Mr Jean-Pierre Hartmann

Jean-Pierre works as a Schema Therapist. This is an evidence-based integrative psychotherapy steeped in attachment and psychodynamic theory with a strong focus on cognitive, behavioral, and experiential interventions.

Schema Therapy is suited for a wide variety of different psychological problems. However, it is well-suited for problems that are deeply ingrained with a strong overt (or even covert) emotional component such as personality problems, frequent panic attack experiences, ongoing traumatic stress (especially regarding childhood experiences), dissociation (depersonalization, derealization), experience of aggression (towards others) as well as self-directed violence (self-harm). It also tends to help with treatment-resistant anxiety and depression.

Schema therapy is usually considered a medium to long-term therapy process; however, it also lends itself to short time-limited working together. It works well for patients who have specific life areas that they want to work on in a focused manner and who also want to track their development.

About Jean-Pierre as a therapist and person

Overall, Jean-Pierre can be described as warm, kind, and approachable. He is honest, direct, and humorous.

As a therapist, he actively engages with empathy, prioritizing the client's concerns to ensure therapy transcends casual conversation to offer his clients meaningful engagement. Jean-Pierre believes the hard task of psychotherapy is: 1) to help a person understand their current self in relation to their past self and 2) to facilitate genuine transformation of distressing emotions and behaviors in individuals. This is only possible when psychological understanding is married with the client's lived experience - requiring a fostered open and shared space between the therapist and the client. As a therapist, Jean-Pierre aims to be connected and authentic, contrary to the mystiques that usually engulf the therapeutic process.

Jean-Pierre maintains an active interest in new developments in evidence-based and experiential psychotherapies, through curious reading of the latest publications and conference attendance. Areas of particular interest include the treatment of trauma, especially complex developmental trauma, personality problems, as well as dissociative phenomena. Actively involved in various professional groups, he regularly participates in ongoing consultation groups and seeks supervision to continuously nurture his professional development.

Schema Therapy

Since completing the basic psychotherapy training (masters & internship) covering psychodynamic therapy, narrative therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and interpersonal therapy, Jean-Pierre has dedicated a lot of time and energy into furthering his psychotherapeutic knowledge and skill. He has developed a strong affinity for Schema Therapy, an integrative approach that combines experiential focus with evidence-based principles. In avoiding unnecessary jargon, this therapy adeptly merges valuable aspects of psychodynamic and attachment theories, offering insight into personality development and entrenched, recurring psychological challenges. It's acknowledged that psychological problems (disorders) stem from distressing early experiences that were managed through various coping mechanisms, which have ceased to be effective. The therapeutic task is to heal the original pain and develop healthier ways of coping. Schema Therapy goes beyond psychodynamic insights and incorporates a number of cognitive and behavioral interventions to change self-limiting beliefs. A salient characteristic of a schema therapist lies in skillfully employing diverse experiential interventions like imagery, chair-work, and body-centered emotion focusing, to take the therapy beyond just words.

Curious but have some questions?
Curious but have some questions? Reaching out for help can be very challenging, not being sure if there will be a goodness of fit can be hard based on a few written words. If you feel the urge to reach out, but are not certain it would be my pleasure to speak (online or telephonically) with you to answer any questions you might have. I can offer a no-charge, no-obligation 15-minute conversation. It is an opportunity for us to meet to ask me questions and to decide if we could work well together. This is NOT a free/trails session or assessment session. If you would like to take me up on this offer, leave me a message below specifically requesting this.