Tag: Copenhagen

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

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!

Workshop: Introduction to Art-Therapy for Developmental Disorders | DIS – Study Abroad | 30.11.2022

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Final workshop for DIS this semester was on Art-Therapy. During this workshop I have introduced the students to the basic principles of Art-Therapy, we talked about what mediums can be used in art therapeutic setting, some of the themes that can be explored with the help of art therapy and how a typical session would look like with kids or adults.

I have also presented various cases where I have used art therapy to illustrate the main underlying principle of the approach – that once we figure out how to make a symbolic change, we can also invite that change in real life.

This fall semester is almost at the end, and students enjoyed their time in the Studio expressing various emotions and impressions that have accumulated throughout their study abroad stay in Denmark. They really got engaged in the activity and were totally ‘hands-on’. It is always such a pleasure to work with future colleagues!

Do reach out if you would like an art-therapy session yourself or as a workshop for educational purposes. I enjoy developing workshops, so I would be happy to fine-tune it to fit your organization, class or group’s needs.

Invitation to the exhibition opening, Dec 9, 18:00

Letting Go

Dear friends and colleagues,

With great delight I am inviting you to a little exhibition of my recent art project: Letting Go.

December 9 at 18.00

Gadens Galleri

Ryesgade 4, Copenhagen N

The exhibition will continue throughout the month of December till the beginning of January 2023. In case you can’t make it to the opening, I would be happy to meet with you personally and have a “private view”

Hope to see you for a little gløgg and a chat!

kind regards,

Anna

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.

Creative Rendezvous: Discovering Eduardo Chillida | March 18, 2018

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On March 11th I’ve started the Creative Rendezvous series. The first event was dedicated to the links between the inner necessity, impressions that music evokes in us and visualizations of those in line with the Wassily Kandinsky Synthesis of Arts.

This upcoming Sunday, March 18th we will dive into exciting and mesmerizing world of Eduardo Chillida, a Spanish Basque sculptor notable for his monumental abstract works.

Chillida (1924 – 2002), known for his massive and abstract sculptures that concentrated around the human form, actually preferred to be called a “realist sculptor”. There is a lot of movement and tension in his work and we will look into his sketches and graphic work, that often became the prototypes of his sculptures. He was a great master of using both, the positive and negative space. We will do some exercises that tap into technique Chillida often used as a step towards making 3D sculptures.

We will talk about the dialogue Chillida was engaged with Heidegger, a prominent German philosopher, about Art and Space. What is the relationship between emptiness and space and how sculpture is ’embodiment of places’.

And of course, we will explore his works and way of thinking in a more practical way!

Looking forward to challenge your notion of space this Sunday! Join the fun! Find your ticket here.

During the next Sundays you’re more than welcome to join the Creative Rendezvous about Sonia Delaunay, collaging and tribal art.

Looking forward to share my passion with you!