Education and professional experience
- Master of Arts in Literature and Art history from Aarhus University, Denmark
- For several years I have worked as a teacher at a high school and as an immigrant teacher for refugees. I have specialized in teaching mentally vulnerable young people and adults.
- Psychotherapist MPF
- Four years of training as a psychotherapist MPF at the Institute of Psychotherapy, Aarhus. The education is approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs in Denmark. Psychotherapist MPF means a Member of the Danish Association of Psychotherapists, and it is a protected title in Denmark. MPF is a seal of quality that ensures I have the necessary education and competences.
- Clinical practice and counselor experience
- Since 2018, I have had my own clinical practice. In addition, I am employed as a psychotherapist at SIND Counseling in Aarhus, where I help people with mental disorders and their relatives. I have volunteered as a counselor in three different non-profit organizations to learn and grow through supervision:
Through my voluntary and professional therapeutic work, I have specific experience in the treatment of anxiety, depression, self-harm, care failure, gambling addiction, grief and loss, parent-child relations, relationship problems, existential crises, eating disorders, and couples- and group therapy. All my therapeutic work has been supervised.
I follow the Danish Psychotherapist Association’s rules for ethics and duty of confidentiality.
My personal story
Within psychotherapy, there is an expression called The Wounded Healer. This means that a therapist may have the drive to help others because the therapist has been ‘hurt’ herself. If the therapist has worked in-depth with her own ‘wounds’, it can be a strength that can help the therapist heal others. The Wounded Healer could be used about me.
Back in 2011, I had a severe concussion where the healing process became lengthy. It brought anxiety and depression into my life. I was used to being able to handle a lot, and suddenly I could do almost nothing. I doubted I would ever get well again. After two and a half years of illness and slow progression, I was drained of energy, and when I experienced a relapse, I lost my footing. It was as if the anxiety was taking over my body and thoughts. I did not know one could feel so bad.
From this point zero, I have worked with myself through therapy, mindfulness, and yoga. The combination of the bodily and the mental approaches has healed me. I discovered that anxiety came when there were feelings and thoughts I did not dare to feel and could not embrace, and which I instead tried to push away. With help from therapy that involved the body, I have learned to embrace the feelings and body sensations that are right here and now. That way, I got a grip on the anxiety. It has given me an amazing sense of inner strength and peace that I know I can bring myself into balance.
For me, it has been of great value to gain greater insight into myself and allow myself to feel and express the emotions I have previously repressed. It has been proven in research that when we dare to feel and embrace the pain, it becomes less dangerous and intrusive, and the joy of other things in life becomes stronger. Sorrow and joy are two sides of the same coin.
Psychotherapist MPF or psychologist?
The title ‘Psychotherapist’ itself is an unprotected title. Everyone – whether they have an education or not – can call themselves psychotherapist and receive clients. In contrast, Psychotherapist MPF is a protected title. The abbreviation MPF stands for Member of the Danish Psychotherapist Association. To call yourself a psychotherapist MPF, you must have completed a four-year approved psychotherapist education and live up to a number of requirements for basic education and work experience. Psychotherapist MPF is a seal of quality and guarantees that the therapist has adequate education, experience, and competence. I am a trained psychotherapist MPF.
Psychotherapists MPF and psychologists are closely related. Both professional groups help people get better mentally through talk therapy. The psychotherapist MPF education is closer to practice than the psychologist education that takes place at a university. It is a requirement that the psychotherapist MPF tests the psychotherapeutic theories and methods in practice and feels them on their own body. It is therefore a condition that the psychotherapist MPF, as part of the education, looks inwards and works with their own problems. General psychologist education does not require that the psychologist works with himself through self-therapy. Here the emphasis is predominantly on psychological theories and methods.
Psychotherapists MPF are trained to help people with mental and personal challenges, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, abuse, relationship problems, family therapy, violence, or stress. In case of a severe mental illness or if you need to get a clinical diagnosis, you should consult a psychologist or psychiatrist.
On the Danish Psychotherapist Association’s website, you can read more in detail about the difference between psychotherapists MPF, psychologists,s and psychiatrists,
https://psykoterapeutforeningen.dk/om-psykoterapi-2/psykoterapeut-vs-psykolog-og-psykiater/