Far from home and friends? Feeling lonely?
Too much stress?
Overwhelmed by problems?
Need support?
You’re at the right place to receive help!
I’m Dr. Erna Adamkó, a certified psychologist.
With my knowledge and experience I can help you reach your goals.
Take the first step on the way of personal improvement!
ErnART – Psychological and Mental Health Counseling
I know from my own experience, that moving abroad can be a life changing and inspiring experience, however it also brings a lot of distress to handle and problems to be solved, you didn’t need to face before. Starting a new life far from home is challenging, and you may feel that it’s too difficult to cope with all of this alone. Although it’s the most difficult to ask for support when we feel we’re weak, it’s worth it.
Having someone to share your problems and fears with in an accepting environment helps releasing distress, but with professional support it may also help you reconnect with your inner resources and find the answers for your questions.
During psychological or mental health counseling, besides addressing the difficulties of living abroad, we can also address issues related to everyday life, such as relationship or workplace problems, crises or career modifications.
Through raising self awareness and with emotional and professional support, you find your own resources and solutions to the problems.
My fields of special expertise are as follows:
- Coping with the difficulties that moving to a new country or living abroad brings up
- Challenges of studying abroad
- Support of self awareness and personal development
- Healing from trauma
- Change of destructive relationship patterns
- Burnout, career change
- Creative recreation
- Creative crisis
According to my belief, self awareness is an inner journey. I accompany my clients on their path of personal development and support them with the following methods:
- Humanistic counseling
- Katathym Imaginative Psychotherapy (KIP therapy)
- Schema therapy
- Brainspotting
- Life-, business-, leadership- and career coaching and counseling
- Eco-psycological counseling
- Art therapy
At the sessions step by step we walk together your way from defining your goals to the realization of a fulfilling life.
If you feel that you need support to cope with the challenges of life, please don’t hesitate to contact me, and set an appointment either in person or online!
Be the designer of your new life! Build up your life the way you want!
ErnART – Art Therapy and Support of Personal Creativity
Our personality is reflected in everything we do. However, if we create something, it can provide even ourselves with additional information on what is inside of us, and how we work. During art therapy and art coaching sessions with the methods of fine art like drawing, painting, claywork, montage, collage etc. you can experience the releasing power of creating while you can also meet your inner self and may find the answers to your big questions in life.
We complete thematical creations with classical coaching and other verbal techniques as well as with drawing anaylsis and tests. With these methods you can reach a deeper understanding of yourself and your life. At the same time, by inspiring your creativity in various ways, you can get new impetus to move out from your comfort zone, and make the first steps towards a happier life.
Individual or Group Creativity Supporting Sessions
If you feel like wandering in your world via creativity supporting sessions
- you can get away from your everyday life,
- playing with colours and shapes,
- releasing your emotions, and
- discovering your unknown side,
- in case of group sessions you can become a member of a supporting group where you can relate to others and share your emotions while receiving empathy and emotional support from the group
Art therapy and creativity supporting sessions are built on free creation, that itself has a stress relieveing effect, helps to get away from everyday life, and find again our playful self.
Individual or Group Art Therapy Counseling Sessions
If besides supporting self expression and creativity, you wish to address issues with art therapy, thematical creating provides a unique opportunity to process the events of your life, your relationships and your problems in such a way that you can find new directions and can make the first steps towards change.
Topics that can be approched by methods of art therapy and creative tasks:
- improving and supporting self expression via creative activities
- reconnect with your inner child and your playful self
- improving self awareness and self esteem
- understanding and expressing emotions
- understanding and changing recurring life events, destructive relationship and other patterns
- understanding and resolving relationship issues
- developing effective conflict handling strategies
- managing stress and learning effective stress releasing methods
- helping to cope with the challenges of life that living abroad brings
- helping to move forward from difficult situations where you feel stuck
- helping foreigners fitting in Hungary by understanding Hungarian customs and way of living providing a friendly and supportive environment to share emotions and experiences
At the sessions, that may last 1,5 or 2 hours you may relax and recharge in a supporting environment, and find the key to your questions in life.
For Children
Development of creativity and emotional life, anxiety and stress managament with art therapy methods and psychological counseling
Children act much more intuitively than adults, they relate more to the visual world, and are genuinely creative If we help them with deploying their natural creativity and support their emotional and social development, we can base that they will find their own creative answers to all arising issues, and will be able to cope with any kind of stress appearing in their lives.
Art therapy and psychological counseling offer tools in this field. I combine these methods in order to provide children with many variable possibilities to process their experiences and to express themselves.
