact on their thinking, feeling and behavior. Working them through allows a modification at a deep level. In consequence it not only reduces problematic symptoms, but also lowers the likelihood of their recurrence.
As a result, a change takes place and allows access to healthier mechanisms of functioning. Personality development becomes possible. The patient accepts their multi-dimensional inner life and the complexity of the world to a greater extent. The range of constructive, mature defenses expands, allowing old conflicts to be solved with new methods. Since the patient experiences a reduction of suffering and an increase of life satisfaction, they can now use their potential creatively and adequately.
When to consult a therapist?
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is helpful for people who experience:
- personality disorders
- anxiety
- panic attacks, phobias,
- depression
- eating disorders
- difficulties in maintaining stable and satisfying romantic/family/work relationships
- low self-esteem
- strong fear of abandonment and loneliness
- lack of satisfaction in life
- sexual problems
- difficulties in finding / maintaining a stable and satisfying work
- symptoms with a neurotic background, such as intrusive thoughts, compulsions
- impulsivity, uncontrolled outbursts of anger
- excessive shyness and social withdrawal
- psychosomatic symptoms (e.g. abdominal / head / chest pain for no apparent medical reason)
- as well as for people in a life crisis