Mgr. David Panuska

telephone: +420 777 694 024

e-mail: david.panuska@volny.cz

Location:

Mlada Boleslav - Palackeho 576

Praha Vršovice - 28.pluku 7

Price:

Standard therapy (55 min.): M.B.: 1000,- CZK, Praha: 1200,- CZK

Family, Couple, Group therapy (85 min.): M.B.: 1500,- CZK, Praha: 1800,- CZK

Discount negotiable for people in bad financial situation.

A few words about me:

My name is David Panuska (*1980). At first I have gained a degree in Sociology and Social politics at Charles University, Prague. However, during my studies I have already become oriented towards personal work with clients in social services. That's why later on I have completed my master's degree in the field of Social work with a focus on group psychotherapy (Prague College of Psychosocial Studies). I have also undergone a five year training in group psychotherapy (SUR) and a psychotherapeutic training in Open Dialog (Narativ - Mark Steven Hopfenbeck). And many other subsidiary trainings and courses.

I have gained my working experience in psychiatric clinics and in related social services (since 2003). Most frequently I have worked with people diagnosed with schizophrenia, but I have also worked with many other focus groups, ranging from young people with drug addiction to elderly patients of gerontopsychiatry. At the end of this period of working in psychiatric environment I have reached a conclusion, that psychiatric diagnoses are only an artificial and misleading construct. Mental diseases do not exist, they are merely a label for a person who is more vulnerable and more hurt than others. In my personal concept I have come to distinguish really just one and only diagnosis, which is actually very simple and humane: "Too much fear, too little love".

I have also been traveling for few years. I spent more then a year in Asia, in countries like Mongolia, India, Laos, Malaysia, etc. In Europe I have lived in Spain, France and Great Britain. These travels and working trips, have contributed towards my focus on narrative therapy. I have seen an immense diversity of people and their stories, and I came to understand, that each single person is completely unique and specific in the way he or she thinks. I realized, it is neither objective, nor useful to classify human beings on the basis of psychological theories or analytical concepts. However, we can still share our stories together and through this sharing become wiser and enriched.

When I started working in a narrative way, my relationship with clients has undergone a great transformation. I stopped looking at them as some kind of a "puzzle", that I, as a professional, have to decipher. Instead I have become rather a cultural anthropologist, who has been invited into their personal world and their peculiar life stories. I have learned to respect their authenticity and competencies to deal with their own issues themselves. Simply said, I have learned to lead clients to realize, how they can help themselves, in their own ways and according to their own decisions.

Besides psychotherapy, my main interests are amateur creative writing, hiking and handcrafts. I especially enjoy working with wood and leather, I used to make some macrame jewellery too. One of the best relaxation techniques, I know of, is taking a piece of nicely scented linden wood and a chisel, and let your imagination guide your hands, while gradually revealing the final shape.