Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! In the 11 years I had my private practice in Zurich, I often experienced clients finding it difficult to commit to regular sessions — either because of time constraints or simply because progress felt too slow. I'm fully convinced that whatever we want to achieve only happens through commitment, and that's no different in counseling.

In that sense, the sessions at Engadin Counseling Retreats are no different from "normal" sessions — they just take place over days instead of months.

Besides the advantage of commitment, I also believe in the power of momentum. In weekly therapy, a lot happens between sessions that can be irritating for the client and distract from previous conversations. During the retreat, we keep the discussions focused on the topics that truly matter.

Of course, for people who have demanding jobs or families, a counseling session is just another appointment squeezed between traffic and errands. In 2019, I decided to give counseling a different context — one where the beauty of the Swiss Alps and a few relaxing days in the Engadin support the important decision to improve one's life.

An intensive retreat combines a preparation phase with several days of walk-and-talk sessions grounded in Adlerian psychology, held in nature.

The retreat already starts before we meet. It begins with assessments meant to make the sessions more goal-oriented and efficient. My clients appreciate having time to think about the questions and respond at their own pace. You can read more about this in my post The Power of Counseling Preparation.

On the first day, we meet in front of the hotel of your choice, which you book independently according to your preferences. From there, we walk easy trails for two hours. After a lunch break, we meet again and walk for another two hours. This isn't a sports exercise — it's important that we keep an easy pace so we can talk without difficulty, and I adapt to each client's walking ability. If we want, we can also sit on a bench, especially when I want to explain something on paper.

The Engadin is a dry area, so we have very few days of heavy rain. If the weather feels too unpleasant, there are covered benches to wait it out, or quiet corners in cafés that work well.

My preference is to keep it as natural as possible and stay open with the structure, so everyone feels comfortable.

There are many reasons that speak for walk-and-talk therapy, but what my clients appreciate most is that it feels very natural to talk to their counselor while walking through the Engadin landscape. Walking side by side in a space we all belong to makes it much easier to connect, and the conversation flows more easily.

Another advantage is more subconscious and concerns our thought processes: our brain is more active when we talk while walking. The movement, the fresh air, and the beauty of nature make us more resourceful in reaching our deeper thoughts and connecting the dots. It also supports our ability to think more openly and expansively.

An observation I've made is that, for many men, it's easier to talk when there are visual distractions. Women often have less difficulty maintaining eye contact for longer periods, but many men find it easier to talk when their eyes can wander to things around them.

And last but not least — therapy can be quite intense, and when the body is also a little tired in the evening, both mind and body are ready for a relaxing evening and a good night's sleep.

If you'd like to read more about the advantages of this approach, you can find more in my blog post Walk-And-Talk-Therapy.

I offer retreats of 3, 4, or 5 days. In the preliminary call, which is free, we discuss your goals and how long it may take to reach them. You're welcome to ask any questions there, which will help you decide on the right length for your retreat.

Compared to biweekly therapy, the 3-day retreat is equivalent to about 6 months of therapy, the 4-day retreat to about 8 months, and the 5-day retreat to about 10 months of biweekly sessions.

At the end of the retreat, we schedule 3 follow-up sessions, spaced 2 to 3 weeks apart.

Because the retreat is intensive and takes place within a fixed timeframe, it's easy for people to plan around it and travel to Scuol from abroad for a few focused days. For parents who want to bring their children along, I can help arrange a babysitter who can spend time with them while you're in your counseling sessions.

Not sure yet which length is right for you? Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute call — we'll discuss your needs and find the ideal duration for your journey.

In 2019, it suddenly dawned on me that counseling could be a more profound and honorable experience — one that should be carved out from daily routines, and that feels more natural than sitting in an office.

Why not use the power of nature, which we already know has a strong impact on us? All health clinics are built away from the noise, in beautiful landscapes — there's a reason for that. The work with a counselor should feel natural too, and it does when you walk side by side, rather than sit face to face across a desk.

And the moment someone decides to make a real change in how they live is significant. I believe it should be honored with a meaningful space in their life — one they will always remember with warmth, as the turning point they're forever happy to look back on.

