Counseling
in nature
With
Martina Famos
Certified Adlerian Counselor AFI
Certified Coach and Group Coach GPI
Holistic Counseling in Nature
In Scuol, Engadin, I offer counseling retreats that are not a group effort
but personalized for individuals, couples, and parents.
These retreats are a unique opportunity to gain new perspectives far away from everyday life and to deal intensively with personal issues. The method benefits people who want an alternative and, simultaneously, more efficient therapies that are goal-oriented, save time and money, and bring immediate results instead of months of consultation.
Positive Psychology
Adlerian Psychology, also referred to as Positive Psychology, empowers clients by focusing on their unique strengths, encouraging self-awareness, and fostering a sense of belonging. Through collaborative exploration, you gain insights into your goals, enhance problem-solving skills, and develop a strong foundation for positive change, ultimately leading to a more fulfilling life journey.
Approach Private Counseling Retreats
That trauma therapy, transformational counseling, and restoring a love relationship is supposed to be a long process is a myth. The question I get asked most is if it's even possible to see results that fast and if they are sustainable. The answer is a clear yes. It's not time in therapy that helps to change; it's the quality of the consultations, the client's commitment, and momentum.
Testimonial
"Talking about difficult topics and the freedom of being in nature makes this a perfect combination I can recommend to everyone."
Client recovering from trauma.
This link will take you to more testimonials.
Coverage of Retreats
Click on the retreat you seek and be directed to the related page. For your information: Trauma Therapy is only available during retreats, as is Marriage Counseling, Couples Counseling, Connecting with Teenagers, and Marriage and Family Therapy.
The Parenting Course is available only online. All other requirements I cover during retreats and online.
Trauma therapy, social issues, work related problems, anger management therapy, stress and anxiety, grief and recovery, family problems, cultural clashes, lack of purpose and meaning.
Marriage or couples counseling - strenghten the connection, building common goals, improve communication, healing the relationship after hardship.
Ending negative patterns, connecting with teenagers, and support if there are parenting disagreements in the relationship or if you need a marriage and family therapist.
Helping you choose the right retreat
The Private Counseling Retreats are available for 3, 5, or 12 days and take place in Scuol. During a preliminary half-hour call, we can discuss your goals and understand which retreat fits you best. Our conversation is non-binding and shall also help me know if I'm the right counselor for you.
Why counseling in nature is highly effective
Before offering Private Counseling Retreats in Scuol, I practiced in Zurich for over 11 years, always thinking of how much more profound, effective, and far-reaching counseling had to be with more time, the possibility of moving, and being out in nature.
In 2019 I invited some clients to test the approach with me, and I haven't returned to traditional counseling ever since.
I have always trusted that nature is the best counseling space!
Physical well-being, the open space, and enough time to talk have a strong influence on the mental condition of the client and a substantial impact on the success of the counseling results.
The quietness, the colors, the fresh air, and the belongingness we sense in nature lift our mood and broaden our mental ability; nature has a magical effect on us. Sometimes a change of perspective on a belief can immediately heal an experience that created a constraint for many years.
The benefits of recreation and therapy
Facts known from traditional recreational clinics
Recreational therapy has a more powerful all-embracing effect because you are rested, relaxed and distant from your stressful environment.
The daily consultations allow momentum, which is one of the significant factors for successful results. And due to the intensity, a retreat helps you save time, money and the effort of long-term commitment.
The reason why recreational clinics are close to nature is that nature has a healing effect.
Transformational counseling
'I first started working with Martina during couples counseling. Although I didn't know it back then, the decision to come to the Engadine mountains turned out to be one the best I have ever taken.
Following the couple of days in the mountains, I have seen the change Martina stirred in me and decided to continue with individual therapy sessions. This was literally the start of a new chapter of my life. Martina has helped me heal from the past, but even more importantly, she equipped me with strategies, tools, and mindset to live in, for me, a truly transformative way. For this, I am eternally grateful!'
An intensive therapy retreat with a lot of individuality
Scuol offers a wide range of accommodations.
The choice is yours, and I'm happy to give you recommendations.
I'm your counselor, but I'm also your local connection, and it will be my pleasure to inform you about the secret spots to enjoy nature, the best food to eat, what to do in town, and to assist you when you have a problem. I will also adapt to your walking pace and ensure you will see different parts of Scuol and its surroundings.
You will certainly fall in love with the Lower Engadine and find many beautiful things to do outside the counseling time.
Alfred Adler and the Individual Psychology
Before offering Private Counseling Retreats, I practiced in Zurich for over 11 years. I'm certified in Adlerian psychology, also referred to as Positive or Holistic Psychology. A positive psychologist focuses on the client's qualities to build on further resources. You can read more about my counseling psychology experience on my
bio page.
Adlerian Psychology is a depth psychology with which the problem is looked at from a holistic point of view. This helps you understand yourself but also the negative and positive conditions around you and under which influences you have shaped your belief system and what of it is worth keeping, and what you are better off without.
Not Covered Counseling Service
A psychologist can help you with many topics but can't give you the best guidance in areas they have no training.
I can't help you with substance abuse or addictions or offer sex therapy. I can help you with a diagnosed personality disorder in collaboration with your psychiatrist.
I'm not specifically a marriage and family therapist; however, due to my training and years of experience in parenting counseling and marriage counseling, I can help you understand where your problems as an individual and as a couple translate into your parenting style that creates an imbalance on the relationship with your child. A family therapist would work equally with each individual in the family. I observe the dynamics and talk to all, but I will counsel the parents on how to obtain change through their redirecting behavior.
I'm not an ADHD therapist, but with the holistic methods of Adlerian psychology, I'm happy to guide you if you are diagnosed with ADHD and will approach it as a trauma consequence.
