Agneta Johannsen.
I have two graduate degrees (Psychological Counseling and Anthropology) from two American universities. My undergraduate degree is from the University of Hamburg. I am married and a mother.
I have worked for more than 19 years in the international humanitarian field, ten years of which I spent at the United Nations assisting war-affected populations. Once in a while I still take on consulting projects in this field.
Over time my focus shifted to work with individuals, because their behavior, desires, hopes and adjustment strategies are an essential element of successful societies. Inspired by these insights, and my own search for meaning in my life and creating new choices, I trained for three years as a professional psychological counselor resulting in an M.A, and started building up my own private practice. My clients come from very different nationalities, and are sometimes newcomers to Geneva.
During and after my basic training I received special training in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Gestalt Therapy under the tutelage of several more experienced therapists. I have also earned continuing education credits in Trauma Response. One of my particular interests relates to mind-body connections, believing that only when mind and body are seen as integrative parts of who we are, do we truly heal. I have been in private practice for roughly 8 years.
Today I look at my work as a counselor as an essential part of my life. I can sometimes be a catalyst, often active listener or “journey accompanyist”. Sometimes I act as the person who carefully pushes you in a new direction. Often clients approach their problems with a lot of courage and, with the help of a variety of resources, indeed make significant progress on their personal path. Such progress gives energy and inspiration to the client, but also to me.
In addition to offering individual and couples sessions I also take on training and coaching assignments, and work as a researcher and writer. I am completely bilingual in English and German and offer services in either language.
I am an extraordinary member of the Federation of Swiss Psychologists (FSP), a member of the “Association Vaudoise des Psychologues” (AVP), a professional counselor with ANSCo membership (Swiss National Association of Counseling) and a professional member of the American Counseling Association (ACA). I am registered with ASCA (Swiss Foundation for Alternative and Complementary Medicine) as a psychologist/psychotherapist and inscribed in the Geneva registry for complementary therapies as a psychologist. I am also fortunate to be part of a peer review network of counselors in the Geneva area, and benefit from regular supervision by a senior clinical psychologist and professor. I am also well connected with professionals in other therapeutic fields, such as naturapathy, chinese medicine, massage therapy, and energy healing, and am happy to make referrals, should this be indicated.
