Category: creative time studio

Matter of Choice: Self-Exploration Workshop, May 2024

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Recently the topic of choice has been very present in various domains around and therefore I have designed a workshop for self-reflection and self-exploration on this matter, the matter of choice. 

It would be great to see you there!

Kind regards,

Anna 

The Matter of Choice:
Self-reflection and self-exploration workshop

In-person in Copenhagen:

May 15 and May 22, 2024
18:00 to 20:00
Price: 550 DKK
Registration: https://system.easypractice.net/event/matter-of-choice-d56ed

Online:

May 14 and May 21, 2024
17:00 to 19:00
Price: 550 DKK
Registration: https://system.easypractice.net/event/matter-of-choice-9cd9a

This workshop is a space to reflect on the matter of choice, what do we associate it with. How does it manifest itself in our daily lives, in our professional and personal lives, in our emotional lives, where is it most present with us?

What are the choices we make or have already made and was there something that happened to us that we did not choose? How do we live those experiences?

Are our attitudes, moods and emotions, values and beliefs, a matter of choice?

Looking at the choices we make, how do they unfold in our personal history, but also in the history of the previous generations in our families, what is the greater context of choices (cultural, historical, etc.), where do those choices lead us? Is there a way to know it? How do we deal with the uncertainty as we must choose without knowing in advance about the outomce and consequences.

We might touch upon the topics of existential choice, conscious choice, values, time, comparisons we make, inner consent, sorrow, regret or joy, forgiveness and gratitude, freedom and responsibility.

Workshop leader:
Anna Sircova, PhD

Clinical psychologist, researcher and educator. Practices Existential Analysis and Logotherapy. Specializes in transitions and endings, psychology of time, existential questions. Passionate for cross-disciplinary approach, visual arts and other creative endeavors.

Her work concentrates on saying “yes” to life, on finding your personal time, core essence, meaning and fulfillment. Denmark is the sixth country that became her home (Latvia – USA – Russia – Spain – Sweden – Denmark). Founder of Creative Time Studio, with over 20 years of research experience in exploring the concept of time.

TEDx speaker, expert in creative processes, well-being, psychology of time, futurization and so much more.

Some things to contemplate on:

“Life is a sum of all your choices” ~ Pythagoras

Lewis Carroll’s Alice tells the Cheshire Cat: “I don’t much care where … so long as I get somewhere.“

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night

Theodor Geisel / Dr. Seuss “What Pet Should I Get?”
The cat?

Or the dog?
The kitten?
The pup?
Oh boy!

It is something
to make a mind up.
Then I looked at Kay.
I said, “What will we do?

I like all the pets that I see. So do you.
We have to pick ONE pet
and pick it out soon.
You know Mother told us
to be back by noon.”
“I will do it right now.

I will do it!” I said.
“I will make up the mind
that is up in my head.”
The dog…? Or the rabbit…?

The fish…? Or the cat…?
I picked one out fast,
and that that was that.

Baldwin
Nothing is more unbearable, once one has it, than freedom.

“When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.” ~ Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

What Am I Working On Now – Spring 2023

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This spring is quite eventful!

Hosting Events at Creative Time Studio

February 20 & 21 we were lucky to have Ekaterina Zhuikova with the workshop on genogram method – exploring family history, learning about ancestors, relationships, and mechanisms of transferring family patterns.

April 22 workshop Reducing anxiety and depression symptoms: self-care strategies together with Zuzanna Gruszczyńska

April 24 workshop on Saying ‘Yes’ to Life Despite the Dark Future – as a follow-up on the recent session on environmental depression and climate anxiety combined with my exploration of images of the future.

May (exact date to be confirmed) – visit to the Solbjerg Park Cemetery together with the guide, Peter Hyldekjaer, a retired librarian, and a discussion afterwards.

June 27 to July 2 – Creative Time Studio on the go – Twists & Turns event in Greece – registration is open and there is an early bird price till mid April.

There might be more events – keep an eye on the schedule!

