We help you learn how to better deal with your feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Sometimes things can be difficult, and it may feel like you’re swimming against the tide. But together, we’ll explore how you can start to feel better. Step by step, you’ll learn how to make small changes that help you grow stronger and happier. These steps will not only help you feel more comfortable in your own skin, but those around you will also notice how well you’re doing. Ready to start your journey toward a more confident and balanced version of yourself?
What do we treat — and what not?
We treat almost all mental health problems, except for the most severe cases that require an acute or specialized setting.
We do treat:
- Anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive, and mood disorders, including suicidality
- Stress-related problems, such as acute and post-traumatic stress, prolonged or traumatic grief, including those related to bullying, early childhood trauma, intergenerational trauma, exposure to violence, physical or emotional abuse or neglect, sexual abuse, coercive control, discrimination, antisemitism, racism, war experiences, medical treatments, natural disasters, or accidents
- Neurodiversity (ADHD, autism, autism spectrum disorder, tic disorder, other developmental disorders)
- Learning disorders
- Bladder and bowel control issues (enuresis and encopresis)
- Speech and language disorders (e.g. developmental language disorder, DLD)
- Eating problems (e.g. ARFID)
- Eating disorders
- Substance use
- Behavioral problems
- Personality development issues, including self-harm
- Mild addiction issues that occur alongside one of the above problems
- Giftedness or cognitive limitations (IQ > 60), with or without mental health problems — we can usually assess and treat these effectively
- Parent-child relationship problems and family-related issues
We do not treat:
- Acute psychosis or mania
- Bipolar or cyclothymic disorder (if discovered during intake or treatment, we will refer you)
- Primary addiction problems
- Severe behavioral or personality disorders requiring forensic or clinical care
- Severe eating disorders requiring inpatient treatment
- Intellectual disabilities
For these situations, we refer to forensic and specialist mental healthcare institutions, disability care organizations, or hospitals that can offer the right treatment and setting.
Understanding your situation
To determine how we can best help you, we start by listening carefully and asking many questions. Three members of our team are involved in this process — they will also guide your assessment and treatment. This means you only need to tell your story once.
Our team discusses what we’ve seen, heard, and read from you, your parents, and your family. Together with you and/or your parents, we then create a treatment plan during the first consultation. This plan outlines the issues you experience, therapy goals, any legal context, diagnostic assessments to be carried out, and proposed treatment methods.
Diagnostic assessments may include psychological tests (e.g. intelligence or neuropsychological tests), (interaction) observations, questionnaires, interviews about biography, parenting, psychiatric symptoms, or personality, as well as a developmental history interview or conversations with parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, or childcare staff (heteroanamnesis).
The results are discussed during a second consultation, after which treatment begins.
The role of your age
If you are under 12, your parents decide about your treatment.
If you are between 12 and 16, you are involved in decisions about your treatment.
If you are 16 or older, you can decide independently about your treatment.
However, if you are under 18, we strongly encourage involving your parents, since they often know you best and can support you throughout the process. You may also choose to involve a buddy or JIM (Important Person in My Life) if you trust them.
If your parents are under supervision, a youth protection worker will be involved in your treatment. If you no longer have parents, or they are unavailable or have lost parental rights, your guardian will be involved instead.
Treatment and approach
Our treatment options include:
- Psychoeducation (learning about your mental health and how to manage it)
- Various forms of psychotherapy (supportive or insight-oriented therapy)
- Trauma treatment
- Self-image therapy
- Habit formation and emotion regulation techniques
- Social skills training
- Medication (pharmacotherapy)
- Non-verbal or creative therapy (e.g. art therapy)
- Family, relationship, or systemic therapy
Psychoeducation, psychotherapy, and creative therapy can take place individually or in groups. All care is tailor-made.
We work closely with the social domain, GPs/referrers, paramedics, medical specialists, current or previous treatment providers, spiritual counselors, and the safety or forensic mental health network where necessary. We also value the involvement of family, friends, and other close contacts, as well as peer support workers when helpful.
If crisis intervention, medication, or safety measures are needed first, we provide them.
If treatment is required alongside diagnostics, we do both.
If diagnostics can only take place during treatment, we will use a process-diagnostic approach.
Every six months, two master’s students in psychology or pedagogy complete their internships with us for six months. They are supervised by a GZ-psychologist and/or psychotherapist and are an integral part of our team and working method. Like all team members, they are bound by medical confidentiality.
