SPECIALIZATION:

Depression, anxiety, stress management, help in crisis situations, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, conflict and problem-solving skills development, emotion regulation, development of mindful awareness, psychological resilience.

Adult counseling

Individual counseling, based on the principles of CBT, group training

Mindfulness

Lithuanian

ABOUT

There are no good or bad things in ourselves – only our thinking makes them so. Therefore, we can turn all difficulties into new opportunities.

I am Vilma Stundžienė, a licensed psychologist. I believe that the most important thing in this profession is respect for a person, acceptance of their experiences and attentiveness to their needs, so I always strive to listen, empathize, and strengthen.

My mission as a psychologist is to safely accompany a person through important moments in life when it is too difficult for them to do it alone. And the direction of the journey is chosen by the person themselves – perhaps it is a journey into themselves or a desire to learn to create harmonious relationships with others, perhaps to strengthen self-confidence, deal with challenges or seek answers to questions of concern. The most important thing in this journey is to help a person find their strengths and allow them to believe in their own strength, so that they can move forward independently, strengthened.

Working together

When communicating with clients, we first of all create a relationship based on mutual respect and goodwill and the most favorable atmosphere for each person to reveal their strengths – we individually choose the level of security, the starting point for changes, the pace of disclosure and growth, and together we lay the steps necessary to move forward. Thus, we combine individuality and structure.

For therapy to work, mutual trust, openness and cooperation are important. The person’s own decision and involvement are important for change. It is not enough to search, discover and understand together. The next necessary step is to try to create new experiences yourself and observe the result. If the changes are positive, repeat until the new skills and confidence in one’s own abilities are consolidated and strengthened.

During the first session, we clarify the difficulties that the person has applied for, name the problem, and set goals together. After explaining the KET model, we together create steps for solving the problem, discuss the person’s active contribution. During the following sessions, we discuss individual tasks, results, changes, insights, and other steps. If necessary, we go deeper, work with core beliefs brought from the past. This is a dynamic and sensitive process, and the person is the greatest expert here, revealing their needs.

If the problem is specific and the person is looking for clear steps to solve it, and having found a solution, they feel strong enough to continue to manage independently, several consultations may be enough. I usually suggest visiting 5 times. During the last consultation, we discuss what we have achieved and whether the result is satisfactory.

Often, a person chooses to continue the consultations because they discover insights, a desire arises to delve deeper into recurring things, to find out their deep causes. Then, after 10 consultations, we evaluate the results again, review the goals, and adjust them if necessary. We can continue further.

When we agree that the person feels able to manage his or her own life, we also plan rare supportive consultations, in which we discuss how to solve difficulties and other emerging issues.

Why therapy?

Those who want to start attending therapy often feel shy about talking about personal experiences that they usually do not share with anyone. They worry that they will be misunderstood, judged, they think that everyone else is cool, they are successful, but something is wrong with them, they doubt whether they will be able to solve their difficulties. Therefore, I would like to encourage my future client – ​​due to our human nature, we can all experience various difficulties, but our greatest value is the ability to empathize with each other. I believe that all the answers and possibilities lie in our inner world, but sometimes it is more difficult to find them alone, and then I invite you to try it together. If you are very timid, you can start the conversation with easier things, check how you feel in this relationship, and if you are ready, we can travel further.

Together we can learn to carefully observe our inner state and the world around us, understand our true needs and take care of ourselves, accept what we cannot change more easily, and focus more on what we can really control – our emotions, reactions, choices. This way we reduce the fear of experiencing difficulties and build the strength to solve them, we are less sad about the past or worried about the future, because we focus more on creating the present.

Everyone deserves to live a fulfilling life – to believe in themselves, to build mature relationships, to engage in meaningful activities, to make wise decisions, to successfully complete life tasks, to overcome challenges and to achieve their goals. If you feel that something is still missing, maybe it is time to start a journey into yourself?

JOB TYPE

Consulting

When we are depressed, anxious, experiencing stress, crisis situations, or difficulties in interpersonal relationships, we develop conflict, problem-solving, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and psychological resilience skills. I provide individual counseling and group training.

In my work, I rely on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), because the CBT concept allows us to understand how our thoughts, subjective assessments, past experiences, and beliefs affect our perception of reality in the present, helps us recognize maladaptive thought and behavior patterns that automatically arise when we encounter difficulties, and provides effective tools to deal with them, create new experiences, and strengthen our self-confidence.

However, in “hot,” complex situations, we often cannot avoid our usual automatic reactions, so it is also very important for self-regulation to develop mindfulness, awareness, and psychological resilience. To this end, I apply mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy practices in my work, which enable a person to stop, realize, and choose.

Sometimes we feel as if we have lost control of our lives, unable to choose events, situations, circumstances, or other people around us, but we can always choose our own attitude, assessments, and solutions and become more powerful.

EXPERIENCE

Bachelor of Psychology and Master of Health Psychology from Vytautas Magnus University (VMU).

Introductory Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy (CBT) 3-year course at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) (2 years, training is still ongoing);

Completed LSMU Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Fundamentals and Teacher Training Program.

I am a certified teacher of mindfulness-based psychology interventions.

I have worked as a psychologist at the Kardiolitas clinics, the Kaunas City Polyclinic, the Dainava Mental Health Center, and a day hospital.

I worked as a lecturer-consultant at the Public Institution Training and Psychological Counseling Center, in the Youth Guarantee Initiative project “Discover Yourself”, and as a case manager at the Kaunas Public Health Office under the Suicide Prevention Program.

I am a member of the Lithuanian Association of Mindfulness-Based Psychology.

Every journey begins with the desire to understand, know, and discover, and if there is a need for change, perhaps it is time to take the first step. Book a consultation time, let’s get in touch.