Dr. Silvia Trattnig,

I have worked in Austria for the past 20 years as a psychotherapist and supervisor in my own practice while also serving as the treatment manager of a rehabilitation centre for women with eating disorders.

As an educationalist and psychotherapist I offer

 client-centred psychotherapy and counselling for adults, adolescents and children, couples and families.

Psychotherapy helps youth and adults who are experiencing difficulties with emotion and behaviour. The approach relies on communication as the basic tool for bringing about change in a person's feelings and behaviours. In a safe and supportive environment it is possible to explore thoughts, worries, feelings, memories, dreams and fantasies.

I work with the mind-body connection to help release unwanted patterns/beliefs and unresolved old feelings that are blocking personal power, self acceptance and satisfying relationships. It enables a person to achieve deeper self-understanding so that life can be lived more fully in the present and the future can be faced more creatively.

Techniques include conventional psychotherapy, body-mind therapies, hypnotherapy, play-therapy, mediation, supervision and coaching.

My approach is both compassionate and professional. I offer long term explorative psychotherapy for deep seated problems, and shorter term goal focused work for specific issues. I am experienced in treating a broad spectrum of psychological complaints such as:

All personal information is treated in the strictest confidence and remains confidential to the psychotherapist. This is crucial for you to feel able to trust the service, knowing that it is safe to talk openly about what is happening.

Client-centred psychotherapy for children and adolescents:

Psychotherapy helps children and adolescents in a variety of ways. They receive emotional support, resolve conflicts with people, understand feelings and problems, and try out new solutions to old problems. Goals for therapy may be specific (change in behaviour, improved relations with friends or family), or more general (less anxiety, better self-esteem). The length of psychotherapy depends on the complexity and severity of problems.

As part of the initial assessment, I will determine the need for psychotherapy. This decision will be based upon such things as the child's current problems, history, level of development, ability to cooperate in treatment, and what interventions are most likely to help with the presenting

concerns. Psychotherapy may be used in combination with other treatments (medication, behaviour management, or work with the school). The relationship that develops between the therapist and the child or adolescent is very important. The child or adolescent must feel comfortable, safe and understood. This type of trusting environment makes it much easier for the child to express his/her thoughts and feelings and to use the therapy in a useful way.

Playing, drawing, building and role play, as well as talking, are important ways of sharing feelings and resolving problems in child and adolescent therapy.

Eating problems – Eating disorders

Eating disorders are psychological disorders that have serious physical complications. The most common eating disorders are Anorexia, Bulimia, Compulsive Eating, and Binge Eating Disorder. Eating disorders are complex conditions focusing on issues of food/eating, weight and body image. It is important to identify disordered eating and intervene as early as possible to prevent it from become more severe. If left untreated, eating disorders can become chronic, crippling illnesses leading to hospitalization, or in extreme cases, death.

Eating disorders can have many causes and it is important to understand that an eating disorder is usually a combination of social, psychological, interpersonal/family and biological factors. An eating disorder can be seen as an unconscious attempt to cope with unresolved emotional pain. Eating disorders arise from a variety of causes. They create a self-perpetuating cycle of physical and emotional destruction. All eating disorders require professional help.

Eating disorders profoundly impact a person's quality of life. Self-image, relationships, physical health and day-to-day living are often adversely affected. The medical complications from eating disorders can be dangerous and even fatal. Sometimes people with anorexia or bulimia do not appear underweight they may be of average weight or even overweight. The outward appearance of a person with an eating disorder is not necessarily an indicator of how much physical danger they are in.

The eating disorder is merely a voice through which the mind and body express their unmet needs. The most effective treatment for an eating disorder is psychotherapy along with medical and nutritional support and guidance. The treatment should be individually tailored, and treatment will vary depending on the severity of the disorder as well as the client's particular problems, needs and strengths. Psychological counselling needs to address both the eating disorder symptoms and the underlying psychological, interpersonal and cultural forces that contributed to the eating disorder.

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