I'm an fully qualified and accredited psychotherapist treating clients in the UK and in Germany since 2006. I am specialised in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy (CBT), but my training and approach to therapy is very integrative. I incorporate and blend techniques and interventions from Mindfulness-based therapies, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Schema Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotion-focused Therapy (EFT), Compassion-focused Therapy (CFT), Gestalt Therapy and Logotherapy.
My approach to therapy is focused on the practical, problem-solving aspects of CBT, but brings in other therapeutic elements with the aim of helping clients to come to a deeper understanding of their emotional, cognitive and behavioural patterns. I believe that, in order to establish long-term change, we must develop a good understanding of our problems before we can implement tools and interventions successfully.
I feel that a safe and respectful therapeutic relationship between therapist and client is crucial for the success of any therapy, and I thus put a very strong focus on this relationship in my practice. I have worked with an extremely wide range of clients, individually and in groups, from 18 to 86, and from a myriad of different social and cultural backgrounds.
I have in-depth experience working with clients suffering from the following issues:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Social phobia
- Panic attacks
- Personality disorders/Personality issues
- Relationship issues
- Anger management
- Psychosis
- Existential themes like grief, meaning, isolation etc.
- Challenges around being highly sensitive
Since 2013, I have developed a particular interest in sensitivity and its relationship with mental health and also offer HSP consultations and HSP assessments. For several years, I have been supervised and trained by clinical psychologist Dr Elaine Aron, author and pioneer in sensitivity research. I have also published a book on sensitivity, The Highly Sensitive Man (HarperCollins, 2019), which has been translated into several languages and was described as "a balm, a movement, and a revelation" by singer-songwriter-activist Alanis Morissette.
My work has been featured in podcasts, television, film, radio and international publications, including The Telegraph, Psychology Today, Men's Health and Stern. Alongside my work as a psychotherapist, I'm also completing a PhD on the relationship between sensitivity and mental health at Queen Mary University of London with Professor Michael Pluess.
I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the German Society for Behavioural Therapy (DGVT) and the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP), having been awarded their European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP). I abide by their ethical frameworks.
Please do get in touch by email for individual therapy or HSP consultations and assessments.
For updates on HSP-related workshops, podcasts and books, please follow Tom on Instagram: @tomfalkenstein
To find out more about Tom's research project on sensitivity and mental health, please visit the project's website.
