Psychotherapy for the here and now.
A space to slow down and pay honest attention to what's going on with you, right now.
The first session costs 20 EUR. It's for us to meet and see if this makes sense. If it doesn't, that's a perfectly good result.
Who I am (and who I'm not)
I'm Zoltán. I grew up in Slovakia and moved to Lisbon in 2025 — not for a few months, the way these stories often go, but because I was looking for a place where my life could be better. I understand people who end up here. I am one of them.
I'm a gestalt therapist, trained at the Dialóg Institute. I feel especially at home with young people — Gen Z included — partly because my last job gave me the most experience with exactly that crowd. With creative people, too. But you don't have to be either. Anyone is welcome.
The paperwork
- Master's degree in psychology, Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic)
- Training in gestalt psychotherapy, Dialóg Institute (Slovakia)
- Supervision workshop in gestalt therapy, Jay Levin
- Supervision workshop in gestalt therapy, Jay Levin
- Supervision workshop in gestalt therapy, Talia Bar-Yoseph Levine
Where I've worked
- Psychologist, Space — RA BBSK, Banská Štiavnica (Slovakia)
- Gestalt therapist in independent practice
I work under supervision. That means another experienced therapist regularly reviews my work with me (anonymously). It keeps me honest and keeps you safer.
What I'm not
I'm not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist. I can't diagnose, and I can't prescribe medication.
I'm not currently registered with the Ordem dos Psicólogos, Portugal's professional body for psychologists.
If you need a diagnosis, medication, or specialised treatment, I'll tell you honestly and help you find someone who can provide it.
Fees & practicalities
Plain numbers, so you can decide before we ever talk.
First session
20 EURGetting to know each other. You don't need to bring your whole life story, or have it figured out. I'll ask what brought you here, you can ask me anything about how I work, and we both get a feel for whether this fits. No commitment to continue afterwards, and no awkward sales pitch at the end.
Regular session
55 EUR50 minutes.
Longer session
70 EUR70 minutes, for when we want more room.
- At least 12 hours' notice, please. Otherwise the session may be charged.
- Sessions are in English.
- In person in Saldanha, Lisbon (Avenida 5 de Outubro 16 2º Andar Direito, 1050-055 Lisboa), occasionally online.
- Typically once a week or once every two weeks.
The rest is here when you want it.
You now know who I am and what it costs. Everything below is optional. Read what you're curious about, skip what you're not.
- How gestalt therapy worksand what a session looks like
- Gestalt vs. other approachesan honest comparison
- Where Buddhism sneaks inacceptance, awareness and change
- Things I won't pretendthe fine print, said plainly
- When I'm not the right fitplease read if unsure
- Questions people askeight of them
- Is therapy for me right now?a quiet, non-diagnostic tool
How gestalt therapy works
Gestalt is a German word that roughly means "the whole shape of something". It is not a breathing technique or a type of bread. Here's what it means in practice.
Here and now
We can talk about your past, your boss, your ex. But I'll keep coming back to what's happening right now, in the room, between us. That's where the useful stuff tends to show up.
Awareness
Most of the work is noticing: thoughts, feelings, what your body is doing, the patterns you repeat. Often you already know a lot. You just haven't had the space to look at it slowly.
The relationship is part of the work
How we get along, including the awkward bits, isn't a side issue. If something I do annoys you, that's worth saying. It's probably not the only place it happens.
Contact, and avoiding it
We all have clever ways of not quite meeting people, or ourselves: joking, changing the subject, going numb, being very reasonable. We look at how you make contact and how you dodge it, with curiosity rather than judgement.
Experiments
Sometimes I'll suggest trying something small: saying a sentence out loud, slowing down, noticing your hands. Always optional. You can say no, and saying no is useful too.
The whole person, in context
You're not a list of symptoms. You're a body, a history, a culture, a city, relationships, work, a phone that buzzes too much. All of it counts.
Responsibility without blame
We look at what's yours to choose and change, without turning it into "it's all your fault". Those are very different things.
What a session actually looks like
- Two chairs, facing each other. If there's a couch in the room, you're welcome to it — sitting is more common, lying down is not required.
- You start wherever you want. There's no agenda you have to prepare.
- Mostly we talk. Sometimes there's silence, and that's fine. It's not me forgetting what to say.
- I'll ask questions, share what I notice, and occasionally suggest an experiment.
- Nothing is forced. You decide what to share and how fast.
- Some sessions feel like a lot happened. Some feel like nothing did. Both are normal.
Gestalt vs. other approaches
There are many kinds of therapy, and gestalt isn't automatically the best one for you. Here's an honest, simplified overview. Simplified meaning: real practitioners in each tradition vary a lot.
Gestalt
what I do- Focuses on
- Present-moment awareness, the relationship, how you make and avoid contact.
- Sessions tend to feel
- Exploratory and conversational, sometimes with small experiments. Less structured.
- Often suits
- People curious about their patterns and emotional life, who prefer exploring to following a programme.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
- Focuses on
- The links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour, and practical skills to change them.
- Sessions tend to feel
- Structured, goal-oriented, often with homework and worksheets.
- Often suits
- Specific problems like panic, phobias, OCD, insomnia or depression, especially if you like clear structure and measurable goals.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing)
- Focuses on
- Processing difficult or traumatic memories so they lose their charge, usually with guided eye movements or other rhythmic stimulation.