Academic visits in India in March

Most of March I am travelling in India and delivering talks and workshops at various universities. I am very much looking forward to this trip! You can follow LinkedIn or Facebook page and in case you are in India at the time, do let me know! It would be wonderful to connect there! If you know some people I should connect while there – please let me know as well!

I will be in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi.

Academic visit in Istanbul, Turkey in March

March 23 – workshop on Future of Tourism and Travel: Sustainability Aspects at Boğaziçi Üniversitesi.

Participating in Danish Research Festival, 21-28 April

Some of my workshops and talks are available through “Book the Scientist” program – your organization can book those until March 27: Where Is My Time? and Creating Safe Spaces and Engaging with the Scary Future

Presenting at the 3rd World Congress of Existential Therapy, 3-7 May, Athens

“Finding a personal response to global challenges” – project presentation together with Zoe Ilic

Teaching

This Spring semester I am teaching on:

  • Varieties of Temporal Experiences
  • Likes and Dislikes Workshop: An Existential Analysis Approach. Uncovering our Values Existentially.
  • Introduction to Art-Therapy
  • Psychological Time & Well-Being
  • How we and the environment benefit from reflecting on time perspectives?
  • Finding ways to engage with the dark future

Do any of the topics sound interesting and you would like to run it in your organization – please reach out!

Learning

I continue learning more about Existential Analysis & Logotherapy. This spring our cohort has two final modules: February and May. However, we are already planning some special seminars for the fall.

Running my private psychotherapy practice in Copenhagen

I specialize in transitions and endings, psychology of time and Balanced Time Perspective coaching and existential questions. I work in English and Russian, both in-person and online. I work with individuals and couples. Currently, I also work Pro Bono with people affected by the war in Ukraine. I have some availability – feel free to reach out. 

Workshop: Genogram Method with Ekaterina Zhuikova | Feb 20 or Feb 21 | Copenhagen

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I cordially invite you to join me and my colleague, Ekaterina Zhuikova (Nafplio, Greece), at our event: The genogram method: History of family relationships and their impact on our lives. 

We will run the event a few times and in different languages – so hopefully, one or the other time would work for you! 

Dates: 

Monday, Feb 20, 11.00-13.00 – in English

Monday, Feb 20, 18.00-20.00 – in Russian

Tuesday, Feb 21, 18.00-20.00 – in English

Venue: Creative Time Studio, Rantzausgade 34A, st. tv (Det Blaa on the buzz)

Cost: 300 Dkk

Ekaterina is a Clinical Psychologist, Family and Child Psychotherapist with 20 years of counseling experience, focusing on studying the influence of family history on actual life patterns and the intercultural context in human life.

Together with Ekaterina, you will investigate the methods of exploring your family’s history to understand the need that arises in moments of life when we are trying to comprehend our identity and expand our sense of ourselves. 

With the genogram method, we will display the family history holistically, compare the dates of key family events, explore the losses and difficult events experienced by the family, and build a sociogram of the relationship between your family members.

Together with Ekaterina, we will go more in-depth into studying your family history using the genogram method. That visually will support us not only in learning about our ancestors but also about relationships, experiences, significant events in their lives, and how they influenced the family’s life, our ancestors’ decisions, and intra-family relations.

You will be able to learn from practicing the method and look at the principles of building a genogram. Looking deep into your family’s history is a need that arises in moments of life when we are trying to comprehend our identity and expand our understanding of ourselves.

Registration:

Feb 20, at 11.00 (in English)

Feb 20, at 18.00 (in Russian)

Feb 21, at 18.00 (in English) 

We hope that you will be able to join us and share your reflections with us!

Sincerely, 

Anna

On Environmental Depression

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Recently a colleague reached out with a question if I could lead a session on climate/ environmental depression during class time as students have specifically requested a psychologist to talk to them about it.

Some of the questions asked were:

  • How to manage climate anxiety?
  • How to avoid depression, when working in climate science and ecology?
  • How to cope with feelings, while maintaining objectivity in work? How to avoid nihilism and despair? 
  • How can one working in the environmental science field manage a good work life balance, such as being able to enjoy life and stay happy knowing all the scary things we learn and see on a daily basis. 

