Sebastian Droesler
Sebastian Droesler is a Counselling Psychologist, Life Coach and Certified Mindfulness Teacher who offers counselling, coaching, psychotherapy, leadership development and mindfulness training.
He is registered as a counsellor and psychotherapist with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). He lives in Hong Kong, where he met his wife and found his calling.
Clientele
Sebastian’s private practice welcomes adult clients of the active and achieving global population. They see in Sebastian a professional and reliable partner.
His clients typically aim to regain healthy relationships, rewarding careers and meaningful lives. They are based in Hong Kong, Singapore, Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.
They value a personal yet professional bond of mutual respect, genuineness and unconditional positive regard.
Sebastian’s approaches
Adult Individuals
Sebastian carefully selects his education to continuously improve his approach to counselling, coaching and therapy according to the standards of modern psychology.
His comprehensive training focuses
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance & Commitment Training (ACT)
- Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
- Systemic Coaching
- Polyvagal Experiencing
- Neuropsychotherapy
Couples and Relationships
Modern couples therapy integrates attachment theory, psychology and biology. Sebastian’s training reflects the combined relationship wisdom of all three areas.
Couples and individuals benefit from his advanced level certification in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT) and The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy (The Couples Institute).
Mindfulness
Mindfulness enabled Sebastian to engage with life more meaningfully. It also helped him to handle his own anxiety and depression. Consequently, he applies the teachings with his clients.
As certified mindfulness teacher he graduated in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)at the Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto. With Toronto and Oxford being the founding and world leading institutions for MBCT.
He also trained in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB). This and his studies of Buddhist Philosophy deeply shaped his approach to therapy, relationships and emotional resilience.
Background & Education
Sebastian holds a sound business background. He worked many years in the banking and telecommunication industries. Individuals and Couples seek counselling, coaching and therapy with Sebastian, because of his solid international education.
He was a Business Manager for the regional CIO APAC with UBS. Prior to his work in Asia, he was a Senior Process & Change Consultant at the Strategy Department of Deutsche Telekom. Sebastian experienced first-hand the rise and fall of the New Economy in a top performing HR Start-Up. He started his career as a management trainee at BOSCH Automotive.
He holds a Master’ Degree in Counselling from Monash University in Melbourne and European Master’s & Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Business Administration. He studied Early Buddhism at HKU.
Typical Cases for counselling, coaching and therapy
Example of cases …
- 55y-old male dealing with challenging transitions around semi-retirement, family drama, empty nest and the desire to rekindle his marriage.
- 31y-old female dealing with anxiety, post-traumatic stress and assertiveness in her ambitious early career phase while struggling to break free from a critical upbringing.
- 38y-old male dealing with debilitating depression for the second time within 4 years potentially threatening his first long-time relationship, professional development and his pursuit of meaning and purpose.
- 42y-old female dealing with the emotional grip of an egocentric and critical mother leaving her feeling guilty and unlovable.
- 46y-old male dealing with burnout and the lack of appreciation at work and in his family of origin.
- 46y-old female dealing with the loss of both parents and the process of grief and reflection.
- 36y-old female struggling to set boundaries at work and in relationships.
- 35y-old male struggling how to show up in a long-term committed relationship.
- 40y-old male tormented by his religious upbringing vs self-acceptance
Evidence-based Approaches
The approaches Sebastian has trained in all have in common to be humanistic and person-centred. His aim is to enable your innate potential. Therefore he is combining cognitive and behavioural as well as mindfulness-based and emotion-focused perspectives.
Read more about CBT, ACT, Schema Therapy, MBCT, Polyvagal Theory, EFT, Brainspotting and attachment theory here …
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy – CBT
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is the psychotherapy and counselling with the most solid and wide evidence base for efficacy and effectiveness. Today’s CBT was strongly influenced by Behaviour Therapy (1950s & 60s) and Cognitive Therapy (1960s & 70s). Behaviourists focus on the learning connection between stimuli and responses. The cognitive model in therapy and counselling emphasises mental processes.
The cognitive model explores thoughts, beliefs and interpretations which influence our specifically individual responses. Areas of interest for CBT counsellors and psychotherapists are cognition, emotion, behaviour and physiology which form an interacting system.
CBT’s general focus lies on stressful states such as depression, anxiety phobias and anger which are often perpetuated or exacerbated by biased ways of thinking. Negative Automatic Thoughts and Core Beliefs is examined in their meaning and tested against “reality”.
ACT and Schema Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a metacognitive approach which emphasises that all thoughts are first and foremost mental events. It uses mindfulness to become aware of what goes on in our minds and bodies. The target is to build our mental muscles called “attention” and “awareness”.
ACT training and therapy regulates difficulty, discomfort and distress in the way we relate to our negative experience. A goal of this therapy is to help clients to cope with interfering thoughts and emotions. Well-Being is promoted through changing and persisting of behaviour in order to achieve and maintain valued living.
Similar methods and concepts are found in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB), which Sebastian uses as a counsellor and psychologist, helping clients to gain presence and mental strength.
Schemas are unhelpful conceptual patterns in our thinking, feeling and behaviour that we typically acquired through experiences in life, like upbringing and traumatic events. A person for example, who’s father divorced the mother and left the family at an early age, might have developed an abandonment schema. As result, the person internalises unhelpful beliefs like “people you love and need, will leave you”.
Because of the negative influence schemas can have of everyday life, relationships and work performance they are also called life-traps. 18 of these traps have been identified and are expressed on a scale or dimension. So the question is less if you are affected by a schema, but more how much are you affected by it.
Polyvagal theory
The vagus nerve relates to our capacity to function as social beings through maintaining our emotional regulation, fear response and social connections. We all constantly cycle through stages of disconnection, mobilisation and social engagement.
This part of the autonomic nervous system connects the brain with the heart and other major organs and runs on autopilot without requiring intervention. The ANS regulates our heartbeat, breathing and other autonomous body functions such as digestion, body temperature and sexual arousal.
Stress responses are essential for our survival, but need to be tamed to enable social engagement and well-being. Our Autonomic Nervous System adapts protection and connection from moment to moment. These patterns of protection can compromise our social engagement system.
Registered professional
Registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) as a counsellor and psychotherapist.
As a registered psychotherapist of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (bacp) Sebastian complies with the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling & Psychotherapy and the professional standards of the BACP. He receives regular and ongoing supervision.
Credentials
Sebastian’s training and certification for your specific needs.
certified clinical trauma professional
Advanced Level Training International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy
Trained with Dr. Stan Tatkin in cutting edge Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy
Trained with Dr. Ellyn Bader in Developmental Model of Couples Institute
Some companies and employees of companies Sebastian has worked with