- Sessions tend to feel
- Structured and phased — more like following a careful protocol than free conversation.
- Often suits
- Trauma, PTSD and painful memories that won't settle. It's widely practised in Portugal, including through public health services.
Psychodynamic / psychoanalytic
- Focuses on
- Unconscious patterns, early experiences and how they repeat in your life (and in therapy).
- Sessions tend to feel
- Open-ended talking, often over a longer period. The therapist may say less.
- Often suits
- People wanting deep, longer-term exploration, with room for things to unfold slowly.
Person-centred
- Focuses on
- A warm, accepting, empathic relationship in which you lead.
- Sessions tend to feel
- Gentle and non-directive. The therapist rarely suggests techniques.
- Often suits
- People who want to be heard without being steered. Gestalt shares a lot with it, but is more active.
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
- Focuses on
- Accepting difficult thoughts and feelings, and acting on your values anyway.
- Sessions tend to feel
- Practical, with mindfulness exercises and metaphors.
- Often suits
- Anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and feeling stuck — especially if you like practical exercises.
Which specific school a therapist follows matters less than we like to think. The most reliable predictors of how therapy goes are the quality of the relationship between you and your therapist, and how well the approach fits you. All of these approaches can work well in the right hands — gestalt included.
If another approach fits you better, I'll say so and point you in the right direction. No hard feelings. Genuinely.
Where Buddhism sneaks in
I'm influenced by Buddhist ideas. Some of them can be used therapeutically without anyone needing to be religious, chant, or own a meditation cushion. I won't push any practice or belief on you. If it never comes up, that's completely fine.
Some of this is history, not coincidence: gestalt itself was influenced by Zen Buddhism. Fritz Perls, one of its founders, spent time with Zen teachers, and it shows in gestalt's stubborn insistence on staying with what's actually happening, right here. The clearest overlap is the paradoxical theory of change: change tends to happen not when we force ourselves to be different, but when we fully recognise and accept how we actually are. Buddhism teaches roughly the same thing — accepting what is, not pushing experience away — as the ground everything else stands on. It sounds backwards. In my experience, it's often how it works.
There are quieter connections too. Gestalt's core practice — noticing what's happening while it's happening — is essentially mindfulness without the cushion. Both traditions are suspicious of the idea that you're a fixed object with a defect to remove: in both, "you" is something that keeps happening, moment by moment, which means it can also change. And both take seriously the idea that most of our trouble comes not from pain itself, but from everything we do to avoid it. That's not religion. It's a very old observation about being a person.
If this interests you, a book I like on the topic: Already Free by Bruce Tift.
Things I won't pretend
Most therapy websites skip this part. I'd rather you read it before your first session than discover it in the fourth.
- Therapy takes time. And effort. From you, and from me.
- Sometimes it feels stuck, boring, or worse before it gets better.
- I can't fix anyone, and I won't pretend to.
- Progress isn't a straight line.
- You're allowed to disagree with me, to leave, or to change therapist. A good therapist will welcome that.
None of this means you're too much, or that it's hopeless. It means it's real work, and you won't be doing it alone. I'll be in the room with you, paying attention, for as long as it's useful.
If you were hoping for a quick transformation, I'm honestly not your person.
When I'm not the right fit
Some things deserve more specialised care than I can offer, and I'd rather tell you now than keep you in the wrong room.
I don't treat serious mental health conditions. If you're dealing with something like the list below, gestalt therapy with me should not be your first or only stop:
In that case I'll encourage you to see a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, and I can help you find one. If it's useful, we can also talk about what kind of help to look for.
This isn't me passing you along. It's me taking your situation seriously.
Examples of what I mean
- Severe depression
- Suicidal thoughts
- Psychosis
- An eating disorder
- Severe trauma
- Addiction
The list isn't exhaustive — it's examples. If you're unsure which side of it you're on, write to me anyway and we'll figure it out honestly.
If you need help right now
If you're in crisis, or thinking about harming yourself, please contact one of these services instead of waiting for a reply from me. They're trained for exactly this, and I'm not.
- Emergency
- 112Ambulance and emergency services, 24/7, Portugal-wide.
- National suicide prevention line
- 1411Linha Nacional de Prevenção do Suicídio e Apoio Psicológico. Free, 24/7, staffed by mental health professionals.
- SNS 24
- 808 24 24 24Portuguese health service line, 24/7. Press 4 for psychological counselling.
- SOS Voz Amiga
- 213 544 545 · 912 802 669 · 963 524 660 · 930 712 500Emotional support and suicide prevention helpline. Daily, 15:30–00:30.
- Conversa Amiga
- 808 237 327 · 210 027 159Emotional support helpline (INATEL). Daily, 15:00–22:00.
Outside Portugal? Find a local helpline at findahelpline.com.
Things most people don't know about therapy
Honest answers to the questions people usually google at 2am. None of this is diagnosis or medical advice. It's me, explaining what I know, and saying when you need someone else.
Is therapy for me right now?
This is not a test or a diagnosis. It's just a way to think things through. Only a doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist can assess your mental health.
A few gentle questions, one at a time. No points, no prizes, no labels. Nothing you click leaves your browser.
Get in touch
It's fine to write even if you're not sure therapy is for you, or whether I'm the right person. Asking is not signing up for anything.
I usually reply within two working days.
This form is not for emergencies. I may not see your message for a day or two.
If you need help right now, see the helpline numbers.