Elvira Vitale
Gestalt-thérapie, disponible en anglais, italien et espagnol

​

Contact

Click here to book an appointment with Elvira Vitale (according to avaiability)

​

If you have any questions regarding your ongoing treatment or about starting a possible treatment (if Elvira's indicated as "Available" on the application form) you may contact her through elvira.vitale@mentalhealth.brussels.

​

About

 

In 2019 I graduated as Clinical Psychologist from the University of Rome La Sapienza (Rome, Italy). I specialized in development, parenting and couple therapy, within a Life Cycle approach. I trained at the most important Italian gender transition center, the SAIFIP service hosted by San Camillo Hospital (Rome, Italy). I immediately started private practice and I have worked so far with both children, adolescents and adults. I have had a really varied and integrated work experience as a self-employed psychologist and, in parallel, as an autonomy interventions provider for adults and children suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders, at different local associations. In 2021 I started the postgraduate program in Expressive Gestalt psychotherapy at Istituto Psicoterapia Gestalt Espressiva I.P.G.E. (Rome, Italy). Its main feature is the use of art therapy techniques to experience different ways of relating to the world, besides the talking therapy.

 

 

Individual, family and couple psychological counseling across the life cycle 

 

It's always a good time to work on yourself, it's always worth improving your quality of life. In fact, development doesn’t end when reaching adulthood: it continues with new tasks and possibilities of growth until the end of life. That’s why, if you want to get to know yourself better, become more aware of what you do and what you want from your life, to be able to choose what's best for you, it’s enough to start a psychotherapy.

 

Your aim might be to overcome a problem: together we will make sense of your difficulties and decide what to work on and for. You might want to fulfill a relational, study or work desire which you can’t get on your own, but sometimes wishing itself can be a goal of therapy. Indeed, it may happen that you feel as if you have lost your ability to experience pleasure, to desire anything, and at a point of your life suddenly “wake up” asking yourself its meaning.

 

You can also ask for psychological help when you feel that you:

• Suffer from identity and existential dilemmas

• Are physically closing yourself off and stuck there

• Suffer from panic attacks, losing control

• Have difficulties or high conflict in family and love relationships

• Seek help in managing the behaviors of your children

• Suffer to figure out your LGBT+ identity and seek support with possible life paths

• You or a loved one have difficulties integrating into social tissue, workplace, university community or other groups

 

 

Approach

 

Gestalt psychotherapy is a journey of existential awareness and of new possibilities of choice. This orientation was born in the 60s from the Humanistic psychotherapy, third way between the post-Psychoanalytic and the Cognitive behavioral ones. Among others, it includes the bioenergetic, the client-centered, the transpersonal and finally the Gestalt approach.

 

Within this personalized treatment, each person is recognized as the only one capable of having a complete idea of themselves and of their life, therefore the meaning they give to their experiences is fundamental. A Gestalt psychotherapist helps people to better understand themselves and, as a consequence, to have new possibilities of choice in life. This doesn't mean they have to change it: it’s about being able to choose the happiest alternative, that is also new ways of remaining in the same situation, same relationship or same job.

 

In Gestalt psychotherapy, the better way to know ourselves is experiencing. In addition to talking, different perceptive experiences from what we usually do in life are proposed, but they are not mandatory. Also, art therapy techniques, such as drawing, writing, collage, drama therapy, phototherapy, can improve the expression of people’s feelings and of the existential experience that everyone carries with them throughout life.

 

​

Process

 

In individual therapy, as well as in other cases, the first meetings aim to understand the extent and nature of the difficulty or dissatisfaction why you chose to start psychotherapy. We’ll together enhance your resources and build new ones to help you achieve what you are aspiring to, at this moment of your life. New perceptive and expressive experiences will be proposed based on your willingness. They will be tailored to your needs and personal interests. At some point we will make a partial balance to consider whether to restructure the work on your other requests or to say goodbye.

 

Couples therapy: around 10 sessions with meeting every two weeks.

​

The first step is understanding together what’s the goal of your journey: staying together or a peaceful separation? The latter doesn’t fit your couple only if you have children, but also if you share the workplace or other important places of life and just want to face the separation with serenity.

​

Both heterosexual and LGBT+ couples who wish to become parents can start a couple therapy to manage problems or to understand how to get prepared for parenting. Once we agree on the objective of your journey, we’ll focus on the existential need of each one. The practical experience I suggest is the "homework". Don’t hesitate to contact me for more information.

 

Minors Assessment

 

12 - 15 years old

The first meeting shall be attended only by the parents/caregivers, meaning anyone having parental authority over the child. Children with a reasoned wish to keep the consultations hidden to their parents are welcome as well. Only in this case, the parents' written informed consent can be skipped. In any case, the first meeting will be the place for careful evaluation and, after confirmation of taking charge of your condition, possible scenarios are: child's individual therapy (if parents are involved, in parallel with monthly parents-only meetings), family therapy, parent-child couple therapy

​

24 months - 11 years old

First meeting shall be attended only by the parents. In case one of the parents is severely prevented from attending the first session, be aware that I’ll need the signatures from both on the informed consent authorizing me to meet the child in private practice, given exceptions on parental responsibility.

 

The first meeting will be the place for careful evaluation and, after confirmation of taking charge of your problem, possible continuation differs according to your child's age: 

• 24 months - 8 years old children can do family therapy and parent-child couple therapy, or we can work together on the issue through parenting therapy

• 9 - 11 years old children can do individual therapy in parallel with monthly parents' meetings, family therapy and parent-child couple therapy.

 

 

Fees

 

Some health insurances offer partial coverage of psychotherapy sessions. Do not hesitate to check this with your health insurance (or "mutualité).

 

The price per individual session is 75.00 EUR if there is limited/no reimbursement from your health insurance. If 50% or more is reimbursed by your insurance, the price per individual session is 100,00 EUR.

 

You can postpone your appointment up to 48 hours in advance. A visit booked and not postponed within 48 hours before the agreed appointment must still be paid.

 

 

Number Psychologencommissie:

952337796