In case of children thematic creation of a piece of art can take plae either individually or in a group. Professionally led creations can provide the children with joy, as well as improves creativity, helps them recognize and express their feelings, manage stress, find unique solutions to any issues, and improves self confidence as well.
About Me
Psychology and art therapy became my profession as a result of a complete career change, after having gained a lot of expertise in various other fields. During my walk of life I had worked at various multinational companies, as well as for other larger or smaller businesses. At a certain point I even became a freelancer, and still work independently.
I have been living both in Hungary, my home country, as well as abroad, during which periods I – like many others – couldn’t avoid crisis either.
However, all the experiences I had, and having faced all the challenges on the way, made me understand myself and the world around me better, and still help me turn towards others with a deep empathy as a mental health professional.
I have been training myself professionally in the field of psychology and art therapy continuously since 2008, that laid a strong professional basis for helping others with their difficulties or prvoviding them with creative tools for recreation.
I earned my psychology BA degree at Károli Gáspár University, Budapest, and my psychology MA degree at the University of Debrecen, Debrecen with the specialisation in interpersonal and intercultural psychology. I carried out my university research about the psychological aspects of living in a foreign country, and wrote my thesis of the same topic, too.
Currently I attend further psychology trainings to enrich my professional knowledge e.g. on shema therapy, on eco-psychological counseling and on complex integrative therapy.
Education
University and College Studies
2021 – 2023 Psychology MA, University of Debrecen, Hungary (specialisation: interpersonal and intercultural psychology)
2018 – 2021 Psychology BA, Károli Gáspár University, Hungary
2012 – 2014 Integrated Art Therapist, John Wesley College, Postgraduate training program
2008 – 2010 Mental Health and Organisation Development Counselor, Semmelweis University, Hungary, Postgraduate training program
1999 – 2005 Lawyer, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Other trainings and courses
2024 – in progress Schema Consultant trainee – Hungarian Schema Therapy Alliance, Hungary
2024 – in progress Complex Integrative Therapist trainee – Hungarian Cpmplex Integrative
Psychoherapy Alliance, Hungary
2024 – 2025 Eco-psychology Counselor – Institute of Eco-psychology, Hungary
2024 Brainspotting Phase 1 Practitoner – Mariya Javed-Payne, MSW, LICSW, LADC
2018 – 2019 Business and Leadership Coach – Hungarian Coaching Psychology Society, Hungary
2017 Mediator – Umathum Mediator Academy, Hungary
2011 – 2012 Psychological drawing analysis 1. OKJ course, Psychological drawing analysis 2. OKJ course (Prof. Dr. Zoltán Vass), Hungary
https://www.facebook.com/ernartcoaching/
https://www.facebook.com/ernart.muveszetterapia/
References
“Erna is an incredible therapist!!! She has had a lot of experience that is relevant to mine. Her ways of engagement are thought-provoking and conducive to a change of perspective on life issues. 100% recommended! I have tried a few therapist in the past but was never able to have a real connection with any of them except with Erna.”
“Very professional and helpful therapist! I wholeheartedly recommend her to everyone! She helped me a lot. It was a very good decision that I went to her.”
“I found art therapy with Erna really helpful. I’m a very cerebral person and it can be hard for me to really feel my emotions, hold still and go deeper. With art I can express things I don’t know how to express in words. It lead me to places regular talking therapy didn’t. Erna is empathic and I felt immediately relaxed and I feel like I can open myself up and she will understand and not judge me no matter what i say. I recommend trying art therapy with her, at least once, to everyone. It’s one of my favourite parts of my week. No matter how stressed I go in I always come out relaxed and full of new thoughts and energy. The mess from my head left behind on the paper. 🙂 ”
“Art therapy with Erna was a wonderful experience. The atmosphere in the sessions was really warm and friendly. It helped me relax and let my creativity express my emotions and ideas in an abstract way through art. The activities were diverse and very interesting. I could feel a bond of trust developing between me and the other participants as we got to know each other.”
“A wonderful environment with nice techniques to express and find yourself. Erna is a heart-warming person who gives you freedom and practice for the tasks, and leads you to a more open and positive being. It is really worth it and you can nicely figure out how you can even start to express feelings on your own.”
“The sessions were very enjoyable, exploring different media, including, oil pastels, soft pastels, water colours, cut ups and collage. I enjoyed exploring each form of media…..The other people in the group were very friendly and welcoming and over the course of the 4 weeks I felt I got to know them very well as people…“
“I think Erna is an excellent tutor/guide, encouraging and challenging us to try explore different techniques.. I would recommend the course and would be keen to attend others if the opportunity arose again.”
