My Way into Coaching and Psychotherapy

After training as a banker, studying business administration in Germany and completing a masters programme in the US (Graduation 1998: MBA International Management) I worked for 12 years at leading international banks in London and Frankfurt, most recently as Director Corporate Finance / Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) at Rothschild in Frankfurt.

From 2001-2012 I completed trainings in a number of coaching and therapy approaches and started working as an executive coach and trainer in 2012.

I quickly learned “A problem rarely comes alone” – most issues people face are at the intersection organisational structure, interpersonal relationships and individual personality. If problems pile up in one area of life (e.g. stress at work), this may affect other areas and vice versa.

In order to get to the root cause of issues and finding the solution, it is necessary to explore the situation from multiple perspectives.

Solving problems requires an integral approach.

This lead me to learning about systemic coaching (looking at issues beyond the individual – family, organisation etc.) and personality (traits, preferences and how to change it). However, it became clear to me that talking and cognitive approaches are not enough – Emotions and how they live in the body and the mind need to be considered.

Therefore, I got more and more interested how the individual life story and past traumatic experiences are affecting the present and how the past is stored in the body. And how current bodily and emotional reactions are often an echo of past events. Which lead me to deepen into developmental somatic psychology (Bodynamic) as well as trauma therapy approaches (particularly Somatic Experiencing and NARM).

Applying an integral approach means working with the mind, emotions, the nervous and the muscular system. Finding solutions means looking at the individual, the personal life history as well as habits, relationships and organisational systems.

Specialisations

My offer includes psychotherapy, intensive coaching, systemic constellations, personality training as well as integrative work with various methods. A particular focus of my work is on trauma therapy and the promotion of post-traumatic growth.

The client’s concerns are explored together, examining the interplay of experiences, emotions, and bodily sensations. Based on this, individually tailored interventions are applied, combining cognitive reappraisal, emotional awareness, sensory-based work, and guided imagery.

The aim of therapy or coaching is to gain a fresh understanding of reality and to experience it in a different emotional, physical, and interpersonal manner. Based on this foundation, individuals can let go of old patterns of behaviour and experiences, and acquire new freedom of action.

The aim of psychotherapy is to enable new solutions in the here and now.