About Julia

I work with people because I know what it means not to understand yourself for a long time.

My path into this work was not a straight line. It was a series of experiences — personal and professional — that convinced me change rarely comes from more knowledge. It comes from more understanding.

Julia Rathjen portrait

Personal

I know sleep disturbances, depression, emotional dysregulation, trauma and grief not only from training or textbooks. I know them from my own life. I write this not because my story is special, but to be honest with you: there is a difference between a therapist who knows the theory — and one who has once not known what to do next herself.

Professional

My work is based on interpersonal neurobiology, trauma-sensitive practice and many years of therapeutic work. I integrate insights from polyvagal theory, attachment research and body-oriented approaches — not as a mix of methods, but as a coherent view of the person.

Stance

I don't believe in pathologizing. I believe that what you feel today is a meaningful response of your system to your history. My role isn't to fix you. It's to support you in understanding yourself so clearly that change becomes possible — without the pressure to self-optimize.

Qualifications

  • Training in interpersonal neurobiology
  • Trauma-sensitive therapeutic practice
  • Continuing education in polyvagal theory
  • Attachment- and development-oriented work
  • Body-oriented approaches
  • Work with leaders & founders