Contact
Dr. Erna Adamkó
Psychologist
Integrative Art Therapist
Mental Health counselor
Mediator
Coach
Set an appointment to an in-person or an online consultation in email: erna.adamko@gmail.com!
Opening hours:
Tuesday: 07:30 – 08:30 (online) – available
Wednesday: 10:00 – 15:00 (online) – available
Thursday: 16:00 – 19:00 (in person)
Friday: 10:00 – 13:00 (online) – available
Locations:
Office 1: 1133 Budapest, Hegedűs Gyula utca 64-66.
Office 2: 1134 Budapest, Lehel út 52.
Psychological consultation of eco-psychology approach takes place in outside locations as agreed in advance.
Tel: +36 30 624 3945
E-mail: erna.adamko@gmail.com
1133 Budapest,
Hegedűs Gyula utca 64-66.
or
ONLINE
Find me on:

Anyone who owns a dog or cat surely feels and knows that these animals often act as “therapy animals” for their owners.
I also noticed shortly after my dog moved in that if I get tense – without me saying anything or showing it from the outside – he notices my restlessness on the other side of the room and immediately runs to cuddle with me and do everything to make me feel better.
Today, this is no longer just an individual observation, scientific research also supports the fact that petting animals has a calming effect on the nervous system and the heart, and in general, keeping a dog or cat reduces the risk of heart and other stress diseases.
However, based on my own experience and my work with my clients, I have come to the conclusion that it is much more than that.
Because this is not a one-sided, but a mutual relationship, which includes attachment, responsibility, and the cooperation that comes with living together on the part of both parties.
Especially with pets kept in the apartment, it is obvious – but also noticeable with those kept outside – that our animals become part of our family, they appear as a very important relationship in our lives, just as we do in theirs.
And this close relationship – like all close relationships – offers the opportunity to learn new attachment patterns.
Even those who did not grow up in a loving family, treating an animal kindly and paying attention to it, taking care of it responsibly, can experience an emotionally safe relationship, from which on the one hand you can learn a lot, and on the other hand you can see a different possibility for human relationships.
I had a client who grew up in an emotional environment that was not at all accepting or safe, but as soon as she got a cat, she began to learn and experience the loving care that was not given to her. On the one hand, she learned to take responsibility for another living being, for its well-being, but at the same time, she also saw that this role also includes the fact that even if the cat knocks a flower off the shelf, for which she scolds him, she still loves him and does not turn away from him, but forgives him.
And it’s mutual. Her cat also pays attention to her emotional states, trying to cheer her up when she’s sad and calm her down when she’s nervous. And if she has a bad day, and yells at the cat once, although it may be offended, but sooner or later it softens, and no matter what happens, both of them experience that the relationship is stable and they can count on it.
This is also why it is worth treating our animals well. On the one hand, we learn care and attention, and on the other hand, the love we receive from them also shows us what safe loving relationships are like, which everyone needs and which is worth striving for. And this experience can also provide a basis for the development of our human relationships.
Finally, here’s an illustration of my beloved little dog friend: Arthur
Both in my circle of acquaintances and in my own practice among my clients it is often found that the desire to get away from their toxic family members in such a way that they don’t have to deal with conflicts with them, was strongly present as a stated or unstated motivation in the decision to move abroad – in addition to its many obvious advantages. They believed that this would preserve the relationship, but not cause the daily problems perceived as unsolvable.
For those involved, it usually turns out that their family relationships at home were a source of constant frustration, because the family, or some family members, demanded excessive control over their lives even as adults, held them accountable to the smallest detail, and in the worst case, they even went so far as to dictate how they lived and who they were in contact with. And if they resisted, they were continuously hurt, humiliated, or at least made to feel guilty.
Of course, they realized that this was not good, that they couldn’t live their lives according to their own preferences, but they didn’t want to lose contact with the family either, so they didn’t dare to take on a conflict.
Moving abroad seemed to be a good solution for all of this, because the problems seemed to be resolved without harming the relationship.
After all, they thought, if they are not present in person, the family members will not see their everyday life, they will not be able to have a say in what they do, and they will not meet mutual acquaintances either. In addition, they can get rid of the toxic atmosphere of the meetings expected at home without any special explanation, simply because they are not there.
Twenty to thirty years ago, the plan was partially working, although even then it turned out sooner or later that it was not that simple.
When there was no FaceTime, Google Meet, Zoom and Skype, but only telephones (if applicable, only landlines) and international calls were very expensive, a 10-minute conversation a week really didn’t give people at home the opportunity to know everything. In the same way, physical distance was more important, because it was much more expensive to travel, so it was not a reality for someone to go home from another country every few weeks.
