Mario Schnyder: "The role of self-reflection in building an independent psychology practice"

Since 2017, Mario has been working as a clinical psychologist. During this time, he has had an impressive career with a broad range of experiences. Right after his graduation, he took on the management of psychotherapeutic child and youth groups at the Bern Parenting Counseling Center, which ignited his passion for supporting behaviorally challenged children in playful and creative ways. This enthusiasm led him to delve deeper into the field of child and adolescent psychology, which resulted in several years of work in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Oberwallis Psychiatric Center. There, he gained valuable experience in systemic therapy and dealing with complex family dynamics. Later, he transitioned to a position in an outpatient clinic for adults at the cantonal psychiatry in the Bernese Oberaargau region, where he was also involved in emergency psychiatry. These roles taught him to remain calm in stressful situations and to master complex issues. In the spring of 2022, while completing his psychotherapy training, he became increasingly interested in self-employment and made his first contacts with the team at the innovative Aepsy platform. Today, alongside Aepsy, he works in a psychotherapeutic group practice in Lugano, which primarily offers systemic therapy services for couples and families.

Mario, when did you realize that this was the profession you wanted to pursue?

The first pivotal moment I attribute to my first year at university in 2010 in Freiburg: I began a degree in social work and social policy while taking psychology as a minor. Over the course of the year, I realized that my interest in explaining human behavior was more fulfilled on an individual rather than societal level. When I switched my studies to psychology, it suddenly wasn’t just about understanding anymore, but also about being close to people with psychological distress or abnormalities.

Here we learn how much people benefit from positive bonding experiences and other corrective emotional experiences in leading a life that meets their needs. Hence my desire to work in the field of “clinical psychology.”

How did your therapists during self-experience sessions as part of your training influence you? How did they impact your work and private life?

Self-experience is a central component of any psychotherapy training recognized throughout Switzerland. What happens during self-experience sessions can vary greatly. For me, they were helpful in strengthening my role as a therapist, recognizing my skills more clearly, and using them effectively. I also explored important influences and their origins, which helped me approach clients’ emotional processes more openly. I also learned alternative strategies for overcoming inhibitions and dealing with uncomfortable truths.

Another aspect of self-experience is the role of the person seeking help. How does it feel to sit in that chair? What do I need from the therapist to feel comfortable and engage in the process? These experiences allow general conclusions to be drawn, which become more tangible and memorable through concrete experience.

Self-experience also had a positive impact on my private life, although it is sometimes difficult to separate these influences from other training and professional experiences. Overall, I am convinced that my journey so far has helped me shape my life according to my preferences and needs, build positive relationships, and find a more compassionate approach to my own limitations and challenges.

If you’ve ever had an “Aha moment” – what has been your biggest realization in your career so far?

Over the past few years, there have been several “Aha moments,” most of which I recall happening in direct interaction with clients. When asked, I often mention an experience I had early in my career with a young woman prone to anxiety, who was facing repeated professional failures. Despite several sessions focused methodically on successfully overcoming the challenging situation, the young woman initially remained stuck in her feelings of anxiety. Later, she suddenly reported a professional success with a beaming smile. When I curiously asked for her explanation, she said that during our previous session, I had made it clear to her to believe in her abilities. That was enough. Upon further questioning, she added that it had never been clear to her, just as it hadn’t been clear with other significant people in her life.

What made this experience a significant “Aha moment”?

The young woman pointed out a somewhat simple but essential aspect of therapeutic practice, which I had been more pointed towards through books and professors than through personal experience: The relational aspect is an extremely important factor in therapy, and ensuring a trusting relationship is a prerequisite for any meaningful engagement on the content level.

Is there something people should be aware of before starting talk therapy or coaching?

Psychological coaching and psychological therapy are both seen as helping people help themselves. Thus, active collaboration is key in pursuing change. Asking yourself beforehand what kind of change you want for yourself and how the conversations could contribute to this can be helpful. However, having a clear desire or goal is not a prerequisite for starting this journey.

It’s part of the process to become aware of concerns and wishes and to define them into more concrete goals. Or, at first, gaining a better understanding of one’s own needs and desires can be pursued as a primary goal during the conversations.

A talk therapy situation can initially feel unfamiliar for everyone: The fact that one is disclosing distressing feelings and personal difficulties to someone who was until recently a complete stranger can come with nervousness and other uncomfortable feelings. This has valid reasons and is natural: In what other everyday situations do you do something like this? We all want to be seen from our good side, and the therapist is also there to recognize this.