Insurance doesn't cover my service. Don't hesitate to contact me if you are unsure about my coverage.
Online Counseling
Online counseling is an alternative and an additional way of working with me. After understanding self-expansion, some clients like to explore more and continue working with me virtually.
If taking time from your daily life to see me during a private counseling retreat is impossible, you should not be held back in your desire to pursue a better life. I believe in the benefits of online counseling mainly because it doesn't put any additional strain on your time and resources by going out of your routine to seek help.
Approach Online Counseling
Online counseling helps us save resources, such as time and means to go from one address to another. That easiness generates the possibility of meeting more often in a shorter period. I offer online counseling to individuals and parents. Marriage counseling and couples counseling is available during the retreats only.
I no longer offer counseling in the traditional way, where the client books session by session but as a transformational ten-session program for individuals and a ten-session training for parents. I aim to help people experience change quickly and avoid year-long therapies. It's a myth that transformation requires months of hard work and patience.
I have worked with these programs for over eight years, and the results are highly encouraging.
A testimonioal of an online client
Excellent, structured program, with a optimal mix of online assets, homework and coaching with Martina. Martina has a great, positive energy, is super caring, non-judgemental and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. I learned a lot from her program, about myself and ultimately a more rational way to approach life! A wise investment indeed, enabling a more fulfilling path towards true happiness.
Client from the U.S.
This link will take you to more testimonials.
The Convenience of Online Counseling
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The advantages of talking remotely
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Thanks to online counseling, you can access help from where you are.
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Virtual meetings save you time finding parking, dealing with traffic, and taking extra time out of your day.
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It gives more flexibility in finding time for appointments.
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The benefits of virtual meetings
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I use the great benefits of online counseling and work with different methods than in-person.
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The easiness of virtual sessions allows a tighter sequence, momentum and commitment.
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We will record the sessions if you like to listen to the conversation again later.
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The freedom of online counseling
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The sessions can take place conveniently in an environment you feel very comfortable in.
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You have more control over feeling relaxed before, during, and after the sessions.
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You don't need to familiarize yourself with the counselor's environment, which feels more equal.
Online Counseling for Individuals
People sometimes stop coming to counseling when they are in a slightly better place, not possibly imagining how much further transformation can go. The counselor would overstep a boundary in telling the client what to do. Therefore I gave my clients the choice of taking traditional counseling or enrolling in a structured counseling journey.
Because commitment and keeping momentum are crucial for success in counseling, I have designed a program of ten sessions lasting 3-4 months that help my clients come full circle with their transformational process.
Hundreds of clients have experienced great transformation through this program, and because of the positive results, I'm no longer offering sessions the traditional way.
A counseling program for personal transformation
In the Active Rational Transformation Program I work with the principles of Adlerian psychology, REBT Therapy Methods by A. Ellis, Purpose of Emotions by G. McKay and D. Dinkmeyer, Encouragement by Theo Schoenaker, and GPI by U. Bärtschi. Every method is to understand the mind, how thoughts are the source of our emotions, and how we act according to them. These techniques help you understand yourself and why specific thought processes lead to unhealthy emotions or situations.
A testimonial about the program
"The Active Rational Transformation program has helped me recognize aspects of my personality that triggered overwhelming negative feelings about myself. In these sessions, Martina made me feel immediately at ease and welcomed all my line of thoughts without judgment. She easily adapted to my critical thinking and step-by-step has guided me through this journey to identify the triggers of my negativity and insecurity, always reminding me and encouraging me to also recognize and embrace the good things about myself. These sessions had already a very positive impact on my life and today I feel happier and at peace with myself."
Client from Portugal
Coverage of online counseling
The online program will help you with self-esteem issues, insecurities, and lack of belongingness, as an anger management therapy, improving your work and private life balance, and healing negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, compulsiveness, boredom, guilt, and shame. It's perfect for personal growth, improving management skills, rebuilding your confidence after a burn-out, or preventing a burn-out.
This link leads you to a list of unhealthy emotions if you feel them occasionally, frequently, or often. This list shall help you become aware of emotions that may seem "normal" in the sense that you are used to them or because you notice other people having them too.
Enrolling in the online program
To learn more about the Active Rational Transformation Program, you can book a free half-hour preliminary call that isn't binding and visit the Online Counseling page for Individuals to find details about the package.
Online Counseling for Parents
We are the best parents before having children, but the well-intended principles of doing it better can fall off when children become challenging. When triggered, patterns from one's upbringing seem to take over, leaving feelings of regret, bad conscience, guilt, and the idea of not being a good enough parent.
A Training for Positive Parenting
I offer a Positive Parenting Training in a ten-step learning process based on Adlerian psychology, also known as positive or holistic psychology. If you are looking for a family therapist, this program will help you save time, money and become a competent parent for the rest of your parenting years. The Positive Parenting Training is based on Adlerian Principles, Jane Nelsen's Positive Discipline Techniques, and the STEP Theory (Systemisches Training für Eltern und Pädagogen)
The training is solving your parenting issues
The training is a structured ten-module sequence where we look at your individual situation step by step.
It's a perfect fit for the following parents:
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For parents-to-be, parents with a troubling, diagnosed child, or overwhelmed parents.
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For parents that want to end their negative patterns or improve their parenting skills.
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If you feel your child is not listening, and if you feel annoyed, irritated, agitated, and frustrated with them.
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If your child behaves in ways that make you feel challenged, provoked, angry, threatened, defeated
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If their words hurt you, and you want to hurt back, and if they make you feel disappointed, embarrassed, disbelieving, disgusted.
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If your child acts in passive ways and make you feel desperate, hopeless, powerless, or indadeuqte.
Enrolling in the parenting training
To learn more about the Parenting Training, you can book a free half-hour preliminary call that isn't binding and visit the Online Parenting Training page to find details about the package.