However, those who lived in it know that – although they were indeed able to move away from the original toxic environment – this did not mean a real solution to all their problems, because they still functioned in the same way as in their relationships at home.
Just as they were not able to stand up and take on conflicts within the family, they were not able to do so in the new environment with new people either. They were unable to draw boundaries and set healthy expectations towards others, so they often ended up in relationships very similar to the ones they fled from at home. Moreover, the supportive friendly relationships abroad did not help them as they did at home, in addition to the fact that moving abroad presented them with many additional challenges.
Thus, even in their case, deeper self-knowledge and personality development work was the solution.
Today, it is already an illusion that we can escape from a place or relationship simply by moving away. Technological progress and globalization have many advantages, but in this regard, it has resulted in the fact that technology is no longer an obstacle to any degree of participation in each other’s lives. So even if we leave, we will be just as controllable as at home.
A good example of this is one of my former clients living in Germany, who, at the age of 32, was followed by his mother living in Hungary on a daily basis through the iPhone Locator function, and reported, for example, why he went to the neighboring village and what he was doing there.
So, it can be seen that today it is less and less possible to escape. In addition, after a while it can be recognized that it is no coincidence that we prefer to run away if we cannot solve our relationship problems, in addition to the fact that it is not always possible to run away again and again.
The real solution is if we are able to learn about our functioning and turn to ourselves with empathy. By understanding the events of our lives and also emotionally processing the previous life events, we can learn to function differently and make different decisions.
In the empathic and accepting atmosphere that I provide, I assist in developing self-awareness, experiencing acceptance, and developing more useful ways of functioning by using the various methods I combine (KIP, therapy, Brainspotting, art therapy, schema therapy).
In addition to supporting my clients in seeing their difficulties and getting in touch with their long-repressed feelings, the consultations also lead to emotional processing of difficult experiences. This can bring relief and cessation of symptoms and healthier functioning both at home and abroad.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), burnout syndrome is a set of symptoms resulting from chronic work stress characterized by a general, strong feeling of exhaustion; increased mental distance from work or feelings of negativism or cynicism about work and decreased professional effectiveness.
Given the harmful effects of the above in the lives of individuals and in the world of work, and since burnout has been an increasingly serious problem at the social level since the middle of the twentieth century, many scientific studies have already dealt with the topic.
Since the literature basically defines burnout as “the experience of the individual in relation to the given work conditions” (Maslach, Schaufeli, Leiter, 2001), research until the beginning of the 2000s only focused on situational factors, e.g. the workplace environment, working conditions, but after that other factors, such as individual characteristics predisposing to burnout, were also examined.
Maslach, Scahufeli, and Leiter in their article “Job burnout” (2001) already define 1. typical jobs and working conditions, 2. some typical professions, 3. typical organizational characteristics, and 4. individual demographic characteristics, characteristics, and attitudes, which according to research results lead to burnout (Maslach, Schaufeli, Leiter, 2001).
Therefore, by now, it has been scientifically proven that burnout can be associated with some typical jobs, professions, working conditions and organizational characteristics, which are further colored by the effects of the quality of management and the individual qualities of managers and employees, but factors beyond all of these can also have an effect.
Among the factors mapped so far, there are some that can easily be linked to the fact that the individual experiences his situation as hopeless, even without thinking about it for a long time.
This can be, for example, excessive workload. It’s clear that both quantitative and qualitative overload contribute to exhaustion, as both can exhaust a person’s capacities, making it impossible to recharge and maintain a healthy personal life alongside work.
In the same way, it’s easy to see that if the tasks and responsibilities are not clear, if there is uncertainty as to why the individual can be called upon and why not, or if his work is not appreciated, this can all lead to the fact that he will experience the signs of the burnout syndrome.
But why does someone burn out after a while doing a certain job in a certain place, while others in the same situation don’t?
In addition to the fact that the concept of resilience, i.e. mental resilience, has been known for some time, which can also be interpreted as the ability to successfully adapt to changing or stressful circumstances and characterizes individuals to varying degrees, the matching of work and working conditions to the individual is less often discussed.
Our personal interests are decisive in the field in which we are willing to make efforts in order to be good at it and to improve. If we do an activity that we are passionate about, in which we are happy to delve into, it is easier to spend a longer time becoming an expert, and it is easier to take on the difficulties that arise. The topic we deal with can provide motivation that can help overcome the possible negative aspects of work or working conditions.
