Therapy In Dublin

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ONLINE PSYCHOTHERAPY CLINIC

„The unconscious is structured like a language”
- Jacques Lacan

Psychotherapy Psychoanalysis Online Magda Kurzawska

Online Session
Your Subjective Space

Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask
-Fox Mulder

Finding a psychoanalyst / psychotherapist who can do an online in-depth work can be difficult. Many analysts come from a training background that does not encourage exploration into online modalities and it leaves many people who could deeply benefit from psychoanalysis/psychotherapy, without the services they need.

I provide in-depth psychoanalysis / psychotherapy via a secure video platform that allows you to do the psychoanalytic / psychotherapeutic work from the safe, private place of your choice.

I created Therapy In Dublin to provide professional help; safe, non-judgemental and confidential space to talk about your thoughts and feelings..

I am here to help you to deal with any concerns you may have including stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and sexual problems, panic attacks, compulsive thoughts/behaviour, eating disorders, addictions, phobias, suicidal thoughts, bereavement or a vague but persistent feeling of being lost, disappointed or confused.

I am Fully Accredited Registered Practitioner Member of APPI – The Association for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in Ireland; the professional body for Freudian/Lacanian psychoanalysis in Ireland and Accredited Member of ICP – Irish Council for Psychotherapy. I am also fully insured (PPS).

meet the therapist

Magda Kurzawska

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist - Clinic Director

The field of psychoanalysis / psychotherapy / psychology is the one I feel really passionate about and I have been involved in this field for over twenty years. During this time, I’ve learned that psychotherapy is a path of change, growth and healing so one can live the life one wants. Our lives turn in unexpected ways, and at times it causes us anxieties and discomfort. We all face emotional, personal and professional conflicts that can leave us feeling lonely, unfulfilled or stuck. Hope can be very hard to keep when you feel trapped by long-standing patterns in your relationships, thoughts or career.

I believe that change is possible.

Psychotherapy speaks in many voices. In a safe and non-judgmental environment, my aim is to help you understand the roadblocks, both past and present, impacting your actions and feelings. These insights will give you the freedom to make conscious decisions and will make it easier to go forward. Psychoanalysis/Psychotherapy can bring an opportunity for a better life.

With many years of experience in working with people from all walks of life: from many different cultures, speaking many different languages, people struggling with suffering and trauma, I am looking forward to joining your journey of healing and growth.

My Experience

I gained my academic and clinical training from respectively: Adam Mickiewicz University – M.A. in Clinical Psychology, University College Dublin – H. Dip. in Addiction Counselling and Independent Colleges – M.A. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. During my studies I gained my clinical experience working within multi-disciplinary teams and one-to-one with patients in a variety of healthcare institutions such as Psychiatric Clinic of the Poznan Medical Academy in Poland, Merchants Quay Ireland and at the Department of Liaison Psychiatry in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin, Ireland where I saw patients referred by the Psychiatry Team.

Whereas I consider my education and the theoretical background as a very important component of my professional knowledge and I keep current in my science by studying and attending various educational seminars throughout the year, I would say, that the most valuable is not my theoretical knowledge but my work experience; experience of actual being in the therapeutic situation with my patients, the actual knowledge about them gained from being in the therapeutic relationship.

Sometimes the suffering is caused by a specific reason such as anxiety or depression, panic attacks or compulsive behaviour, eating disorders, los, addiction etc., but often this suffering takes up a less specific form, it appears as a vague but persistent feeling of being lost or disappointed, as dissatisfaction at work or the inability to form satisfactory relationships.

Often, we try to deal with problems by trying to keep them out of our mind as a way of getting rid of them. However, they will continue to have an important effect on our feelings and behaviour.

Early experiences play an important role in shaping the way our mind works but a large part of our mind operates outside of our consciousness. From an early age, we find ways of managing our experiences and this influences how we cope in later life.

By speaking in the presence of the psychoanalyst/psychotherapist we can gradually come to understand these experiences and make sense of how we have dealt with them. This leads to a process of change…

The relationship with the psychoanalyst/psychotherapist is an important part of this process. He or she offers a confidential, safe and private space where the unconscious patterns of our inner world can be played out. The safe setting that they create means that emotional conflicts can be relieved and new solutions can be found to old problems. Psychoanalysis/psychotherapy helps us to identify patterns of behaviour, which we keep repeating. As we become aware of old patterns, it then becomes possible to change them.