Questioning one's identity and transforming what no longer serves us is one of the most important things we can do in life — perhaps the greatest gift we can give ourselves is the freedom to change old conditioning. Doing this work away from daily life, in a new and beautiful environment, makes it so much easier to achieve.

I work as a counselor in Adlerian Psychology, also known as Individualpsychology. Because my professional title and training are in counseling, I use counselor rather than therapist to describe my work.

I sometimes use the word therapy on this website in a general sense, because many people are familiar with terms such as individual therapy, couples therapy or therapy retreat when looking for psychological support. In my professional context, however, I offer counseling based on Adlerian Psychology.

Adlerian Psychology is the school of thought developed by Austrian psychiatrist and psychotherapist Alfred Adler. It takes a distinctive approach to understanding human behavior. Rather than looking only at what has caused a person's difficulties in the past (causality), Adlerian psychology also asks: What is this person trying to achieve, and where do they want to go? Adler called this way of thinking finality.

Our behavior can make more sense when we understand the goals, often outside our conscious awareness, that we are moving toward.

A simple example is a child crying because they want chocolate. The child's distress is real, and we can respond to it with empathy. At the same time, we can recognize that the crying may serve a purpose: the child wants to get the chocolate. Understanding that goal doesn't make the child's feelings less genuine. It simply gives us another way of understanding the behavior.

Adlerian counseling applies this perspective to adult life. We can explore the patterns behind our behavior, understand the goals we are pursuing, and consider whether those patterns are still serving us.

This is one reason I find Adlerian Psychology so empowering. We may not always be able to change what has happened to us, but we can develop greater awareness of our choices and courage to move forward.

For me, counseling is therefore not only about looking back at the past. It is also about understanding where we are going, finding more constructive ways to pursue our goals, and developing the courage to feel that we belong — even when life doesn't give us the "chocolate" we hoped for.

Yes. Every retreat is completely private and takes place one-to-one with an individual client or with one couple. There are no group sessions or other retreat participants.

All counseling sessions are confidential. Your accommodation is also entirely separate from mine, so you do not share accommodation or common spaces with me or with other clients. You choose your own hotel or other accommodation and make the reservation directly as a regular guest. I meet you outside the hotel for our sessions.

Confidentiality is a core part of my professional practice and is guided by the ethical standards of the Swiss counseling association.

The result is a retreat that gives you privacy, space and discretion — while allowing us to focus completely on the counseling work.

This retreat is a great fit for people who want to make meaningful progress in a concentrated period of time, who appreciate being outdoors, and who enjoy walking.

It's an excellent alternative for those with busy schedules who find it difficult to fit in biweekly appointments over several months. It's also the right opportunity for individuals who see the value in taking time for themselves, combining a self-care getaway with working on their mental health. In my post The Magic Between the Sessions, you can learn more about the value of staying in a relaxed state throughout the counseling process.

It's also for people who have experienced unsuccessful therapies in the past and want to try a new approach.

The Adlerian psychology I work with is goal-oriented, holistic, and considered a form of positive psychology. This approach is appreciated by clients who don't want to spend too much time revisiting the past, but who want a practical, healing way forward. I'm a certified Adlerian Counselor, trained at the Akademie für Individualpsychologie in the Canton of Zurich.

The retreat may also be suitable for people who prefer to arrange counseling privately rather than through their health insurance.

What started as a handful of retreats in 2019 has grown into a steady practice, with clients coming from all around Switzerland and as far as the Mediterranean, the US, and the UK. You can read what past clients say about their experience here: Testimonials.

The retreat is not for people who want or need their health insurance to cover their sessions. It's also not the right fit for those who prefer a slower process or who don't enjoy being outdoors.

If you recognize yourself in this description, I'd love to hear more about your situation. Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute call.

Yes — this is a core part of what I do. Many of my clients are expats, and what looks like anxiety, low mood, or relationship strain after a move is very often a form of grief the person doesn't recognize as grief. I explore this in depth in my book Cultural Grief. A retreat gives you the space and time to understand what's really going on beneath the struggle — not just cope with it, but make sense of it.

Absolutely — this is actually my aim with the retreat format. I want people to enjoy their time in counseling and look back on it as a wonderful experience connected to very nice memories.