At the same time, our personality and characteristic traits can also determine what kind of lifestyle, work method, and working conditions are suitable for us, among which we feel comfortable. If our work requires skills that we are good at or has inherent qualities that we enjoy, we can activate sources of joy during work that can protect against mental exhaustion caused by difficulties.
In addition, it can also play a role in what kind of work is most suitable for us, what stage of life and life situation we are in, which changes from time to time, so it is also good if the work performed can be adapted to the changes.
If, on the other hand, our chosen job does not meet the above requirements, or in the worst case, it was not even chosen by us, even the “ideal” workplace can be excessively exhausting and can lead to burnout for us.
So, even when choosing a career, we should be conscious and go in a direction that suits our inner interests and personality, and then also keep the above in mind when choosing a job or a workplace.
And if we find ourselves in a situation where we don’t feel good at our workplace, it can be useful, even with professional assistance, to look at the real cause of the dissatisfaction and try to find what an effective solution would be taken into consideration the above.
Because the direction to take and the possible solution can be different in the event that the cooperation with the manager doesn’t work well, or if only the working conditions don’t match the life situation. But a completely approach is needed if it turns out that certain aspects of the work performed don’t suit the individual.
It is a common advice that we can hear everywhere to listen to our intuition and our inner voice will always tell us how to decide what is best for us.
This is often true, but what about those cases when, despite intuition, things regularly go wrong?
Many of us have at least one close friend who is always involved in bad relationships of the same type, and it seems almost unbelievable that he/she always chooses people who don’t respect him/her after a while, or it turns out that they take advantage of or cheat him/her.
In addition, the bad experiences often show a great similarity, even if the chosen ones are apparently not similar to each other.
But there are also those who experience in their work that, even though they change jobs in vain, they have very similar problems in the new place as before.
It is also thought-provoking that many times these are the people who, at the beginning of a relationship that later turned out to be bad, considered meeting a new partner as the “hand of fate”, and felt at first sight that the other person was “the One”.
Many people report that, in addition to the great attraction, they were able to connect immediately with the other person on a deeper level than with anyone else.
After a while, they didn’t understand how it could happen that they inflicted the same wounds on them as all their previous relationships.
What does this mean? Can’t we rely on our intuition after all? Or intuition doesn’t work? What is intuition anyway?
Intuition is generally defined in psychology as an internal process that allows an individual to quickly and automatically make decisions or form an opinion about something without having to consciously analyze the available information.
Intuition typically works on the basis of acquired knowledge, previous experiences and related emotions, and often appears in the form of immediate, “inner anticipation”, based on which we develop some kind of attitude towards people, phenomena and decision-making situations without thinking or analysis.
Some psychologists, such as Daniel Kahneman, place intuitive decision-making within the framework of “System 1” thinking, which is fast, automatic, and driven by emotion. In contrast, “System 2” thinking is based on slow, conscious and logical reasoning, that requires far more effort and energy than “System 1” thinking. In his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, Kahneman (2011) discusses in detail the role of intuition in decision-making and the resulting cognitive biases that affect intuitive decision-making processes.
From the point of view of our present topic, it is important that intuition is based on our previously acquired knowledge, experiences, and attitudes.
And this circle includes all the knowledge and experiences (“worldview”) acquired based on what we experienced as a child and in our youth, about what close human relationships are like, how family members relate to each other, what role we have in the family, and what we can expect from others in these close relationships.
These experiences are integrated into our personality and our ways of operation in such a way that we don’t question them, it is deeply ingrained in us that human relations work as we have learned. Whatever we experienced.
And this will have the effect that later – since we subconsciously recognize familiar attitudes and patterns – based on our intuition we will be attracted to people and situations that are similar to our early experiences. Furthermore, we experience them as if “everything is fine” with them, since they will confirm to us that what we learned in childhood is really so.
And if we meet experiences or people that are not in accordance with our inner world, we feel that something is “not right” with them, that they are strange, that we cannot relate to them.
Thus, those who grew up in a loving, safe, mutually respectful and supportive family are in an easier situation both in choosing a partner and in all other areas of life. Their intuition will tell them that people who operate in the same way are “okay” and they can relate to them. And those who don’t treat them well, don’t respect them and other people, they will find them repulsive and feel nothing in common with them. They’ll “instinctively” feel that this is not their world.
But what about those who grew up in unloving families?
The situation is different with those who grew up in an unloving family, who were neglected or abused. Unfortunately, their intuition will indicate that this is a real relationship in the case of a resurgence of previously experienced pain, because they “know” based on their intuition (previous experiences) that “the world works like this”, “close relationships are like this”, “they deserve this”, since they got this in their original family as well.
