Retirement, the loss of a role and the question of meaning
Retirement takes away structure, role, people and status, and offers freedom in return. How to move through the comedown after the honeymoon and rebuild…
ReadEvery transition begins as the loss of something you knew how to do. Therapy through life transitions is support in that in-between space, when the old no longer holds and the new is not yet yours.
50 minutes · contribution €25 · in person in Ljubljana
A transition is not an event but a period. A move takes one day, adjusting to it takes a year. It is in that gap that the feeling arises that something is wrong with us — everything is fine, after all, so why do we not feel well?
Researchers describe a similar arc for most people: a short period of elation, then a valley of doubt, tiredness and longing for the old, and only then a gradual settling in. The valley is not a sign that you chose wrongly. It is part of the way.
In therapy we do not look only for comfort. We look at what the transition took from you — a role, a rhythm, people, status, an idea of yourself — and which of those is worth rebuilding deliberately in a new form.
You do not have to match any of these lines. They are simply what people most often come with.
When you know where on this curve you are, it is less frightening.
Every transition begins with the end of something. That has to be acknowledged, not skipped.
A short period of energy and novelty. It misleads, because it seems it will stay that way.
Doubt, tiredness, longing. The hardest and the most normal part.
The new becomes yours. Not the same as before — different, and often wider.
Together we name where on the arc you are. That alone usually lowers the panic.
Even a good change takes something away. Until that is said, it drags on.
We put concrete things in place: what holds your week, who you can lean on, what is yours.
With transitions a few months is often enough. There is no need to promise a long road.
Through the form or by email. You do not have to explain everything — what brings you and roughly when a session would suit you is enough.
Within two working days at the latest. Together we find a time for a session at my practice in Ljubljana.
It is for getting to know each other and commits you to nothing. If we decide to continue, we go through and sign an informed consent form together.
50 minutes, usually once a week, often for a shorter period
No hidden costs and no commitment. Payment after each session. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the appointment.
I am a trainee enrolled in the specialisation programme in marriage and family therapy. That is exactly why the contribution is lower than usual — and exactly why I review every case regularly with a licensed supervisor.
I am a marriage and family therapist in training and I am enrolled in the specialisation programme. I do not do this work alone: I review every case regularly with a supervisor who is licensed and has many years of practice.
In supervision we discuss the content of sessions without any details by which you could be identified — the supervisor never learns who you are. For you this means that behind me stands not only my own knowledge, but also the experience of someone who follows the work from the outside.
Scheduling is handled by the FDI Institute, where I am completing my training. To arrange an introductory session, write or call here.
Za vse drugo — vprašanje o načinu dela, sodelovanje, mediji — mi piši neposredno na veronika@veronikazeleznik.com.
Longer articles from the blog related to through life transitions.
Retirement takes away structure, role, people and status, and offers freedom in return. How to move through the comedown after the honeymoon and rebuild…
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ReadWrite me a few lines about what weighs on you. I am happy to answer questions before you decide.