Welcome to My Practice

I’m Aleksandra Jeka, a neurodivergent psychologist based in Zurich. My mission is to provide support tailored specifically for neurodivergent individuals and couples navigating the unique challenges and strengths that come with their diverse ways of thinking and experiencing the world.

Who I Help

My practice focuses on adults and couples who identify as neurodivergent. I have the most experience working with ADHD, autism, and giftedness, but my services are open to anyone who grew up feeling different, struggled to fit in, faced challenges around things that seemed easy to other people, struggled to connect with others, or just felt different for whatever reasons.

I am also committed to supporting people from the LGBTQ+ community. I do not specialize in LGBTQ+ issues, and my competencies have certain limitations, but I deeply value diversity and inclusion on both personal and professional levels. I recognize that sexuality and gender are not binary concepts. There is still much work to be done in fostering awareness, and I strive to create a safe and affirming space for individuals from sexual and gender minorities.

For who

I am a psychologist and a member of the Swiss Federation of Psychologists, but not a psychotherapist. I work with adults in relatively good health. I offer tools and strategies to help navigate life’s challenges and prevent them from escalating into severe difficulties. My support as a psychologist can be insufficient for the population suffering from clinical issues.

What I Provide:

Coaching, Counseling and Preventive therapy for Neurodivergent Adults

I help with topics such as self-understanding, emotional regulation, executive functioning, relationships, self-esteem, masking, and more.
Emotion-Focused Therapy for Neurodiverse Couples.

For couples where one or both partners have ADHD or autism, my neurodivergent lens ensures that the approach is tailored to their unique needs and experiences. I guide couples to recognize and validate each other’s emotions, fostering a deeper understanding of how neurodivergence influences their relationship.

What I Don’t Provide

Psychotherapy : treatment for mental illnesses, clinical depression, or unresolved trauma.
Official documents such as reports, prescriptions, certificates, etc.
Crisis interventions
Guidance in gender transitions or navigating the healthcare system in Switzerland.
Suicidality
Treatement for substance addiction

My Approaches and methods

I blend elements of:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

While traditional CBT can sometimes be ineffective for neurodivergent individuals—I carefully navigate this approach, using the elements that are relevant and helpful for neurodivergent minds.

I also enjoy explaining the therapeutic process to those who are curious—sharing how the tools and techniques we use are designed to help you achieve your goals. Depending on your needs, I might suggest homework, written exercises, or role-playing to reinforce what we explore in our sessions.

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

In individual sessions, I use elements of EFT to guide you in exploring and deepening your emotional experiences.

For couples counseling, my work is more rooted in EFT, helping partners to identify, express, and respond to each other's emotional needs. This approach aims to build a stronger emotional connection by addressing negative interaction patterns, fostering deeper understanding, and creating secure bonds—all through a neurodivergent-informed lens that respects each partner’s unique perspective and communication style.

Above all, my approach is rooted in understanding neurodivergence as a unique and valid way of experiencing the world. By tailoring each aspect of our work to your strengths, challenges, and individuality, we can build a process that feels supportive, meaningful, and effective for you.

Cognitive-behavioral approach

According to this psychological approach, mental functioning is based on the interactions between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Previous experience can influence our perception of the present event.

When something happens
to us, the first thing we do is to give an interpretation of this event.

And the emotions we feel, will influence how we react.

According to this interpretation (good? bad? unfair? dangerous?)
we will feel emotions.

These interactions lie at the root of our decisions, needs, and beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world. The cognitive-behavioral approach focuses on all three elements but in a different way.

Our work will aim to identify the automatic thoughts and beliefs that provoke the difficult emotions, examine them, verify their accuracy, find out where they came from, and, if necessary, work on replacing them with other, more healthy ones.

We will talk about your emotional needs and regulation strategies. Learning to identify them, their intensity, duration, what triggers them, and what makes them pass.

But we will also work on behaviors. When one gets trapped in a vicious circle, behavior is a crucial element to address if we mean to change the whole pattern. Thus, we will work together on the behaviors you find problematic, minding their genesis and their original function. We will be discussing them, analyzing them together, and exploring their possible alternatives. Then, with my full engagement and support and with the help of personalized exercises, you will be doing concrete, measurable work on replacing the maladaptive behaviors.
...

Working simultaneously on these three elements of our functioning is the essence of the cognitive-behavioral approach in psychology.

Emotion-focused approach

operates on the premise that emotions are central to human experience and play a critical role in psychological health.

One of the limitations of CBT lies in its emphasis on cognitive processes, which can sometimes bypass the full emotional experience. While it effectively targets distorted thoughts and encourages behavioral changes, clients may find that certain deeply rooted emotions and unmet attachment needs remain unresolved. These unresolved emotions can perpetuate distress and hinder long-term healing, even when cognitive distortions are corrected.

Emotion-focused approach addresses this gap by prioritizing the processing of emotions on a deeper level. The process often involves identifying maladaptive emotional responses and replacing them with adaptive ones, fostering greater self-compassion and resilience.

Emotion-focused couple therapy

focuses on strengthening emotional bonds by addressing unmet attachment needs and resolving relational distress. Developed by Sue Johnson and grounded in attachment theory, EFT helps partners identify and express their deep unheard emotions and vulnerabilities in a safe therapeutic environment. This process fosters greater empathy, trust, and connection, enabling couples to build a more secure and fulfilling relationship.