We talked about the foundation on which ‘non-anxiety’ can be built, such as having the feeling of support, space and protection, trust and endurance. In terms of working professionally with the highly touching topics – to be able to protect oneself, to know own borders, capacities, abilities and inabilities, personal scope – what is possible for me personally in this particular context and circumstances? I shared my own experiences in becoming a clinical psychologist – while visiting various clinics during my studies I have realized that I am not able to work in child psychiatry – I couldn’t see myself as able to provide good help there. I have huge respect for those colleagues who can.

We talked about the importance of:

  • preventive measures of emotional burnout – possibility of having something similar to supervision process, peer groups or intervisions.
  • knowing own values – knowing what is important for oneself and why it is important? Doing check-ins with oneself by the end of the day: Have I lived my values today?
  • being selective with consuming the information that comes in from various directions. Not reading the news everyday and really paying attention to the news with positive initiatives, because they are there, but might not have all the spotlight attention on them.
  • finding the healthy outlet for difficult emotions that might be directed to specific people, entities, previous generations. Emotions need to be recognized and then it becomes possible to see the situation in more productive and solution oriented way.

And most importantly to give oneself permission to live. To be true to own values and not to get overwhelmed by new contexts, making our best in not falling into conformism. To remember that even the small actions are important, as they continue to live in one form or the other.

If your organization has a similar need – to have a questions and answers session on the topic of climate / environmental depression or dark future anxiety – please reach out!

WHAT AM I WORKING ON NOW – FALL 2022

During Fall 2022 I am:

DEVELOPING

A unique event in Greece tailored for those who want to learn something new about themselves, get inspiration, and find new ways of working. In collaboration with Ekaterina Zhuikova, clinical psychologist, family and child psychotherapist. June 27 to July 2, 2023, Greece. More info to follow soon. ..

Training course on Balanced Time Perspective coaching for practitioners – end of March 2023. More info to follow soon.

Running my private psychotherapy practice in Copenhagen

I specialize in transitions and endings, psychology of time and Balanced Time Perspective coaching and existential questions. I work in English and Russian, both in-person and online. I work with individuals and couples. Currently, I also work Pro Bono with people affected by the war in Ukraine. I have some availability – feel free to reach out. 

LEARNING

This year in my Logotherapy and Existential-Analytical Psychotherapy course we have started the clinical part of the education. Spring modules were on anxiety. The September 2022 module was mostly dedicated to depression, how it is viewed in existential analysis. The November 2022 module will be on treatment of depression.

Looking forward to joining the group in-person in London!

TEACHING

This Fall, I was running some workshops and guest lectures for various courses at DIS:

Exhibiting

In the month of December 2022, some of my art will be exhibited at the Gadens Galleri on Ryesgade 4, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark. Opening will be on Friday, December 9, 2022. More info to follow soon.

***

How do I manage all of the above and a few things that were left out? I love working with my version of the bullet journal and I also follow my own medicine regarding taking the creative breaks.

I am available for giving workshops on:

  • Balanced Time Perspective and its role in Mental Health
  • Futurization: Images of the Future and Future Scenarios to develop sustainable attitudes and behavior
  • How to deal with culture shock
  • Using creativity as a resource.

I would be thrilled to develop a tailored talk / workshop regarding time, creativity and your field of interest.

Best ways to keep up with my progress and stay in touch with me:

  • subscribe to my newsletter with my recent discoveries and updates & invitations to my exhibitions / pop-up galleries openings, events I’m organizing / hosting, talks & workshops I’m giving, etc.
  • follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook

Find out more about me on my about page.

Field Study: Applied Effects of Psychology of Time for Environmental Philosophy | DIS – Study Abroad | 26.10.2022

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Thank you for last week’s event with a change of scenery! 

On Wednesday morning, with DIS: Copenhagen, we found ourselves in a bus driving outside Copenhagen for an adventure!

