Psychotherapy

In Individual Psychotherapy, the Psychodynamic method is followed. This method investigates in depth, analyzes, and effectively treats symptoms and/or mental difficulty, significantly improving the quality of life and relationships of people who express psychotherapeutic demand.

Treatment available for:
-Identity issues
-Self-awareness & Personal development
-Self-esteem/Self-confidence issues
-Communication issues / Relationship problems
-Psychosomatic issues
-Psychological support
-Anxiety disorders, with or without panic attacks
-Depression and Bipolar disorder
-Phobias
-Eating disorders
-Addictive behaviors
-Behavioral and Aggression management issues
-Coping with Grief and Loss
-Trauma Therapy
-Professional difficulties
-Obsessions
-Psychoses (in the beginning, either in cooperation with psychiatrist).

Psychotherapy is delivered in a safe context, with confidentiality, ethics and a sense of responsibility. It is supported by a professional with long-term clinical experience and continuous training.

Adolescence is a critical period in human life. Apart from the mental difficulties of transformation, adolescence is associated with the development of one’s identity, while many adolescents exhibit risk behaviors that endanger either themselves or those around them.
In the case of adolescents, drama therapy is strongly recommended combined with the traditional form of speech-based therapy. The Arts, as mediums, contribute to the further development of symbolic thinking, but also to the exploration of the person’s mental world.

Requests that are accepted in therapy are related to:

-Psychological support
-Self-awareness and goal setting
– Identity/gender issues
-Improve self-esteem
-Stress management and exam stress management
-Dealing with panic attacks
– Relationships with parents
– Relationships with peers
– Relationships with siblings
-Obsessions
-Phobias
-Aggression/violence
-Body image/eating disorders
-High-risk behaviors in general
-Depression
-Self-harm
-Isolation/social embarrassment-phobia
-Psychosomatic symptoms
-Dependence on social media – computer games.
In any case, adolescent psychotherapy requires the signed consent of both parents and their own parallel counseling by colleagues, as in adolescence the young person is not yet autonomous and self-sufficient.

Group psychotherapy offers a profound healing experience for established harmful patterns of the person’s history. Its process creates an experience traced in the brain that affects the body and impacts relationships with others and oneself. The group has the power to deeply process trauma and free individuals from its harmful effects on the present and future.

Group Psychodynamic Therapy reveals the trained relational patterns we tend to repeat with others and how distorted one’s self-perception can be. It broadens one’s horizons, strengthens feelings of inner security, provides significant emotional support, and develops and enhances interpersonal communication skills, creating a new relational model.

The psychodynamic approach is harmoniously combined with the drama therapy method as a mediator, both in bringing to the surface unconscious aspects of the self and in processing traumatic content.

As trauma becomes embodied, either through symptoms or through defensive physical postures that make it weak, psychotherapy, through the arts, focuses equally on the meaning (top-down) and the body (bottom-up), following these two interacting pathways to create a new experience of a safe and whole self.

Group therapy is not suitable for everyone.
The group is a valuable life experience that continues to function even after the end of therapy.
A series of individual sessions is required before participating in a group.

Drama therapy is a comprehensive method of psychotherapy, with its own theory, diagnostic tools, and therapeutic techniques. It is holistic because it activates the body, cognitive functions, and action. It opens the path for mental change, as our brain, the rest of our body, and our psyche are interconnected.

The space for drama therapy practice is not the typical psychologist’s office. It is a studio with different lighting, music, fabrics and clothes, wigs, objects, colors, and materials for artistic engagement. A safe space for creation.

Drama therapy utilizes theatre and, additionally, other arts. It is based on the use of metaphor and the emergence of symbols. Each drama therapy session is also an aesthetic event. Through aesthetic distance, a person can see and understand their problem from another perspective. Thus, they don’t just play their story, but express their authentic self in a protected manner, through narrative practices, myth, theatrical and other literary texts, proverbs, etc., sources filled with symbols that condense and reveal meaning.

The person coming for therapy through this method is called to act. To create something, to play something, to create. Creativity itself arises from life, and expressiveness greatly aids both communication with others and the manifestation of emotions, which is released in this way, preventing the creation of psychosomatic symptoms.

“Help! Theatre, help me!
I sleep. Wake me up.
I am lost in the dark, guide me, at least Close to a candle.
I am lazy, make me feel ashamed.
I am tired, lift me up.
I am indifferent, hit me.
I remain indifferent, crumple my image.
I am afraid, give me courage.
I am ignorant, teach me.
I am inhuman, humanize me.
I am conceited, make me die laughing.
I am cynical, deconstruct me.
I am a beast, transform me.
I am wicked, punish me.
I am despotic and harsh, fight me.
I am pedantic, ridicule me.
I am vulgar, elevate me.
I am mute, free me.
I no longer dream, treat me like a coward or fool.
I have forgotten, stir up my memory.
I feel old and useless, make childhood stir.
I am clumsy, give me Music.
I am sad, search for Joy.
I am deaf, make the storm howl with sorrow.
I am restless, arm me with Prudence.
I am weak, light up Friendship.
I am blind, bring me Light.
I am enslaved by Ugliness, make Beauty conquer me.
I have been converted by Hatred, make me receive all the power of Love.”

Ariane Mnouchkine (Message for World Theatre Day 2005)

Digital technologies and the internet have created a remarkable virtual space where Individual and Group Psychotherapy can both be conducted. I have been exploring this form of therapy since 2005 and based on highly encouraging results presented at international conferences in Greece and abroad, I incorporated it into my practice in 2007.

I conduct online psychotherapy following the same principles and theories as in-person therapy. This practice is enriched with new possibilities for expression and creativity, closely following technological advancements. The online treatment is tailored to the individual’s technological familiarity and accessibility.

Whether through verbal communication or creative arts, depending on the client’s needs and access to simple art materials or a smartphone, online therapy can be performed individually or in a group setting.

Online psychotherapy is recommended for individuals living far from Athens or those unable to travel due to significant reasons. No special technical skills are required to begin online therapy. However, privacy during sessions is essential to ensure a secure healing context.

Each year, there is an opportunity to participate in thematic seminars and therapeutic events, which are offered to those who want to learn about therapeutic methods through the arts, as well as explore experiential topics that interest them.

These workshops can be intensive or of limited duration and focus on specific themes. They are also open to professionals in the mental health field, educators, social scientists, artists, and others.