Individuals Adults

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Meeting regularly with a psychotherapist or psychoanalyst can be one of the most important steps a person takes on the road to better mental health.

Meeting regularly with a psychotherapist or psychoanalyst can be one of the most important steps you take on the road to better mental health. Dedicating the time and commitment to this has proven in my experience, to work in the alleviation of a range of personal difficulties.

These difficulties can include depression, anxiety, obsessional thinking, eating disorders, sexuality issues, relationship difficulties, addictions or phobias, suicidal thoughts, bereavement or a vague but persistent feeling of being lost, disappointed or confused…

Working with a therapist over a period of time is an important and active step toward a better sense of self, better relationships and overall good mental health.

Adolescents

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Young people face a host of pressures, from the changes of puberty to questions about who they are and where they fit in.

Psychotherapy can benefit young people in a variety of ways. A young person will receive emotional support, learn how to resolve conflicts with people, understand feelings and problems and try out new solutions to old problems.

Young people face a lot of pressures, from the changes of puberty to questions about who they are and where they fit in. The natural transition from child to adult can also bring parental conflict as young people discover and assert their independence. With all this drama it isn’t always easy to differentiate between depression and normal adolescent moodiness.

If you feel a young person in your care is depressed, I outline some of the typical symptoms below. If your young person has demonstrated some of these behaviours, consider how long the symptoms have been present, how severe they are and how different this behaviour is from his or her earlier personality.

Aggressivity – The predominant symptom in adolescent depression is frequently not sadness but aggressive acting out. This can manifest as angry outbursts, school refusal, self-harm, or even suicidal ideation.

Body issues – The changes in the developing adolescent body may trigger psychosomatic aches and pains, obsessive compulsive cleaning rituals, eating disorders and other disorders relating to body image.

Concentration and motivation – Depressed young people are extremely vulnerable to criticism, rejection and failure. Exam pressure, peer pressure, goal-setting can be traumatic experiences for young people struggling to find their place in society. School refusal, also called “school phobia” is often a symptomatic reaction to this stress.

Separation anxiety – Earlier attachment traumas may be re-visited at this time, leading to problems in socialisation e.g. bullying, exclusion, isolation.

Substance abuse – The misuse and abuse of drugs and alcohol may develop at this time as an inappropriate way of coping with stress and anxiety.

Couples & Families

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Sometimes individuals seek psychotherapy as a couple or family unit rather than on an individual basis.

Sometimes individuals seek psychotherapy as a couple or family unit rather than on an individual basis. Attending a therapist is not usually the first option when there are difficulties in a relationship. Arriving at the consultation session may seem like the final resort after seeking help with extended family, friends, doctor or a self-help book.

There are many reasons why a relationship may fall into crisis or an impasse.

The loss of intimacy, an extra-marital affair, a devastating change in fortune or financial circumstances, an inarticulable dilemma, loneliness and the inability to cope and deal with change or a traumatic life-event, such as bereavement. Working through the effects of these different experiences in a calm, non-judgmental atmosphere with the psychotherapist may be all that is needed to move on.

In working with families, couples and other groups I aim at treating the relation between individuals not the individuals as separate entities.

It happens that sometimes individuals are not prepared to work together then I usually advise the choice of individual therapy and not relationship/couples or family therapy.

The consultation offers a space in which feelings may be expressed in a safe way and where options may be explored which might be impossible to discuss without the therapist’s assurance of neutrality. The first goal of the therapy is to arrive at an articulation of the present difficulty. Strong emotions sometimes come to the fore during sessions and every attempt is made to structure the sessions so that they do not become intolerable to the parties involved. In the presence of a trained therapist, words may be found to resolve the situation so that the relationship can survive and grow.

Online session

I often hear the question: Is the in-depth psychoanalytic/psychotherapeutic work possible online?

The answer is: Yes, definitely!

For many years I have been working with those who are traveling, have a tight schedule, live in a rural area ,or live in the countries where the psychoanalysis/ psychotherapy is not accessible. Sometimes it is age or health issues which do not allow for regular meetings in the clinic.

