Would you like to find out more about treatment methods in a personal consultation or do you have an individual request? Contact Info Events
+49 30 293 673 33 info@ovid-clinics.com
Private Psychiatric-Psychotherapeutic Day Clinic and Outpatient Clinic
Learn about the elements of our individualized, scientifically grounded, and person-centered therapeutic processes.
In selecting the appropriate therapy strategy for our patients, we adhere to the principles of general psychotherapy as outlined by Klaus Grawe, striving to embark on a path of salutogenesis together with our patients. "Salus" denotes 'health' and 'well-being', while "genesis" signifies 'development' or 'emergence'. This concept entails the ability to approach one's life in a manner that is perceived as self-designed and manageable. It heavily involves harnessing one's own creative power and taking an active role in shaping one's life.
The Day Clinic and Outpatient Clinic offer a bilingual program in German and English. Individual therapy in English is always available. Group sessions are also offered in English when required. We can additionally offer individual therapy sessions in French and Egyptian Arabic - please ask which other languages are spoken by the therapeutic team. The main language of the Evening Clinic is English. However, therapy in German can also be provided if needed.
And don't forget: in addition to our medical and scientific expertise, we also speak fluent "intuition", "imagination" and "artistic"!
Therapy plans at the OVID Clinic Berlin are developed based on an in-depth diagnostic exploration of each individual patient's needs. Throughout the course of therapy, we flexibly monitor whether the desired processes of change are occurring and adjust the therapy plan collaboratively with the patient. Our team possesses a wide theoretical foundation grounded in both modern behavioral therapy and depth psychology. Third-wave behavioral therapy serves as a framework for integrating various therapeutic concepts and approaches. Thus, our therapists frequently incorporate elements of Schema Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
We understand augmented psychotherapy as "psychotherapy plus". It is about strengthening, deepening and broadening therapeutic processes with the help of a scope of different methods. Basically, the aim is to strengthen therapeutic processes selectively, using one of several techniques. These methods can be based on the use of psychoactive substances or consist of non-pharmacological techniques. While classical psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD are currently only available in the context of drug trials, ketamine is already in clinical use as an atypical psychedelic within an off-label setting.
We can use a wide range of non-pharmacological method: From immersive breathing techniques that can lead to deep altered states of consciousness, to virtual reality applications, to strobe lights and music trances.
Being aware of ourselves and the world around us is an essential skill in developing a new, clarified way of dealing with our lives and experiences. In recent years, mindfulness and meditation techniques have become firmly established in psychotherapy.
For example, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a widely used program for changing the experience of stress and redirecting attention. Like many secular (non-religious) methods, it is a bridge to learning positive skills for coping with everyday life and finding meaning. Elements of these methods, introduced into Western psychotherapies by Jon Kabat-Zinn, have been shown to be effective for a range of diagnoses (depression, anxiety, pain, etc.). More importantly, they can help to build salutogenic processes, i.e. the acquisition of skills that make life manageable and increase serenity. We also use elements of mindfulness and other strategies from meditation schools such as diffusion (a basic principle of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)) to prepare for and follow up on augmented therapies. Philosophical, existential and spiritual issues are part of our therapies (where appropriate). Together with our patients, we make sure to recognize impulses that tend to serve as an escape from reality and to counteract them with real changes in behavior. It is important for us to give our patients the space and opportunity to explore these philosophical questions - but never to impose them from the outside in the form of ideologies or doctrines of salvation.
Gentle work with the body as a therapeutic instrument is an important part of our approach. This includes movement training, yoga exercises, sports therapy approaches, massage and perceptual-psychological processes guided by our therapeutic team. Touch as a carefully applied therapeutic element can be an effective way to achieve sustainable change. By prior agreement, we also use touch as part of augmented therapy sessions. Ethical considerations in therapy and support for the patient's decision-making process are always prioritized to ensure that the patient's autonomy, integrity, and need for protection are always maintained.
Music, artistic design, dance and movement are just some of the means of expression that we make available to patients in the Day and Evening Clinic. These methods help to avoid a purely verbal and cerebral way of dealing with one's own experience. Creative, 'wild', chaotic and impulsive processes often complement or enable therapeutic changes. It is about finding new ways of dealing with oneself. Imagination, creativity and daydreaming are important elements in recognizing one's own resources, but also in understanding negative experiences.
Our creative therapy methods are an integral part of the therapeutic learning process.
Receptive music therapy, i.e. listening to specially selected music, can help to develop somatic-emotional processes that enable a new experience of the self. Dealing with pleasure, joy, reluctance or pain in movement to music can be a starting point for a healthier, more loving relationship with one's own body.
The artistic creation of "lifelines" as symbols of one's own biography is part of our methods for dealing with altered states of waking consciousness.
Digital therapeutics are used at the OVID Clinic Berlin for various purposes. These include technical options such as virtual reality (VR) programs or mobile phone-based psychoeducation and feedback processes. We use virtual reality specifically with certain patients to support them in learning useful stress management patterns with the help of biofeedback. VR is also used to evoke curiosity and exploration or to carefully prepare for a psychedelic therapy session by exploring the human processes of 'acceptance' and 'avoidance' together. This can also include exposure treatments, i.e. the closely supervised therapeutic approach to negative, painful states or fears.
In collaboration with our partner organization MIND Foundation and Immersia Lab, we have developed a “multisensory VR pod” that allows us to incorporate heat, smell and haptic signals into these learning processes, in addition to visual and acoustic stimuli. Our goal for the coming years is the deliberate expansion of digital methods to benefit our patients.
A scientifically based therapy will almost always include elements of behavioral and lifestyle medicine: this deals with health behaviors, prevention of avoidable risks and self-care. Many people suffer from persistent tension headaches, sleep deprivation, malnutrition, excessive media consumption, unhealthy substance use patterns, high blood pressure or lack of exercise. Many seemingly psychological difficulties are at least influenced by these lifestyles, and sometimes caused by them. Our medical and therapeutic team collaborates with patients to achieve real behavioral change. The aim is to contribute to a more fulfilling life, reduce the risk of mental and physical illness and increase the chances of recovery.
Many of our patients are and have already been treated with "classic" psychotropic drugs - they have often taken various antidepressants and combinations of medicines, lithium or antipsychotics during their illness. Others have not yet taken advantage of these treatment strategies recommended by mental health guidelines. We provide guideline-based psychiatric treatment. In many cases, this includes a differentiated psychopharmacological treatment, to which our team of psychiatric specialists pays particular attention.
Our Chief Physician, Prof. Dr. Gerd Gründer, has more than thirty years of expertise in the clinical use of psychotropic drugs. In recent years, Gerd Gründer has also been working on evidence-based strategies for tapering off psychotropic medication. This is a service that we also offer at the OVID Clinic Berlin. It is asked for by many patients, especially as pronounced side effects of psychotropic medications affect many people and relevant numbers of patients encounter difficulties when trying to stop their medication. This is where our team can offer unique assistance.
The decision for or against a treatment strategy with psychotropic drugs is always based on a detailed diagnosis, while considering the patient's wishes and needs. Treatment with ketamine can often be carried out while maintaining the patient's current medication. In individual cases, the personal treatment goals will be decisive for a joint decision on what medication strategy to pursue. Individual strategies can also be developed in which the rapid antidepressant effect of ketamine-augmented therapy can be used to support the discontinuation of antidepressants in an overlapping manner.