Why can uncomfortable feelings arise in talk therapy?

Since talk therapy is about getting in touch with oneself, one’s feelings, needs, and thought patterns, uncomfortable feelings can temporarily arise. If this happens, it shouldn’t automatically be interpreted as a negative sign. Meaningful change often happens on an emotional level. The interpretation of and dealing with unpleasant (or unwanted) experiences can be addressed within the conversation situation.

Ultimately, having a realistic expectation can be helpful before entering a psychological conversation: The effectiveness of coaching and psychotherapy is now scientifically well-documented and effective across various levels of change. Efforts by the person seeking help to apply relevant content in everyday life seem to play an important role in success. Not every session must (or can) bring about an “Aha moment” or immediately noticeable goal-oriented changes. This is often the case, especially in the beginning, when the focus is on building rapport and deepening the issue at hand for both parties.

What can clients expect from talk therapy or psychological coaching?

The client can expect their burdens, needs, and difficulties to be met with understanding and respect. They can expect that the therapist will be on their side and recognize their resources. They can count on having a safe space where their issues can be deposited and, if ready, worked on, without information being shared outside against their will. Additionally, the client can expect to determine the content and depth of the sessions. Their pace and boundaries will be respected.

Of course, there are exceptions, just as there are with doctors, which may necessitate breaking confidentiality, such as acute suicidal risk without a willingness to accept appropriate protective measures. However, these are rare situations, and such actions are fundamentally intended to act in the client’s interest.

Lastly, clients should be prepared that the therapist may occasionally (or frequently!) make mistakes. In such cases, if the therapist doesn’t notice or address it on their own, it is advisable to bring it up. It’s expected that the therapist will take the concern seriously and be willing to address it.

What do you appreciate about being self-employed and working with Aepsy?

The platform is extremely user-friendly and allows me to keep administrative tasks to a minimum. This simplifies my work as a freelancer and helps me focus on the core of my work: my clients.

Thanks to the fact that the sessions take place online, I can determine my availability dynamically and work from home (or other suitable locations) during time frames that fit me, which has great benefits for my personal life and well-being. The presence of a community among the service providers, along with regular peer supervision groups, also makes me feel part of a team.

Another aspect I appreciate about working with Aepsy is the straightforward and pleasant collaboration with the Aepsy team members. I find the Aepsy team to be very committed to developing the platform according to the needs of both those seeking help and the service providers, and we, as service providers, are regularly involved and can contribute our ideas. Whenever technical problems or professional questions arise, I have always received prompt assistance.

Ultimately, I find it fulfilling to be able to participate in Aepsy's important mission with my offering: enabling easy and stigma-free access to the right experts who have time.

About Mario

Mario has been working professionally since 2017, which means for about seven years. Right after receiving his diploma as a clinical psychologist, he was able to take on the management of psychotherapeutic child and youth groups at the Bern Parenting Counseling Center, where he had already gained a foothold thanks to his internship experience. This work sparked a deep fascination in him for guiding children with behavioral issues, brought on by overwhelming situations, in overcoming their varied challenges in a playful and creative way. This fascination led him to dive deeper into the field of child and adolescent psychology, even though he had started a psychotherapy training program focused on adults. His first multi-year position as a clinical psychologist was at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry unit of the Oberwallis Psychiatric Center. There, he worked with children, adolescents, and their parents in individual, family, and parent sessions, as well as in day clinic stays. He attributes his current inclination to view his clients' experiences and behaviors in a broader context, and to sufficiently consider and possibly involve the social environment in therapy processes, to the systemic therapy focus of Oberwallis Psychiatry and his former work team.

Due to a pressing need to implement the approaches learned during psychotherapy training in practice, he subsequently took a position in an outpatient clinic for adults at the cantonal psychiatry in the Bernese Oberaargau region, where he also regularly worked in emergency psychiatry. The emergency work proved to be a particularly valuable experience, as it taught him to remain calm under pressure and stressful situations, and to maintain an overview when facing unpredictable and complex issues. During the final stages of his psychotherapy training, and driven by personal life goals, he increasingly explored the option of becoming self-employed, which led him to first come into contact with the innovative Aepsy platform team in the spring of 2022.