Thus, their intuition acts like a confused compass, directing them not to relationships in which they can heal, but to those in which they will be hurt again.
That is why it is possible that what I sometimes see with my clients is that when they leave their emotionally neglectful or abusive or alcohol-addicted family, they choose a partner similar to the abusive or alcohol-addicted parent as an adult, despite the fact that they have always consciously wanted the opposite.
But what is the solution to this?
In short, self-knowledge and inner work. The first step is always to recognize the early patterns that became part of us in our childhood.
If, in addition, we see that we have similar – negative – experiences as adults, then it is worth using the help of a professional. A professional psychologist with appropriate methods – also suitable for processing trauma – can not only help us see our childhood patterns and injuries, but can also provide support so that we can begin to emotionally process our early experiences.
And this is of fundamental importance in order to recognize not only the feeling of “destiny” in the present, but also at the very beginning, if someone doesn’t behave towards us in the way that would be good for us.
Based on this realization, with support, we will be able to make different decisions, and with that, turn towards a different kind of life.
A suitable professional can therefore help us to look differently not only at our past, but also at our present relationships. In this way, we will be able to make decisions that are truly in our best interest.
Remember: intuition is not always a reliable compass, but we can find new directions through conscious self-awareness.

We are all familiar with anxiety, which is a natural part of our lives when it is an understandable response to a situation perceived as threatening, and not so strong that it prevents us from thriving in the real situation.
Before an exam or an important meeting, or in a competitive situation, we recognize the cause of our anxiety and can prepare for that we will be somewhat anxious. And if the experienced feeling and symptoms are not exaggerated, then we can accept this anxiety, since we know what caused it and also when it presumably goes away.
A problem arises though, when we know what presumably caused us to feel anxious, but the root cause does not cause anxiety in everyone, and we don’t understand why for us. Or if the experienced anxiety is too strong and hinders us in our tasks and our way of life. It’s even more depressing if we don’t even know clearly what its appearance and course depend on.
Several of my clients have reported that they can link the appearance of their anxiety to specific situations, e.g.: travel, but they don’t understand why they are so afraid of it, or they don’t know at all what it depends on, e.g., whether their anxiety will appear during a trip, and if so, how strong it will be.
They experience their excessive anxiety as coming from outside and thus cannot be influenced by them in any way.
Yet the key to understanding and managing our anxiety lies within us. Excessive and incomprehensible anxiety is often a very good indicator of the fact that we are so far removed from our own emotions that they can only manifest in such an extreme and exaggerated form.
It may happen that we bury painful emotions and experiences so deeply that in the end we no longer feel anything about the originally painful memories. Meanwhile, we believe that if we don’t feel the bad feelings, then they don’t exist anymore. But this is not so.
Unprocessed negative experiences work in us in the same way and demand more and more to be manifested. And if we don’t do anything with them for a long time and sweep them under the carpet, the many accumulated repressed feelings will manifest in an extreme and evasive way in the form of incomprehensible and strong anxiety, physical symptoms, dysfunctional behaviors, and difficulties in relationships and at work.
Thus, even if we try to protect ourselves from unpleasant experiences by not dealing with them, this strategy does not work in the long term and causes further problems, so it is worth taking the path of confronting and processing emotions in order to reduce our anxiety and symptoms.
In the empathic and accepting atmosphere I provide, I assist my clients in enhancing self-awareness, and developing more useful ways of functioning by using the various methods at my disposal (schema therapy, KIP therapy, Brainspotting, art therapy).
In addition to supporting my clients in seeing their difficulties and getting in touch with their long-repressed feelings, the consultations also lead to emotional processing of difficult experiences. This can bring relief and cessation of symptoms and healthier functioning.
Moving abroad offers exciting opportunities, but the experience is often not without psychological difficulties. As a psychologist who helps with the problems of people moving abroad and those already living abroad, I think it is important that future expats or people living abroad who are already experiencing difficulties are aware of these challenges and prepare to deal with them.
During the process of moving and fitting in, many psychological factors play a role, which will affect emotional well-being. One of the most common difficulties is culture shock, which results from a sudden change in the cultural environment. Culture shock as defined by Oberg (1960) includes feelings such as confusion, frustration and loneliness. In the new environment, many people experience that they lose not only their security routines, but also the well-known rules of social interaction, which can cause uncertainty and anxiety.
In addition, the lack of social support also has a significant impact on mental health. During integration in a new country, it often happens that ties at home loosen, one loses some of one’s old friendships and finds it difficult to form new ones. According to research, social support is strongly related to psychological well-being. Not having a support system can increase the risk of anxiety and depression, so it’s important to actively seek out new connections, be it local communities or expat groups.
