Julia Andre is a pioneer in transforming the traditional weekly trauma psychotherapy model into a highly successful intensive format in Asia, the so-called EMDR Intensives. As a result, healing in days becomes a real possibility, and clients can feel relief much faster than possibly being in therapy for months or years. The economic value and compelling scientific evidence promise a fundamental shift in trauma treatment. She has since dedicated her life to helping others heal their trauma wounds and educating fellow professionals in Asia about the Intensive treatment format—her mission: Healing is possible!
Dr. Julia A. Andre, Clinical Psychologist & Trauma Specialist
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
I am a Registered Clinical Psychologist and founder of Essentia Psychology. I have been passionate about the human mind and behaviour since childhood. At school, I imitated a psychologist by holding my classmate's hands and listening to their problems (mainly in a comical way to cheer them up). And so it naturally happened that I chose a career as a psychologist. Leaving my home country Germany at 18 and moving around Europe and Asia has given me a deep understanding of the human mind and helped me navigate within different cultures smoothly.
What inspired you to start Essentia Psychology, and what core values drive your business?
Since my early days as a Psychologist, I have been a big fore-stander of integrative and holistic therapy approaches. I believe that body and mind are inevitably connected and must be seen as a whole. This is especially true in the context of trauma treatment. The title of the famous book by Herman van Kolk describes trauma perfectly: "The body keeps the score." Essentia psychology uses this as a guide, cooperates with various health professionals, and sees every client uniquely and holistically, considering genetic predispositions, hormone imbalance, nutrient deficiencies, gut health, and collaborating with meditation, breath, reiki and yoga teachers.
What psychological services does Essentia Psychology offer, and how do you ensure clients receive personalized care?
Essentia Psychology is unique in shifting from a classic weekly therapy model of 50mins into an intensive therapy format. This means at Essentia Psychology, one client can be seen between 3-6 hours a day for several days or weeks in a row. By offering extended sessions, this intensive approach helps clients to truly work through their trauma and allow emotions without being hijacked by everyday crises or other distractions. Immense therapy progress can be made in days, which may have taken months or years. There is compelling scientific evidence that creates a true glimpse of hope for those that already given up hope on trauma healing.
What qualifications and experience do the psychologists at Essentia Psychology have, and how do you ensure that they stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the field?
All professionals are registered and certified in their respective trauma treatment approaches. We use a range of different treatment modalities. Clinical Psychologists are trained in talking and experiential therapy such as Schema Therapy, Internal Family System (IFS), Ego State Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
One of the most significant realizations after a few years of working day in and out with clients was how little I was prepared and trained to provide adequate trauma treatment. When I started understanding trauma together along the journey with my clients, we learned together, and I began seeing mental health problems through a different lens. How could I have overlooked and misunderstood trauma for so long? Or how could I have expected that clients will know if they are traumatised. Finally, after years of further specialized education and with my clients' patience, Essentia psychology is where it is today.
So there is no surprise that we live in a world of trauma, but a hyper-focus on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the last decades at educational institutions led to generations of uninformed trauma professionals unable to recognize complex trauma and provide adequate treatment options. On top of that, complex trauma survivors often lack the adequate interactive capacity to fully realize and process their traumatic experiences. Since they often need to go on with life, they start to mentally avoid their unresolved and “too much to handle” past and sometimes present and try to keep up an appearance of normality, which can be easily triggered.
Essentia Psychology hopes to educate about trauma, shape awareness, and promote the latest evidence-based treatment options. We believe from the bottom of our hearts that healing is possible. Additionally, understanding and seeing the magic of the shift from weekly to an intensive trauma treatment format, Essentia Psychology wants to share and bring the latest trauma treatment movement into Asia.
