Andreas Lundin

About therapy

We begin with your description of what is difficult, how everyday life is affected and what you hope to get help with.

What you experience may be connected with things that are happening or have happened in your life. Anxiety can be a protective response. Low mood can be a response to strain, loss or something that has been difficult for a long time. The reaction itself is not always what needs to change. If something also needs medical assessment, we pay attention to that.

Worrying and ruminating are cognitive strategies. Avoidance and other patterns may also have developed as ways of handling what has been difficult. They can start automatically, and can be understood and influenced.

Therapy begins with a shared problem formulation: what is happening, what keeps the difficulties going, and what would you like to be able to do differently? Talking, being listened to and putting experiences and feelings into words can be an important part of the work.

How I work

I help you see what is happening and work with you to formulate what we need to address. I have knowledge and experience of how people function, relate to others and get caught in different patterns, but I cannot know in advance what something means to you in particular.

You are the expert on your story. I bring questions, perspectives and knowledge that can help us put words to what is happening and sometimes try out another way of understanding it. This may involve recurring patterns, defences or other strategies that have developed to protect you or help you deal with something difficult.

Sometimes I am more active and challenging, sometimes more responsive and willing to follow your lead. The way I take up space needs to fit what helps us build a working relationship and alliance and work on the right things. I see myself less as a guide and more as a fellow passenger: I come along, ask questions and take responsibility for my part of the work.

Exploring without judging

When we explore defences or other strategies, the starting point is to look at what happens, not to judge you as a person. Patterns and behaviours may have developed to protect you or help you cope with something difficult, and they need to make sense before we try to change them.

We explore what a strategy gives you in the moment and what it costs over time. Sometimes a pattern feels like part of your personality: ‘this is who I am’. Then we need to distinguish between who you are and something you have learnt to do, often without a conscious choice. The aim is not to remove parts of you, but to increase your freedom to choose how you want to act.

What I want to make possible

What makes me curious is the self: the person themselves and the way they try to live, understand and protect themselves in their situation.

A strong motivation for me is helping other people’s potential find expression and seeing them become freer to be themselves. It is not about finding a finished answer to who you are, but about exploring together what becomes possible when you have more room to act.

About change

Change can begin when something that previously felt fixed becomes possible to see in a new way. Patterns can feel like part of your personality and start without a conscious decision. When they become visible, they can often be understood and influenced.

A meta-perspective means noticing thoughts, feelings and reactions without automatically being drawn into them. It may also mean noticing when worrying, ruminating, avoidance or other strategies take over. The aim is not to remove parts of you, but to increase your freedom to feel, think and act in more ways.

I sometimes describe it as the mind beginning to move. That does not mean that everything resolves itself or that you always feel calm. Change may show itself in understanding more of what is happening, seeing things you previously did automatically and having the chance to try something else.

In everyday life, this might mean setting a boundary, making a decision, staying with a feeling, spending less time worrying or ruminating, or approaching something you previously avoided. What we follow depends on the shared problem formulation and what you want to change.

The work begins with what matters to you

We formulate direction and goals together. They need to start from what you want to understand or change and be meaningful in your life. The problem formulation may need to be adjusted as we learn more.

You are the one doing the work of change. This may mean noticing what happens in sessions and everyday life, putting experiences and feelings into words, exploring recurring patterns and trying other ways of relating or acting. But you do not need to do that work alone.

Methods and structure should support your work, rather than direct it. My part is to listen, ask questions and contribute knowledge and perspectives. I can suggest ways of working and help keep us on course, but you should be able to understand why, ask questions, disagree and influence the plan.

It is my responsibility to keep track of whether we are working on the right things, whether the sessions are helping in your everyday life and whether the direction needs to change. If something does not fit, or we misunderstand each other, we need to be able to pause, try to understand and change the work together.

Methods

I am certified in MCT and ISTDP. These approaches help us pay attention to different parts of what we are exploring. The starting point is our shared problem formulation and how the work develops.

MCT, metacognitive therapy

MCT primarily focuses on how you relate to thoughts and use your attention. We can explore processes such as worrying and ruminating, what they are intended to help you with and what happens when you try other ways of relating to thoughts. The aim is not to get rid of thoughts or feelings, but for them to have less control over your time and attention.

ISTDP, intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy

ISTDP is an active, emotion-focused approach. We explore what happens when feelings arise, how anxiety shows itself and which defences or other strategies are activated to keep feelings at a distance. What becomes visible here and now, including in the conversation between us, can help us understand patterns and try something different.

You should be able to understand why a particular way of working is suggested. We follow what actually changes and adjust the work together.

Getting started

It is entirely reasonable to hesitate. You do not need to have decided or be able to describe exactly what you want help with. You can read further, book a therapy session or begin with a question.

If you would like a brief conversation first, you can book an introductory phone call. The call lasts 15 minutes by phone and costs SEK 0. A free call about practical arrangements, format and possible next steps. It is not therapy, a clinical assessment or crisis support. If there are no times available in the calendar, you can ask for a time through the contact page and I will arrange one. If you would rather write, you can use the contact page.

If you book a first therapy session, you do not need to decide beforehand whether to continue. We can begin to understand what you are seeking help with and whether I am the right person to help you. After the session, you decide whether you want to go on.

You can ask about how I work, Kaddio, what a first therapy session involves or what might be a reasonable next step. No questions are off limits.

Practical information

You choose whether to book directly or ask first. Here you will find the essentials about fees, appointments, session formats, the practice and the terms.