The integration process affects not only social relationships, but also personal identity. Moving often forces us to reevaluate our own identities, roles, and place in the world. Identity crisis is not a rare phenomenon among expats, which can lead to a decrease in self-esteem (Schwartz et al., 2010). As a treatment for this, it is important to actively work on strengthening our own identity, for example by reinterpreting our national and family traditions and adapting them to the new situation, incorporating elements of the local culture and developing our self-knowledge and activating our inner resources, even with the help of art therapy, KIP therapy or other creative coaching techniques.
In addition to all of this, we must also mention that in connection with moving abroad, our previous anxieties, problems or traumas that have not been worked on until now may resurface, which we should expect in any long-lasting, mentally taxing situation such as the challenges that moving abroad entails.
From the above, it can be seen that due to the significant tensions, the use of stress management techniques may be essential when coping with the challenges of life abroad. Mindfulness, yoga and meditation can help reduce anxiety and focus on the present moment.
Physical activity, such as sports or dancing, can also contribute to mental well-being by stimulating the production of endorphins, which increase feelings of happiness, as well as being an opportunity to make new social connections.
Spending time in nature, reconnecting with nature, whether regular walks or excursions, or integrating a more conscious eco-psychological approach into our lives, also has a positive effect on stress management and state of mind.
Finally, it is important to emphasize that the experience of moving abroad is individual, everyone experiences it differently, so not everyone has the same challenges. Despite the difficulties and challenges, those living abroad for a longer or shorter period of time mostly report that the experience made them more open and receptive, broadened their perspective and overall enriched them in many areas of life.
However, if someone feels that the difficulties are too great to cope with alone, it is worth contacting a professional who can provide support in the integration process.
The experience of moving abroad is therefore a complex psychological process that requires consideration and conscious preparation. At the same time, the conscious work invested in dealing with difficulties can help ensure that life abroad offers not only challenges, but also positive experiences and opportunities for development.
If I can help with this, feel free to contact me at erna.adamko@gmail.com.

There are numerous recipes and videos available online and offline that helps you create your own paints and plasticines, if you don’t want to buy them, but you’re interested in trying new materials.
Here are a few examples, you can start with.
You can prepare an easy water based paint with the help of this recipe:
https://tinkerlab.com/salt-and-flour-paint/
But you can prepare a paint even from pudding and food colourings:
And finally a great salt-flour plasticine recipe:
20 decagram flour
20 decagram salt
125 ml water
2-3 teaspoon oil
Put the ingerdients in a big bowl, and mix them thoroughly. Your plasticine is ready! J
If you wish your creation be long lasting, dry it in a warm owen for 30-40 min. at 100-110 ˙C. When you’re ready you can even apply transparent lacquer on it!
Try the recipes and register in the next online art therapy group or individual art coaching, where you can prepare your creations with your own paints and plasticines!
In relation to the registration and other details, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Dr. Erna Adamkó
integrated art therpaist
mental health and organization development counselor
mediator
+36306243945
erna.adamko@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/ernartcoaching/

Nowadays, as we spend much more time at home than usual, and don’t have the opportunity to relax with our friends or even go to the theater or the movies, we have the time to discover new ways of spending spare time.
If you’ve already been thinking about going to an art therapy course, but due to the lack of time eventually you never did, or have just met this possibility, but you’re interested in self development and self awareness raising methods, miss change from your life and could enjoy getting away from your everyday life for a few hours each week, an art therapy online course has just been invented for you!
Art therapy gives you the chance of awakening your creativity, and flying to unknown lands with the wings of your creations. In the meanwhile you can discover yourself from a different point of view in a supporting environment (in a group or in a therapeutical relationship), where you can share your emotions and thoughts, and get help to connect with your resources and cope with your difficulties.
And you don’t even need to go out from home, it works perfectly online as well!
What will you need for this?
Art therapy is based on the process of creation, for which you can use anything that your interests and openness allow you to.
Do you have a favourite method? Would you like to paint? Or prefer drawing? Would you try working with clay? Just get the necessary tools and materials for it e.g. a few paintbrushes and 5-6 colours of aquarelle or acrylic paint, some colour pencils, chalks, or a few pieces of clay. You’ll be able to use them, because we’ll taylor the art therapy tasks to your favourite techniques!
Or do you have no idea what you would enjoy, but you’re interested in trying the tools and techniques we use at the art therapy sessions? I help you with pleasure, and after the first discussion you’ll be able to choose easily!
