Psychosomatic difficulties — physical symptoms without clear medical cause, tension, pain, digestive issues — are often the body's response to what the psyche cannot put into words.

How psychosomatic difficulties show up

The body often speaks first what the psyche cannot put into words. Chest tension, back or head pain, digestive problems, fatigue or dizziness for which doctors find no clear cause can be connected to what you are going through. This does not mean you are imagining the problems or that they are less real. It means that the body and the mind are interwoven. A medical check-up is always the first step, and alongside it it makes sense to seek another kind of listening.

A psychoanalytic view of psychosomatic difficulties

When the psyche has no words or symbols available to express an emotional state — a condition some authors call alexithymia — the experience is often expressed through the body instead of thought or speech.

Part of the therapeutic work is therefore a gradual literacy in emotional language — finding words for what, until now, only the body has spoken.

Psychotherapy for psychosomatic difficulties in practice

In practice, this means paying attention to when and under what circumstances a physical symptom appears.

How I work with psychosomatic difficulties

In my work I pay close attention to when and under what circumstances the symptom appears, and what was happening just before it. A connection to an unspoken feeling often emerges gradually. My approach does not replace medical treatment but complements it. Sessions are weekly, in Ljubljana or by video call.

Help with psychosomatic difficulties in Ljubljana

I offer psychoanalytic psychotherapy for psychosomatic difficulties in Ljubljana or online (by video call). At the beginning we agree on three introductory sessions (45–50 minutes each), in which you see how I work and whether psychoanalytic psychotherapy suits you. After that we agree on regular weekly sessions.

If you have physical symptoms for which doctors have not found a clear medical cause, psychotherapy can offer a space to understand how distress is expressed through the body.

More about how psychotherapy works and how to book an appointment.

Frequently asked questions about psychosomatic difficulties

Does psychotherapy help with psychosomatic difficulties?

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy for psychosomatic difficulties does not look only for a way to ease the difficulty, but for an understanding of what it is communicating. I work with the causes of distress and not only with the distress as expressed. Once we find the cause, and during the psychotherapeutic process, symptoms often ease or disappear.

How long does psychotherapy for psychosomatic difficulties take?

Duration is individual and depends on the therapeutic goal and on how long the difficulties have been present. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy can last from a few months to a few years. One session lasts 45 to 50 minutes; usually once a week, and by arrangement sometimes several times a week.

Does a doctor first have to rule out a physical cause?

Yes. With physical symptoms it makes sense to have a doctor examine you before psychotherapy. If there is no clear medical cause, psychotherapy can help to understand how distress is expressed through the body.