An online session is an excellent alternative that makes it possible to use the help of a psychoanalyst/psychotherapist, despite all the difficulties.

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in April 2020, my experience allowed for immediate transfer of all the clinical work, online. All my patients continue their psychoanalytic/psychotherapeutic work from the safety of a private place they choose.

Here you will find some information about how to prepare for your first online session.

Magda_Kurzawska_therapy_in_Dublin_psychoanalysis_psychotherapy

You probably have lots of questions about the psychoanalytic process.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me or if you want to make an appointment.

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PREPARATION

CONFIDENTIALITY

Privacy and confidentiality is of the utmost importance in psychoanalysis/psychotherapy, and when I see patients in my clinic I make sure that their privacy is guaranteed. Likewise, when meeting with patients online I take all the steps to ensure that the privacy of our sessions is maintained as best as possible. This means using platforms that offer end to end encryption and do not share user’s data with third-parties.

You will also need to do everything possible to make sure that during the session you are in a safe and private space where it is unlikely that you will be heard or interrupted. You may need to ask others in your space to respect your privacy by doing things like turning on entertainment in another room or listening to something on headphones.

COMFORT

Try to make yourself comfortable, but not too comfortable. If you can, settle into a nice, comfortable chair. Try to find the position which will allow you to focus on yourself. Wear something comfortable but please, not the pyjamas even though I may not be able to see all of what you are wearing, or any of it if the session is audio-only. Put a box of tissues next to where you will be. If you want, pour yourself a glass of water. But avoid having a snack or meal, leave that for either before or after the session.

DEVICES

Turn off all devices other than the one you are using to make the call. If using a smartphone or computer, do your best to quit from all programs other than the one we are using and turn off all notifications if you can. It is best to leave your hands free by using headphones. If we are using audio-only then be sure to put your phone screen side down. If using a computer for audio-only, please either turn off your monitor or completely darken your screen.

TIME AND LOCATION

Time and location of the session is important. Please do your best to always meet from the same place and at the same time, this regularity supports the psychoanalytic/psychotherapeutic process.

Try to leave yourself an additional 10-15 minutes both before and after the session to clear your head. It is not a good idea to leave another remote meeting or end a call and then immediately call-in to start the session. You need some time to get ready for the work we are about to do. Similarly, after the session is over take some time before diving into the next activity. This will give time for the session to resonate before jumping back into your everyday experience.

FIRST SESSION(S)

Initially, you may want to outline the issues that have brought you to the analyst in the ﬁrst place. These will range from speciﬁc Issues from the past or present, or more diffuse problems of conﬁdence, anxiety, depression, obsessions, guilt, etc, From the outset try to speak as openly as possible. In the ﬁrst session(s) the analyst will be open to whatever you are telling her, understanding that it is difﬁcult to speak to a complete stranger. She may ask a few questions for clariﬁcation. You may need a few sessions to complete this outlining stage with the analyst.

From early on, you will be asked to speak without censoring, ordering your thoughts or rehearsing anything beforehand.

Your speciﬁc issues that brought you to seek help in the ﬁrst place are still there of course, but the analyst will encourage you to speak as openly as possible and not to focus just on your issues alone. This free speaking is referred to as free association and is the key to the analytic process. This takes some time to practice and you will be helped by the analyst to relax and speak as thoughts come into your mind. This is after all referred to as the talking cure.

If you agree to start an analysis, a time will be set each week for what is called your session Or more than once a week may be advised as regularity and frequency are important. A negotiated fee is payable at each session from the initial meeting, or paid once a month, whatever is agreed. (Sessions are normally paid for if they are missed unless due warning is given that a session will have to be missed. Payment is important so as to minimise the sense of being indebted to the analyst, and the analyst feels recompensed for her time and effort. Alongside free association, you will be asked to remember your dreams. Dreams give access to your deeper thoughts. Likewise, daydreams, fantasies and slips of the tongue, general errors and lapses behaviour that you might remember. Nothing is too trivial. Say it if it occurs to you. Or, maybe note things down if it is between sessions.

Part of your free associating will include: 1) The past events of childhood and relations with your parents and siblings and the wider family, as well as school. 2) Current events in your life and relationships. 3) How you feel about coming into the sessions and to the analyst each week, sometimes referred to as the transference.