Because sessions take place outdoors, walking through the Engadin's pristine natural surroundings, and thanks to the breaks between sessions, the work itself has a restorative quality. Outside of session time, you're free to rest at your hotel, visit a public spa, or simply enjoy other activities that make the days feel like a relaxing holiday. Clients regularly tell me they return home not just having made progress, but genuinely feeling like they've had a holiday — rested, recharged, and encouraged, and often telling me how life-changing the days with me were, and how grateful they are to have made the decision to come. You can read more on my Testimonials page.

Not at all — rather than leaving the sessions after one hour, we have enough space to attend to your memories. Nature also plays a big part in you feeling held in the process of uncovering early sadnesses that continue to influence your decisions as an adult.

Given the depth this kind of work often requires, the 5-day retreat may be the right fit for you — equivalent to about 10 months of biweekly counseling.

We always discuss this together during the free 30-minute call, to make sure you feel confident and safe in your decision.

I work with individuals and couples — the retreat format works very well across both settings, since it creates days of uninterrupted space to talk, rather than the usual weekly gaps of traditional therapy.

Couples often use the retreat to work through a crisis, years of unspoken tension, or to regain a connection they feel they've lost — with time away from daily distractions, and days that belong only to them.

I understand how urgent that can feel. A retreat can typically be arranged faster than a new opening in weekly therapy, and because the days are consecutive, you don't lose time waiting between sessions while things stay unresolved. Many couples come to me at exactly this point — when the usual pace of therapy feels too slow for what's happening right now.

A retreat can't guarantee an outcome — no form of therapy can. But having offered both traditional weekly therapy and retreat-based work, I can say clearly: in my experience, couples can make deeper progress in the retreat format. The focused time and depth of conversation are often impossible to reach in weekly sessions — which can give couples valuable space to find a way forward.

Some couples hope that simply giving it time will help things improve on their own. In my experience, that's rarely true when a couple is genuinely struggling — waiting usually lets distance grow, not close. A retreat works differently: it brings encouraging results within days, and that early progress gives couples real optimism and strength to keep working through their differences, rather than drifting further apart while waiting to see what happens.

That said, the retreat works best when both partners are ready to engage openly, even if it's uncomfortable — for example, during a crisis, after a betrayal, or after years of unspoken tension.

You don't have to wait for your partner to be ready to seek help.

If your partner doesn't want to participate in a couples retreat, you can come on your own and use the retreat to work on the relationship from your side. We can explore what is happening between you, understand your own patterns and responses, and look at what you can change or approach differently.

Sometimes, when one person begins to understand their own contribution to a relationship dynamic and finds new ways of responding, this can create a shift in the relationship as a whole. And sometimes the work helps you gain clarity about what you genuinely want and what is possible for the relationship.

An individual retreat is not a substitute for couples counseling, because your partner isn't part of the process. But it can be a valuable first step when one partner is ready to work and the other isn't — yet, or perhaps at all.

You don't need to convince your partner before taking care of your own part of the relationship.

Yes — I can also work in French and Italian, although the preparation materials for the retreat are only available in English and German. With AI, though, it's very easy to get a quick translation of the assessments if needed.

Feel free to mention your language preference when you contact me to schedule your free 30-minute call.

Cultural Grief is my hypothesis about what happens to people who relocate to another country.

During my time in Zurich, I realized that the difficulties people faced after moving often had less to do with childhood or deep psychological issues, and more to do with grief.

When the brain recognizes a loss, it starts the grieving process — and if we're not aware of it, the emotions that arise can take us by surprise and leave us confused about what's happening.

In my book Cultural Grief, I explain this process and how to work with difficult emotions during the transition of adapting to a new social environment.

This is especially relevant for expats and internationally mobile people — those who've relocated for work, love, or a new chapter in life, and who may not even realize that what they're feeling is grief.

Grief is always a significant part of our lives — we don't only grieve the loss of a person through death, but also the ending of a relationship, the loss of youth, of material things, or of a wonderful phase in life.

Through my many years of working with people who have relocated abroad, I've developed a strong sense for when grief is part of someone's distress — whether it stems from relocation or from other challenges life brings. I believe grief is something we're often unaware of, even though it's a natural process happening to every human. Grieving consciously helps us mature and improve our mental and emotional wellbeing.