Christel Vogels, Counselor & Coach
Nice to meet you!
Being different is... different
Too fast, too smart and above all too weird: even as a kid I didn’t fit in with what my parents, teachers and classmates considered ‘normal’. For years, I bent over backwards to comply with society’s expectations. Only, I couldn’t. It wasn’t until I approached 40 that I discovered why: turns out I have ADHD and am what they call gifted (or: exceptionally fast thinker). So yeah, definitely “different”.
By now I’m content with who and what I am, but I haven’t always had such a positive approach to my personal brand of weirdness.
When your head works differently, you experience the world differently. But the world doesn’t always get that. Meanwhile you don’t get why they don’t get you, and you don’t get them, either. Get it…?
This confusion often causes stress, anxiety and low self-esteem. Sometimes to the point of suicidal ideation. Being different in a world that expects you to be ‘normal’ can cause serious psychological damage. I see this with many of my clients when they first come to my practice, but I also know this from personal experience.
Expert out of necessity
When you have suffered from severe anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation all your adult life, and one after the other therapist tells you they can’t help you, you have two options: give up, or find a solution yourself.
I chose to do the latter. Having two university degrees up my sleeve, analytical skills, systemic thinking, and the academic approach to a problem were second nature to me. So I set out to find answers that I didn’t receive from my therapists. Like why so many evidence-based therapies didn’t work for me? Why other people with problems similar to mine had a similar experience with therapy? And most of all: how to improve that?
The results of 20 years reading, puzzeling, researching, discussing, testing and verifying eventually came together in the Ship Psychology method. The core of this method is the Ship Inside Your Head. This analogy of how we think, feel and act seems extremely simple, but it helps to clarify AND explain a great variety of psychological problems. And what we understand, we don’t fear so much. This is true for vague feelings like ‘something’s off somehow’ or ‘feeling out of place’, but also for panic attacks, trauma, depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation: the issues that I created the Ship to help solve.
As I shared more about the Ship with other people, I discovered it worked very well, including for people who were different in the same ways I am. I didn’t any kind of childhood aspiration to become a psychologist, but people began asking me: “Can you please help me, too?” Sure, but counseling is a different ball game than presenting a model. So, time to add another study and become a certified integrative counselor.Â
In (my) practice
My work as counselor revolves around helping others experience that fundamental relief that comes with embracing that you, in your unique different-ness, are completely valid, and what you do is good enough. When you know why something doesn’t work for you, you can discover what does work. And no one knows better what works for you than you. Only sometimes, your brains hide those answers from you.
Finding those answers within yourself and bringing them to light is a kind of game. I’ve been playing it for years, and I still enjoy it every single day!
A peak behind the curtain
A fun bit of trivia about me is that:
- I’m fast, playful and sharp by nature, like a cat on the hunt.
- nearly all my clothes are (almost) black, simply because it’s easy to match.
- I love puzzles, be it jigsaws or sudoku, word search or the human psyche.
- I collect degrees and diplomas as if my life depends on it (and it actualy does!)
- the oldest book in my antique book collection dates back to 1736.
- I ab-so-lute-ly despise cooking! No matter what the cost, I’ll always outsource that to my partner, a restaurant or, as a last straw, the microwave.
- I’m not afraid of the dark sides of the soul. In the dark are not only monsters, but also a treasure trove of possibilities!
Add my somewhat bizar sense of humour to the mix, and that is what I bring to the table as counselor.
Want to know more about how I can help you? Click the button below to book a free video call:
