At Lausanne Therapy Space, we are heartbroken by the devastating fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana on January 1, 2026.

As therapists and counselors working primarily with the English-speaking community in the Lausanne area, this tragedy feels close to home for us, as it does for many of you.

At a time like this, it can be helpful to meet in community with others, to know we are not alone and to share and listen to what others are experiencing

We would like to offer a free support group on January 14 @ 18:15 - 19:45 at our practice for anyone who feels impacted by this event. Several of our therapists and counselors will be present to hold this space. All ages are welcome, whether you have experienced a close loss or are simply shaken by what happened.

Space is limited to 15 people, please sign-up here to reserve your spot.

WHEN: Wednesday January 14 @ 18:15 - 19:45

WHERE: Lausanne Therapy Space - 18 rue du Grand-Pont - 1003 Lausanne - 6th Floor

A psychological + spiritual online workshop for caring humans to tend to their hearts + emotions.

Many of us are waking up to the reality of the world around us - or maybe we have already been for some time. We may be feeling a lot of emotions and questioning how we can show up in a way that feels authentic.

Being a human who CARES is not easy, and in order to do the sacred work of activism in whatever way feels right to us, we need to be able to sit with our own emotions and to tend to our hearts so we can act from a grounded space.

This 1.5 hour virtual workshop will offer a psychological + spiritual approach to help us bring our authentic selves to topics that matter to us, in a way that feels kind to ourselves, too.

Join us - Hiba and Lais - in this free virtual workshop as we embark on this journey of self-discovery, compassionate expression, and collective healing.

This workshop will be interactive / experiential and you can also simply attend without participating with cameras off or watch the recording in your own time.

All are welcome - you do not need to define yourself as an ‘activist’ - simply as a human who cares about what is happening in our world.

PART 1: The Human Experience

Hiba Samawi - Jordanian-Swiss Psychologist - will start by unpacking some of the emotions we may be experiencing on this path of sacred activism, in a practical and informative way.

Hiba will challenge the myth that we need to be calm and regulated all the time - that we are doing something wrong if we are feeling sadness or rage or even helplessness. Instead, she will offer skills for understanding and working with emotions in a way that feels empowering and helpful.

You will be invited to explore how to show up in an embodied, authentic way, with the full range of human emotions.

PART 2: The Spiritual Experience

Lais Stephan - Healer, Space Clearing Expert + Writer - has always been someone who cares about making positive changes, and she connects this with her spiritual beliefs. She'll talk about different types of activism that she thinks are special and connected to spirituality. 

Unlike some popular new age doctrines, Lais believes that it's important to take a stand and speak out against the problems and unfairness we see in the world. According to her, doing this is how we can elevate our spirituality to a new level—becoming not just someone who believes in compassion but someone who takes action based on that compassion.

Lais believes that all our emotions are sacred and here to teach us a lot about ourselves. We will talk about sacred rage and its power to transform us in big ways.

Lais will lead a somatic exercise, inviting you to descend into the depths of your heart space to allow to feel all your emotions in a safe environment. She will then guide you to express yourself authentically, whether through poetic expression, journaling, or spontaneous strokes of doodling and painting. Be sure to bring your journals along!

In closing the circle, Lais will weave together our collective energies, culminating in a powerful prayer dedicated to Gaza. 

Practical information:

Thursday 30 November @ 19:30-21:00 CET / 18:30-20:00 GMT / 1:30PM-3:00PM EST

Online Workshop via Zoom - recording will be available and sent by email.

Join us by filling out the form below:

This workshop is now fully booked!

This workshop is about connecting to others in a way that feels safe and respectful of ourselves.

Trust allows us to know when it is safe to open up and connect, and when it is wiser to walk away or close off. 

Being able to reach out to others while staying centered in our own self brings meaning and vitality to life and relationships. 

You will leave knowing how to connect to others in a way that is authentic and respectful of your own experience of trust and opening up. 

Themes we will cover

• What is connection? 

• Your personal connection strategy

• Connecting to oneself first - learning to dance on our own

• Connecting to others: Dancing with other people

• Empathy + holding a space for connection

• The role of vulnerability in cultivating connection

• Misusing vulnerability: Floodlighting 

• Trust - knowing when and how to trust

• Dealing with rejection

• The crucial art of walking away

• Opening up while staying authentic

The workshop lasts 3.5 hours from 13:30 - 17:00 and includes a break + homemade snack.

The information shared is a unique mix of wisdom from: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) / Sensorimotor Psychotherapy / Brené Brown.

We will combine theoretical knowledge with fun, practical exercises where we also work with a felt sense of what is happening in the body.

Cost

90 CHF, including handout + snack.

After signing-up, you will receive an invoice which you can pay by bank transfer or credit card. Your sign-up is confirmed once payment is received.

Where

Lausanne Therapy Space - 6th floor

18 rue du Grand-Pont

1003 Lausanne

Sign-up

Please sign-up to secure your spot as space is limited to a small group of about 8 people.

Do you notice that you often repeat certain patterns in your relationships (both romantic and others)? 

Maybe others take advantage of how nice you are and you feel resentment or frustration - like nobody supports you. 

Maybe you play small, take up as little space as possible or try to be easy-going and cool - and then feeling unseen or unappreciated. 

Maybe you help everyone out, are always there for them...but nobody is really there for YOU. 

Or you might feel cut off, disconnected, distant from other people - like nobody really understands you. 

The patterns we repeat in relationships make sense. They are often how we learned to act as children to be in connection with others and to be valued - and this relationship blueprint is what still guides us today as adults. 

It isn’t our fault - and it also isn’t our destiny.

By better understanding why we do what we do, we can start to question and change how we show up in our relationships instead of just doing what we’ve always done.

This interactive talk will mix attachment theory and boundary styles to help explain in a fun way common relationship patterns. 

Location: Lausanne Therapy Space - 18 rue du Grand-Pont - 1003 Lausanne

Cost: 40 CHF

Space is limited - please sign-up below:

A Workshop for Men Who Want to Act from Strength

Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest is often understood as the survival of the strongest - yet what he meant was that survival of a species depends not on sheer force, but on the ability to be aware of and adapt to the environment - to the wilderness.

This is the broader definition of strength we will use in this workshop for men: We will explore what it means to be a man who is confident, assertive and adaptable, and not afraid of standing in and acting from his strength. 

We will use a mix of exercises and explorations from the world of Psychology to explore how to:

1. Overcome the obstacles in the way. 

2. Understand the boundaries of any man's strength - what he can and cannot shape in life and relationships.

3. Adapt to cues from the environment: Knowing when to be solid as a rock and when to be fluid like water.

4. Better communicate with members of the tribe: Tools for relationships. 

By the end of this exploration, you will discover a broader definition of strength based not on brute force but on assertiveness, confidence and adaptability. 

You will be able to start acting from your own strength in a way that is attractive and assertive without being overpowering.

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee

when + where 

Saturday March 24 -14:00 - 17:30 @ Lausanne Therapy Space in central Lausanne - 18 rue du Grand-Pont, 1003 Lausanne

cost

60 CHF

a little about us

why a mixed gender facilitation?

We met last year as part of the same peer supervision group and both expressed an interest in working with men in a group format. 

We share an interest in the topic of what it means to be a man in the age of #metoo, where men are asked to be vulnerable and show sensitivity, yet still expected to be strong.

We decided to hold this workshop as a man / woman team in order to share different perspectives - both a lived experience of being a man and that of a woman experiencing this from the other side. 

Hiba says of Aernout:

Aernout says of Hiba:

join us

Let us know if you are interested !

Overcome self-doubt + do what matters 

I’ll do it when I feel more confident.

How many times have you said this to yourself?  

Do doubts and fears about yourself hold you back from fully living your life?

What if there was a way to build confidence instead of just waiting for it to happen?

Join this Yoga + Psychology Urban Retreat led by Ludmila, Yoga Teacher and Hiba, Psychologist and overcome the doubts and fears that are keeping your life small.

We will combine yoga focused on the Manipura Chakra (personal power) with a scientifically validated approach based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

You will learn a new way to approach confidence so you can start doing the stuff that matters to you. 

