Existential Counselling · Vienna
I'm Jayne, an existential counsellor in Vienna. I work with people through times of upheaval: with questions of belonging, meaning and home, and on a journey of discovering who they are.
Who I am
For over ten years I've walked alongside people at turning points: as a hospital chaplain, and now in my practice in Vienna as well. Counselling, for me, means meeting each other as equals, whether we speak German or English.
More about me →In existential counselling, we work together to understand what is on your mind, what gives you support and where change is possible. From there we build a way forward, step by step, that fits you and your circumstances.
“Being. Can I do that?”Alfried Längle
Before anything can change, there has to be ground under your feet. Together we look at what gives you safety and support, so that trust can grow and it becomes possible to say yes to your own life again.
In everyday life we sometimes lose touch with what really matters to us. Existential counselling can help you see more clearly what you value, what stirs something in you and where your strength comes from.
Getting closer to yourself also means paying attention to your own feelings, limits and potential. From this foundation, self-worth, trust and clarity can arise.
Meaning usually appears where we come back into connection: with ourselves, with other people, and with what we hold dear. Out of that connection a sense of direction can grow, and with it the next step, the one that feels right.
Some things don't announce themselves, and yet they find us again and again: in quiet moments, at times of transition, and where life takes a different turn from the one we expected. You may recognise yourself in one of these:
When fears grow bigger and life grows smaller with them, and you no longer want to face them alone.
When someone is no longer there, when something comes to an end, or when life is not what it once was.
When the old questions grow quieter and new ones grow louder, and you want to give them room.
When illness becomes part of everyday life, for those living with it and for their caregivers.
Between places, languages and cultures, looking for belonging, for familiarity, for a sense of home.
When your purpose seems lost or you find yourself at a crossroads, it is time to pause and find clarity.
When living together becomes hard: between partners, between generations, or where someone close to you needs support.
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.”
We love and we hate.
We hope and we doubt.
We are brave and afraid.
We are strong and weak.
We are calm and restless.
We are honest and dishonest.
We laugh and we cry.
Do you recognise yourself?
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
My roots are in Scotland. I grew up there and studied German and Romance languages, and later life took me to France, to Switzerland and finally to Austria. Arriving, starting over, holding on, moving on and not losing heart: I know these challenges from my own life, not only from my work.
For more than ten years I have worked as a hospital chaplain, alongside people who are seriously ill or dying, and alongside their families. That work showed me what holds people up when much becomes uncertain. It is not achievement, money or security that carries us, but encounter, relationship and meaning.
My experience in a medical setting and my Christian background shape the way I work, but they do not take centre stage. What happens between us is about you: your questions, your circumstances, and what can give you a footing and a sense of direction. I work in German and in English.
When I'm not working, you'll find me in the vineyards: in the budding, the harvest, the cutting back and the resting of the vines, I recognise the cycles of my own life. I always stop for street music. And laughter has a firm place in my life. I like sheep, dogs and the sound of church bells!
The first step is simple.
You write or call, with a few words about what is on your mind. Then we find a time for a first conversation.
There is space here for everything that matters to you. Together we work out what you need and what support could look like.
If you would like, we walk part of the way together: at your pace, and guided by what matters to you.
Everything you might want to know beforehand.
Practice · Hietzinger Hauptstraße 64, 1130 Vienna
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A problem shared is a problem halved.
Write me a few lines. Together we will find an appointment that works for you.