What if you can’t get any artistic means or materials to use at the sessions?
If, for any reason, you can’t buy any artistic materials at all, you still don’t miss anything! There are a lot of available recipes for preparing your own home made paint or plasticine. Either you make paints out of puddings, or use a self made salt-flour plasticine, you’ll see, that it will be even more exciting to work with them at the sessions!
Since everybody has different materials, all the art therapy tasks will be tailored to you, but still there will be tasks for which everbody will have the same type of materials….
And these type of tasks will be those, where you’ll have to activate your inner creativity the most! You’ll use the objects from your environment and others, that you collect from the nature. It’s already exciting to check what you notice in your surroundings as potential material for your creations! Pebbles, pieces of wood, leaves etc. can gain a new sense through a creation!
If you’re interested how this can look like in practice, please check out some works prepared at the art therapy sessions at
https://www.facebook.com/ernartcoaching/
Try it, and register in the next art therapy group or take individual art coaching sessions!
In relation to the registration and other details, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Dr. Erna Adamkó
integrated art therpaist
mental health and organization development counselor
mediator
+36306243945
erna.adamko@gmail.com

As a professional mental health counsellor and art therapist I have been thinking about a lot how I could offer help to those that feel despaired or have difficulties with coping with the stress and the solitude of the (voluntary) quarantine and of the separation from the loved ones in the present situation caused by the spread of the coronavirus.
Two possibilities came to my mind, that I will realize from Monday.
Since I have been dealing with art therapy I got acquainted with a lot of creative people whom joined creation helped find their emotional balance again and flourish their hidden capacities. At the same time I heard often that during the hurry of everyday life they don’t have the time for drawing or painting, although they have a deep desire to do so.
For this reason it came to my mind that we could use the opportunities of the long hours at home in these difficult days to recharge ourselves and support each other with joint creating.
Creating sets us free, helps forget the difficulties of our situation and feel the joy of life, that we all really need.
In order to support this I advertise a 14 Day Creative Challenge starting tomorrow.
Details:
- I create a Facebook event in the group ErnArt – Coaching and Counseling in English, where I upload every morning at 09:00 a.m. a topic for the day, in relation to which we will make creations.
- You can use any technique, tool and material, you can draw, paint, use clay or create a montage, collage or an installation, it may contain only of a few lines or it can be a real masterpeace, but the only task is to make a creation in relation to the topic and upload its photo under the event with or without a comment.
- Gather inspiration from the others’ photo, and support them with your comments!
- Continue making creations for two weeks and feel the energy deriving from your art and the unity with others!
- If you can join later or have to leave out a day or two, don’t worry you, can make it up afterwards!
Besides the above I also help individuals who feel the need of talking to a professional in the framework of mental health counselling and life coaching sessions. due to the present situation I decided to offer for 50% of the regular fee a limited number of online helping conversation and life–coaching sessions. The fee of these sessions: 20 EUR / 50 min.
If you feel that it could help to talk to a professional, please contact me in e-mail:
Dr. Erna Adamko
mental health and organization development counselor
art therapist
mediator
Please note that mental health counseling and life coaching does not substitute psichoteraphy. If you have a diagnosed disorder or for any other reason you need the assistance of a psychologist or a psychiatrist, please consult such professonals.

People who decide to move to a new country are usually courageous and opened to new experiences and adventures. It makes us richer to meet cultures, people, worldviews and ways of living, surprisingly different from our own. It keeps us fresh, since we may learn exciting new things each day, and can lead us to a deeper understanding of the world. Living abroad is a fantastic experience not comparable to anything else, but on the other hand it comes with certain difficulties that need to be handled.
Being far from home, family, friends, and the familiar environment, as well as the stunning amount of new experiences may make us feel a little lonely though, now and then. Especially, when we face problems in our life. When we feel more vulnerable than usual anyway, we may lose emotional balance and miss very much the support of our loved ones and the security of the habitual environment, like a cup of coffee with our best friend in our favourite café.
However, coping succesfully with our problems and finding balance in hard times is essential. During art therapy sessions you can find your answers to your questions in life in an emotionally supportive environment, through drawing, painting and other techniques. In the friendly atmosphere, where you feel understood and accepted, I help you to find solutions.
You don’t need to know anything about art or drawing, the methods awaken the natural creativity in you, that exists in all of us.
Thus, besides reaching again your inner balance, you’ll feel understood and full of energy by the end of the sessions.
If you feel that you need some support, give art therapy a try, and call me at +36306243945 or e-mail to erna.adamko@gmail.com