You will leave with effective skills to build self-confidence in any life situation and and a felt sense of the strength present in your body.

No previous experience in yoga needed. 

when

Sunday March 11 -13:00 - 17:00

where

Ooom Studio - Rue de Bourg 20 1003 Lausanne

cost

110 CHF or 90 CHF if you bring a friend. This includes yoga, workshop, handouts and a healthy snack.

agenda

15 minute meditation

1 hour workshop with Hiba

20 minute break with healthy snacks 

45 minute workshop with Hiba

1 hour yoga with Ludmila

Share

40 minute yin yoga to relax and integrate all the learnings

join us

Space is limited - please sign-up below:

How do we create intimacy in non-romantic relationships?

What holds us back from feeling more connected to other people?

How can we create a village around us instead of relying on one person to fulfil us?

These are the questions we will explore through a mix of open-hearted discussions / exercises + insights from the psychology of intimacy.

And because it is Valentine's Day, we will also enjoy some chocolate together! 

Cost: 20 CHF 

Everyone (men, women, single, not single, it's complicated) is welcome! 

When: Wednesday February 14 - 19:30 - 21:15

Where: At Lausanne Therapy Space in central Lausanne (18 rue du Grand-Pont, 1003 Lausanne).

This event is hosted by Hiba Samawi, Psychologist FSP. 

Space is limited - please sign-up:

We know what we want to do - the change we want to make - yet we keep getting in our own way. 

Maybe you know the scenario:

You start out motivated to make the change you want to make, the habit you want to change.

You tell yourself that THIS TIME things will be different. This time, it will work.

This might be a new way of eating or exercising, a new business project or the way you react in a relationship. 

So you bring in more willpower. You bring in discipline. Perhaps some deprivation. You feel strong. You feel optimistic that THIS TIME things will be different. 

Fast forward a few weeks later. You've given up. Again. It seems impossible to make this change. And you feel angry and disappointed with yourself because it feels like you've gotten in your own way. 

What's going on? 

What if what's going on actually made perfect sense? 

What if there is always a good reason for everything we do, including not being able to stick to our goals and seemingly getting in our own way? 

Because self-sabotage has at its core an inner conflict. A conflict between different parts of ourselves. 

And when we understand this conflict and what's really going on, we can stop beating ourselves up about it, and discover a more effective way of making change. 

A way that does not involve discipline and deprivation. 

A way that involves working more effectively with the different parts of ourselves while tapping into a wiser part that can help us make sustainable change. 

Join me in this free talk in Lausanne as I explain this dynamic - what's really going on - and how to make more effective change. 

Where: La Serre - Ch. de Bérée 4a, 1010 Lausanne (10 minutes with the M2 metro from the train station - Fourmi stop)

This talk is free but sign-up is necessary: 

Learn how to work with and understand emotions. 

Do you have a hard time dealing with ‘negative’ emotions? 

Do you find yourself either numbing with food or alcohol or TV or exploding and regretting your reaction later?

What if we could start seeing emotions as neither our boss nor our enemy but as messengers, each with something specific to tell us?

What if we could have mastery over emotions so they can work for us, not against us - helping us gain more self-awareness, make better decisions and feel fully alive?

This introduction to emotions will allow you relate to your emotions in a completely different way.

It will provide you with the language to understand what is really going on when an emotion shows up and how to work with it, rather than against it.

Through simple, experiential tools, you will learn to handle emotions in a way that is counterintuitive to anything we are taught.

I don't think we can learn much about ourselves, our relationships, or the world without recognizing and getting curious about emotions. - Brené Brown

The Format

• 3 virtual meetings: A mix of presentation + discussion / practical exercises 
• Action steps to practise between sessions
• PDF summaries
• Video recording of all sessions in case you miss a session or want to re-watch it

We will use an easy to use virtual meeting room so we can all hear and see each other. If you don't have a webcam or don't want to use video, you can also join via audio or chat.

Session 1:

What are emotions?

Emotions and the body - learning to locate them

Finding the middle ground between suppressing emotions and allowing them to explode all over the place.