WHAT DOES THE ANALYST DO?

The analyst’s job ﬁrst and foremost is to listen to what is being said, and will also be open to the feelings being expressed with or without words. The analyst will help tease apart the threads or the knots of your many layered narratives. Analysis means to loosen. This in turn frees up the free association.

At times the analyst will intervene, underlining certain words or phrases, slips of the tongue, language use, or to ask a question about what has been said, or to highlight what has been said. The analyst will also make links from time to time – links that may not have occurred to you before, between say the past and the present, or a dream element and everyday life, or one word / phrase and another, and so on. She may at times highlight what you are not saying or never speak about.

The analyst’s job is to analyse, to loosen, to shake up, to open up, to interrogate, to engage with your account of things in a way that is challenging to your defences, masks, roles, etc. We all have our necessary defences and during the analysis these need to be ‘rattled’ somewhat. Philosophers call this process deconstruction.

More speciﬁc interventions might include interpretations, deciphering of dreams, slips and idiosyncratic language usage. The analyst will highlight how conditionings came about, prohibitions, especially self-hate and punishment, low self-esteem.

Less frequently, the analyst will make tentative constructions of (childhood) scenarios that have been forgotten or were so early that no verbal memory was possible. These earliest ‘patterns’ have the most profound effects later in life, yet we likely as not have no awareness of them. Each of us was ‘thrown’ into the world and had to make do with where we landed with the parents and family we had. And a key part of the analysis is unpicking these deepest strata that affect us to this very day.

These analytic activities will often stir anxiety, anger, hatred and so on. And you may feel things are getting worse rather than better. This is part of the homeopathic process that the analyst will be very attentive to. You are going into problematic areas of life that have needed to be worked through and unknotted. People used to call this ‘facing their demons’ hate felled or resentful feelings, self-destructive feelings, shameful. embarrassing things from the past (and present) that can be reconsidered now in the calm space of the sessions and spoken about, maybe for the ﬁrst time. This is a key part of your analysis. During these times the analyst acts more as a container of strong feelings and anxieties to enable you to bear the strain.

WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM YOU?

All the interventions of the analyst are to be treated like everything else, that is by yet more free association. There is no obligation to conﬁrm or deny what the analyst has said now or in the past. All that is required is to ’take it on board’ and continue speaking, free associating as before.

Later, outside the sessions, odd thoughts, feelings, maybe stray words and phrases will occur to you at often inopportune times, ‘out of the blue’, from the past, or to do with dreams or recollections stirred by the analysis. It is important to make a mental or written notes of these however apparently trivial, as they are part of the ongoing free associative process continuing all the time often hidden from consciousness in between the sessions.

There is no need to look for these as they will occur naturally. Likewise, it is a good idea to note down what the analyst says in the sessions even if it does not make sense now, or you don’t agree, it may make sense later. Some people keep a dream diary in which they record dreams without sometimes having the least idea what they might signify. A year or two later they can make complete sense!

There is an expectation that you will reﬂect on the analytic process as it proceeds because it represents a great opportunity in which you are investing a great deal to understand the threads of your existence for the ﬁrst time, in the ‘rear-view mirror ‘. The analyst might suggest that you lie on the couch (if there is one) or sit at an angle, not face-to-face, so that you can focus on the stream of thoughts coming to you without worrying about what the analyst might think or want.

Remember that the artiﬁcial and special conditions for the analysis are there for you to speak and be listened to in a way that cannot occur anywhere else! You speak and your conscious and unconscious thought unfolds during the free association process. The analytic regularity is set up so that this can happen in the best possible conditions.

WHEN DO YOU STOP?

You stop when you feel that you have got all that you can get from the process in terms of speaking and being heard. You will have obtained insight into your life situation and your relationships. You will feel more alive and freer and in command of things. You will be more aware of your self-destructive behaviours.

FAQ

WHO CAN BE HELPED BY PSYCHOANALYSIS/PSYCHOTHERAPY?

