HOW I CAN HELP

In a session, we begin with your specific situation and first identify where illness is having the greatest impact on your life, and what you want to change, clarify or put in order.

From there, we look for solutions on three levels: within yourself, in everyday life, and in the system around you. Which of these we focus on depends on what brings you here. Often, all three are intertwined.

On the inner level, we look at how illness has changed your relationship with yourself and with life, what you have lost because of it, what you want to preserve, and how to live with the body's limitations without illness becoming your entire identity. There is also space here for questions of fear, uncertainty, loss, relationships, the future, and the changes illness brings to your sense of who you are.

In everyday life, we look for specific ways to reduce demands and preserve as much independence, energy and quality of life as possible. We consider what causes you the greatest difficulty and what might be adapted, simplified, replaced or organised differently.

At the level of the system, we consider the options available to you within the Slovenian healthcare, employment and social systems. This may mean preparing for a conversation with a doctor and presenting your symptoms and their effect on everyday functioning more clearly; understanding your options regarding sick leave, ZZZS or ZPIZ; work-related questions and possible adjustments; and options related to social and financial security.

These three levels are not separate. If illness means you can no longer work as you did before, this is not only a question of work. It may be a question of health, financial security, everyday functioning and identity at the same time. We therefore do not look for an answer in just one area, but consider what can be changed on each of the three levels.

And it is precisely here that we return to the central idea of Labirint: the third identity. The aim is neither a return to life before illness nor a life entirely defined by illness. We look for a way of living that takes the reality of your body into account while preserving as much as possible of what still allows you to recognise yourself in your life.

In counselling, I bring together the knowledge and approaches I am gaining through my ongoing education in the field of marriage and family therapy, legal knowledge, knowledge of the healthcare and social systems in Slovenia, and my own experience of living with an invisible illness over many years.

A session lasts 50 minutes. There is no set number of sessions; it depends on what brings you here and what you want to address.