Starting to bring curiosity to painful emotions

Session 2: 

Going through the individual emotions + understanding their ‘job description’ in your internal village

Starting to speak the language of the emotions.  

Session 3: 

How to deal with the emotions of stress

Bringing everything together: How to work with emotions

Cost

120 CHF / USD for everything - can be paid by bank transfer or with PayPal - please pick below. 

Space is limited to keep a small group dynamic - please sign-up here:

Why are we often our own worst enemy? 

Does it makes sense that we wouldn't talk to others the way we talk to ourselves?

And how can we learn to better live with the Inner Critic?

We will explore why the inner critic makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, and how to better live with this painful voice of self-sabotage or self-criticism. 

This workshop is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a mindfulness-based behavioural approach.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves. - Pema Chödrön

50 CHF 

Are you struggling with something in your life right now?

A separation / break-up, death of a loved one, depression, life as an expat? Or maybe there is nothing in particular - life just feels hard. 

Often we end up feeling helpless because there isn’t much we can do to make the situation easier and the dark times can feel like a burden we have to carry.

What if we could learn to carry that burden differently, so that it feels a little lighter? 

This workshop provides skills to better deal with the dark times by helping you:

♥ Learn to deal with difficult emotions.

♥ Work with painful aspects such as regret in a more constructive way. 

♥ Start to have your own back in times of difficulty (self-compassion).

♥ Connect to what matters to you in this situation - your values.

♥ Better listen to your needs during this time.

 Cost: 50 CHF, including snack + handout

This workshop is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and given by Hiba - Psychologist + Coach. 

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. - Viktor Frankl

Please sign-up as space is limited: 

This is now fully booked - please sign-up for the newsletter to know about the next session. 

Do you have a hard time saying no to things you don’t want to do?

Do you feel that people are always taking advantage of you?

Do you find yourself always needing to please people?

Do you have a hard time knowing what you want, making decisions or being clear on your desires?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need healthy boundaries!

This online group coaching class will help you establish healthy boundaries - knowing when to say YES, NO and MAYBE - in a way that feels authentic and aligned. 

The Content

session 1 - march 1 - 20:00 - 21:30 (CET)

1. Why boundary setting is HARD and feels unnatural and counter to our need for connection and attachment.
2. Why boundaries are necessary for healthy human relationships grounded in authenticity and integrity. 
3. Understanding what we are responsible for or can influence and what we can't (hint: we can’t control other people’s actions or reactions).
4. Understanding the key role of anger: Starting to notice anger / resentment / regret as signals that our boundaries have been crossed.

session 2 - march 8 - 20:00 - 21:30 (CET)

1. Connecting with what we want to stand for in a situation (values) and using them as a guiding force. 
2. Tapping into healthy anger (assertiveness) to establish boundaries. 
3. How to set a boundary step-by-step.

session 3 - march 15 - 20:00 - 21:30 (CET)

1. Noticing the discomfort that shows up as part of the experience. 
2. Working with the inevitable discomfort of setting a boundary and choosing this over longer-term resentment. 
3. Dealing with other people’s reactions.

The Format

• 3 virtual meetings: 45 minute presentation + 45 minute discussion / practical exercises 
• Action steps to practise between sessions
• PDF summaries
• Video recording of all sessions in case you miss a session or want to re-watch it

We will use an easy to use virtual meeting room so we can all hear and see each other. If you don't have a webcam, you can also join via audio.

Cost

85 CHF / USD or 80 EUROS for everything - can be paid by bank transfer or with PayPal - please pick below. 

Space is limited to keep a small group dynamic - please sign-up here:

Thank you for your interest - this event is now fully booked! 

How do we create intimacy in non-romantic relationships?

What holds us back from feeling more connected to other people?

Instead of expecting one person to complete us, how can we create a village around us?

These are the questions we will explore through a mix of open-hearted discussions / exercises + insights from the psychology of intimacy. And because it is Valentine's Day after all, we will also enjoy some delicious homemade chocolate! 

Cost: 15 CHF 

Everyone (men, women, single, not single, it's complicated) is welcome!