In over a century since psychoanalysis/psychotherapy was first developed, thousands of people in many countries have sought help through this treatment and have found it helpful in making more sense of and feeling better about their lives. Psychoanalysis/psychotherapy may be helpful to those who suspect that difficulties in their lives have an emotional or psychological origin. Everyone experiences emotional problems at some stage in life and they are often resolved without outside help. However, sometimes they persist and are repeated in various aspects of our lives, because current issues stir up feelings from the past of which we are not consciously aware, and which get in the way of us living fulfilled lives. Emotional problems can be experienced in a variety of ways:
Feelings of anxiety and an inability to concentrate or cope
Feelings of emptiness, sadness or depression, suicidal behaviour
Extreme mood swings or frequent anger, rage
Low self-esteem or lack of confidence resulting in low achievement
Difficulty in making or sustaining relationships, or repeatedly becoming involved in unsatisfying or destructive or violent relationships.
Sexual problems
Social shyness and isolation
Addictive or obsessional behaviour (OCD) which may be related to alcohol, drugs, sex, internet use or gambling
Long term difficulties following losses such as bereavement, divorce, or job loss
Sleep problems (insomnia), nightmares
Phobias
Bipolar Disorder / Psychosis
Panic attacks
Eating disorders
Physical symptoms and psychosomatic illnesses like: IBS, alopecia, various skin complaints, autoimmune diseases

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Please find the extensive answer to this question in the section PSYCHOANALYSIS.

WOULD THE TREATMENT BE CONFIDENTIAL?

Yes!

In psychoanalysis/psychotherapy I aim to offer a consistent, safe and private space in which my patient feels free to talk about whatever is on his/her mind. Strict confidentiality is an essential prerequisite to this, and so I attach the highest importance to maintaining privacy with respect to all aspects of the analytic process.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Individual session €80

Couples & Family session €110

I understand that sometimes the fee payment can be difficult, please do not hesitate to discuss it with me.

IS PSYCHOTHERAPY BETTER THAN PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?

People who have been prescribed medication may also be helped by psychoanalysis/ psychotherapy. Medication is prescribed to help alleviate the symptoms of mood disturbances, such as anxiety or depression, whereas psychoanalysis/psychotherapy seeks to address the emotional roots of these symptoms. Some patients may need to be sufficiently stabilised by medication in order to be able to do the analytic work, which can in itself be an emotionally disturbing and sometimes painful process. Occasionally I suggest that the patients seek a consultation with their GP if they consider that medication might help them for a time.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PSYCHOANALYSIS, PSYCHOLOGY, COUNSELLING, PSYCHIATRY…?

There are numerous types of treatment available for psychological suffering and difficulties. While terms like counselling or psychotherapy, psychologist, psychiatrist, counsellor or psychoanalyst are used loosely and interchangeably, they are fundamentally different:

A psychiatrist or a general practitioner will approach things from a medical perspective, and they are likely to prescribe medication.

A counsellor will approach the treatment from the perspective of isolated issues that you may experience, and does not seek to explore the more far-reaching causes of your situation.

A clinical psychologist will aim to provide you with a clinical diagnosis with a view to referring you to a specialist, such as a cognitive behavioural therapist. The focus of this will be on correcting what they have diagnosed.

As opposed to these approaches, psychoanalysis is about speaking freely, and it begins from the premise that we may not be consciously aware of what makes us suffer. It does not seek to correct our behaviour, nor does it seek to make us ‘normal’. Instead, it privileges desire as central to the human condition. However, it also recognises that this desire may be masked by our psychological symptoms or obstructed by our inhibitions, and that it may be excessively influenced by the people and conditions that are part of our experience.

You can call me or use the booking system to make an appointment.

If you have a question you’d like to ask before scheduling a consultation, please submit it in the contact form.

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WELCOME TO YOUR ONLINE PSYCHOANALYTIC CLINIC

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Magda Kurzawska MA H.Dip. Reg. Prac. APPI / ICP - Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist / Clinic Director

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PSYCHOANALYSIS

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PREPARATION

Psychoanalysis/Psychotherapy is a talk-based therapy, so if two people can talk to each other privately it can take place. Dialling to an online, virtual consultation room can be done from anywhere. Here you will find some information about how to prepare for your first online session.

WHAT HAPPENS IN PSYCHOANALYSIS?

You probably have lots of questions about the psychoanalytic process. I hope that you’ll find some of the answers here.

FAQ

Please find below some answers to common questions people ask before making their initial appointment. Feel free to CONTACT me if you don’t find the answers you were looking for.

CONTACT

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