The event took place at Karlstrup Kalkgrav lake, where students were able to learn about geology, the history of the lake, and the psychology of time while walking in nature and going with the flow. 

We looked into:

  • Balanced Time Perspective in Therapy;
  • Time perspective theory;
  • Balanced time perspective profile;
  • Personal and global future;
  • Living in the present.

The main activity was a mindful walk in silence while experiencing living in the present, contemplating, and observing the surroundings. After this, students shared their feelings, impressions, and diverse points of view.

This activity allowed students to reflect and become more conscious of their views on the human-made lake and its nature.

As a result, students discovered that while having different thoughts about it and listening to totally different experiences of others, all of them were right, depending on their past experiences. 

It was wonderful to be a part of this adventure, and we look forward to hearing more about students observing their lives and reflecting on their Time Perspective Profile to become more balanced. 

If you are a practitioner (psychologist, therapist or coach) and interested to learn more about the Balance Time Perspective Coaching please join our educational seminar on it. 

If you are interested in self-development and learning more about your personal time perspective profile and how to reach more balance, you can join the course “Where is my time?” or reach out for an individual consultation. 

Many of the Creative Time Studio’s workshops are tailor-made, so don’t hesitate to reach out by requesting a workshop that fits your organization, class or group’s needs.

Workshop: Futurization: Creating the Space for the Future | Sustainable Development in Northern Europe course, DIS | 28.09.2022

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Recently the DIS students from the course Sustainable Development in Northern Europe participated in our workshop on Futurization: Creating the Space for the Future.

We looked into the images of our own personal future and those of the global future. There was a stark difference between the two – personal future being much more positive and global future images were mostly negative. Similarly to my earlier research results presented at the TEDx Vilvoorde.

We looked into the common challenges associated with futurization:

  • lack of future discourse – no future language, absence of a tool to talk about it, except for concepts like ‘pension’ or ‘mortgage’ (are those effective?);
  • lack of our cognitive capacity to imagine long-term future;
  • images of the global future can be very scary, anxiety-provoking, or leave us feeling hopeless;
  • our defense mechanisms protect us from such emotions, but also make us shortsighted.

We looked at our difficult emotions, but have also looked at what can actually be done by us in the context of the current situation. We talked about the importance of knowing our own values and how to develop personal strengths supporting them. 

Creating a safe space for expressing the emotions, imaginaries, hopes, and, most importantly, fears associated with the future and ‘futurization’, allowed for more productive ideas and solutions to emerge among the participants.

Finally, we looked into the ideal future, a combination of personal and global images, by visualizing it. Creating and discussing collages were valuable tools that helped the students to realize their thoughts about the future and to find what can support them in developing strategies for a better future. 

As a result, students shared how they can keep the positive side of looking at their personal and global future and the importance of making change individually on a small scale.

We look forward to seeing how our workshop will inspire our young participants to create more sustainable personal and global futures.

If you are interested in self-development, learning more about personal and global future, and sustainable development – join our future workshops or reach out for a tailor-made workshop that fits your organization, class, or group’s needs.

Balanced Time Perspective in Therapy and Coaching workshop | DIS – Study Abroad | 05.10.2022

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Thank you, #HappinessLab from DIS – Study Abroad Copenhagen, for joining us this week at the Balanced Time Perspective in Therapy and Coaching workshop.

It was a pleasure to educate the new generation about time perspective theory, balanced time perspective profile and introduce various practical interventions.      

Students got to see different cases, for example, a typical profile of someone struggling with anxiety, depressive episode or work-related stress and burnout, etc. 

We looked into the process of working with a prospective client step-by-step: 

– Performing initial assessment of the time perspective profile.

– Working with the profile: taking into account the individual, culture and context of the current situation.

– Learned about ‘reading between the lines’ of the profile numbers.

– Discussed and exercised various tools and interventions aimed at creating a higher level of balance in one’s time perspective.

