Bio

I was already fascinated by human biology during my school years. Still, the decision to study medicine only came during my time in civilian service, where I worked as a paramedic for the Red Cross and helping people in difficult situations was the order of the day. Studying medicine in Innsbruck was learning-intensive and challenging, and significant was my joy when I graduated as a doctor of all medicine in 2008. 

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At first, I decided on internal medicine; psychiatry, which was only taught in fragments during my studies, was yet to be on my radar. The transition to everyday hospital life, with many responsibilities and decisions that had to be made daily, was a challenge in addition to the long hours. The growing doubts about whether this job would be fulfilling for me, in the long run led me to take some time off, and I visited Hamburg for 4 months to complete a course in tropical medicine at the Bernhard Nocht Institute.

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After completing the course, I found a job for 3 months at the Psychiatric University Hospital in Innsbruck. I saw psychiatry as the gateway to the university hospital. Still, from the beginning, I liked the work and was interested in learning more about mental illnesses and people's fates. As the focus of treatment was on psychopharmacological therapy and less on psychotherapy, I decided to move to Zurich in May 2013 to complete the remaining training period at the Kilchberg Sanatorium and learn psychotherapeutic skills in the day clinic and the outpatient clinic in an interdisciplinary context. 

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Graduating as a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy and beginning a relationship in Barcelona in December 2015 opened the chapter into self-employment. As my partner sparked the body therapy interest in me in treating mental illness, we combined our strengths and opened the New Leaves Practice in August 2017. We have had the privilege of meeting many people over the last 5 years and expanding our knowledge through experience and process. Further training in Somatic Experiencing and training in Neuro- and Biofeedback, which I completed in May 2022, were the ideal complement to accompany more people in their processes in the future.