I work as a therapist and counselor in private practice Andres Põhjala Terapia. I came to this profession purely through a personal need to heal mentally and physically.
I specialize in working with people suffering from codependency and addiction because of my own personal experience with these complex psychological conditions. And also in dealing with these conditions. But I also accept people with other problematic situations, guiding them through psychological twists and turns towards self-awareness and healing.
``As long as you don't make the unconscious conscious, it will rule your life and you call it destiny.''
It has become my heart to unlock and learn about the true nature of myself and others so that we can tap into our true potential and live an enjoyable multifaceted life.
However, our true nature often hides itself under the layer of abuses and traumas. The defense mechanisms of the ego, which were created to protect the true nature, must be gradually opened.
Abuses have created an emotional Bermuda triangle of FEAR, SHAME and GUILT where we lose ourselves and lose all sense of direction. Therefore, in my work I pay a lot of attention to emotions, feelings and self-awareness. I give you a fishing line instead of a fish and with it the responsibility for your own well-being.
The field of therapy that I have been practicing with passion lately is sound therapy. Having struggled with anxiety all my life, I felt how easy it is to come into full presence both when participating in a gong journey and playing the gong myself. This is the key to healing. Just lay down and let things happen. In this elevated state, negative emotions cannot drag us down. The body's energy reserves are restored. We reconnect with childlike joy. We see new opportunities. We are able to see our lives from the side. We are faced with choices again.
I truly believe that we always have a choice and that change is possible.
At the age of 28, my life seemed like one that was not worth living. It lacked conscious awareness of itself. I was busy with the daily rush. Paying bills, work, money, loans, homework and parties with friends. I was addicted to alcohol and an active co-addict. There was no love, life seemed empty, lonely and hopeless.
I trust that all of the above has been necessary and is a part of me, but there also began a new circle in my life. The journey has been like the mountains of America. Giving me highs and lows and all those emotions that we can also feel in an amusement park. From fear of death to euphoria.
At one point, questions like:
In retrospect, I see that these questions are extremely important in life, and only through such existential questions will our consciousness gradually expand.
My journey at the age of 28 started from a more spiritual world. I started doing yoga and also learning the spiritual teachings of yoga. I did a lot of healing of body and mind through spiritual practices. Meditation, liberating breathing, shamanism, feng shui, sounds, astrology, numerology, subconscious journeys, constellations, etc. I researched everything and tried to find answers. At the same time, I was also interested in the functioning of the psyche for a long time. All of the above was eye-opening, but still did not give me sufficient answers, and in 2019 I managed to enter the 4-year course of transpersonal psychology and hypnotherapy at the Private School of Conscious Me.
A new chapter began at the Conscious Me school. We went to childhood and beyond. I began to understand how our mind and body are always connected, and much of what is happening to me today is somehow related to my earlier formative years from childhood. There began my deepest work with myself.
Transpersonal psychology led me to the cooperation of soul and mind and to the clear understanding that there is more to the world, to me and to other people than the rational mind and ego.
During my studies, I was recruited to an addiction clinic as an addiction counselor, for which I also studied to become an experienced counselor. I also worked for a while as the manager of the Tartu department of the same clinic. After that, I went to Harju County as a cooperation partner of an NGO, where I worked with people in the ISTE project in Jõelähtme municipality.
At the same time, I continued to upgrade myself with various trainings and started receiving clients also within the framework of private practice. After that, I also worked as a co-dependency specialist in a mental health center dealing with addicts in Tallinn.