Students were introduced to different exercises aimed at activating a positive past, or mindful present or possible future. For example, we went on a silent mindful walk, shared our observations and experiences after it, and discussed the importance of noticing how we notice.

As a result of the workshop, participants shared that they felt more relaxed, that they became more aware about their own past, present and future, that working with clients is not a “one recipe that fits all” but that it is a journey and discovery of a personal approach and that they have the tools that they can apply themselves to improve the level of balance of their time perspectives. 

It has been a great pleasure to lead this workshop and we are looking forward to seeing how the approaches discussed today will be applied in daily lives. 

If you are a practitioner (psychologist, therapist or coach) and interested to learn more about the Balance Time Perspective Coaching please join our educational seminar on it. 

If you are interested in self-development and learning more about your personal time perspective profile and how to reach more balance, you can join the course “Where is my time?” or reach out for an individual consultation. 

Many of the Creative Time Studio’s workshops are tailor-made, so don’t hesitate to reach out by requesting a workshop that fits your organization, class or group’s needs.

Where is My Time? – course starting on March 7th, 2020

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Let’s Carpe that Diem, dear creative time explorers!

I’m happy to announce that the course “Where is My Time?” is ready for you to sign up! Join the kick-off meeting on March 7th and then the following 3 meetings will take place on March 14th, March 21st and March 28th.

Early bird tickets are available 🙂

It’s a 3 weeks long course with 4 weekly meetings.

By taking this course you will become more aware of:

  • How you look at your own past, present and future;
  • How does this personal view on time impacts the actions you take in daily life and how you interact with your surroundings;
  • How do these different temporal frames impact your personal well-being and how you can improve it;
  • How can you strengthen the positive aspects of your temporal profile and
  • How to create more balance in your temporal profile, that will improve not only your personal well-being, but also will be beneficial for others around you across various daily-life situations.

This course will also help you:

  • to become the author of your life’s narrative
  • to build up resilience and overcome the anxiety connected with choosing the future
  • to figure out what is meaningful for you

What we will do during the course:

  • explore your personal temporal profile using different complimentary methods
  • you will get to spend some time interviewing and observing your temporal opposite
  • you will create a personalized program on how to enhance your temporal profile and get closer to the balanced one
  • you will plant some seeds for new skills to grow

The course is based on my extensive research in the field of psychology of time and time perspective. The program provided in the course is evidence based, it has been piloted, further developed and crafted from 2016. 

Book your spot here

Read more about the course here.

Where is My Time? – You are invited to explore

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It’s the beginning of the new year… This period can be both exciting and anxiety provoking. New year, new beginning, new opportunities, new destinations, but also how to manage everything else that is already there? Various routines, previous and continuous projects and responsibilities …

Perhaps you’re setting new goals and wondering how to actually realize them. Or perhaps you are currently even not sure what goals to set. Or maybe there is a lot of uncertainty, which makes it difficult to plan anything.

Whatever your situation might currently be, there are some things that you would like to clarify for yourself and create a roadmap and set an overall direction for your activities in the year ahead.

I would like to offer my time and space to help you with that. You’re invited to join a workshop “Where is My Time?” during January or February and explore it together with other time enthusiasts, or otherwise I’m open for individual consultations as well. Book your spot here.

During this hands on workshop you will reflect on:

  • what went well the previous year
  • where are you now
  • what you would like to develop further and
  • what you would like to say goodbye to
  • what is really important for you
  • where does your time actually go
  • where do you ideally want your time to be and how to make it happen

We will also discuss why the traditional time management techniques don’t really work and how to go about it. You will be able to discover your own unique temporal profile that can help you to develop your own personalized way to work with your time. That can lead to being less stressed, being more mindful and happy.

I have been actively exploring the concept of time for the past 20 years and am happy to share my insights with you in this course.

Through the hands-on activities of the session you will learn about the field of Psychology of Time, and Time Perspective theory and approach in particular. The course will involve narrative methods, art-therapy techniques and time perspective coaching.

Warm welcome to Creative Time Studio!

I’m looking forward to create the time together with you!