Clinical practice
Clinical Practice
A psychological consultation is not limited to identifying a symptom or applying a predetermined method.
Clinical work first seeks to understand what is at stake for the person: the nature and history of their difficulties, and how these are embedded in their psychological functioning, relationships and current environment.
Depending on the situation, support may therefore focus on the manifestations of distress themselves, but also on what they express, the resources already available and the possibilities for change.
With children and adolescents, particular attention is paid to developmental processes, family relationships and the environment in which difficulties emerge.
The practice also takes cultural and intercultural dimensions into account when these contribute to how psychological distress is understood, expressed or experienced.
Individual Psychotherapy — Adults & Adolescents
Individual psychotherapy offers a confidential space in which it becomes possible to put into words, explore and better understand what generates distress or recurs in psychological and relational life.
A consultation may be appropriate when a person is going through a period of anxiety, emotional distress, grief, separation or significant change, but also when facing traumatic experiences, relational difficulties, a loss of bearings or longer-standing questions about their history and psychological functioning.
Therapeutic work does not consist solely of making a symptom disappear. It also aims to understand its function, the conditions in which it appears and the psychological or relational processes to which it may be connected.
Support is tailored to each person and evolves over the course of the clinical work. Particular attention is paid to their individual history, ways of relating, psychological resources and life context.
Experiences of expatriation, migration or navigating several cultural frames of reference may also be explored when they hold a particular place in the person’s experience.
Dr Alicia Landbeck is a clinical psychologist and holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology. Her clinical experience has developed across hospital, community, humanitarian and intercultural settings in France and Cambodia.
Children & Adolescents
In children and adolescents, psychological difficulties can take many different forms: anxiety, withdrawal, agitation, behavioural manifestations, relational difficulties, emotional changes, adjustment difficulties or changes in usual functioning.
The consultation seeks to understand these manifestations by taking into account the child’s age, psychological and emotional development, history, relationships, and family and social environment.
The symptom is therefore not considered in isolation: it is placed within the child’s overall functioning and the developmental stage they are going through.
Depending on the child’s age and capacities, sessions may draw on speech as well as play, drawing or other therapeutic mediations. These forms of expression can enable the child to express and work through experiences that are not always directly accessible through language.
Work with parents is often an integral part of the support offered. Parent or family consultations may be proposed to better understand the child’s situation, support necessary adjustments and consider their relational environment together.
Consultations may notably be offered in response to:
- anxious, emotional or behavioural manifestations;
- relational, school-related or adjustment difficulties;
- separations, bereavements or significant changes in the child’s life;
- early traumatic experiences or situations of vulnerability;
- questions concerning development or psychological functioning;
- parental concerns about a change or difficulty affecting the child.
Dr Alicia Landbeck has particularly extensive clinical and research experience with children and adolescents. Her background includes child and adolescent psychiatry, child protection and supporting children who have faced early trauma, affective and relational deprivation, disruptions in relational bonds or situations of maltreatment. Her doctoral research focused on the therapeutic support of children facing these issues in Cambodia.
Couples Therapy & Family Therapy
Difficulties experienced within a couple or family cannot always be understood solely through one of its members.
Couple and family consultations make it possible to observe and work with what is taking place in interactions: patterns of communication, the positions occupied by each person, recurring misunderstandings, tensions, or the reorganisations the couple or family is facing.
They may be offered when conflicts become recurrent, when dialogue seems blocked, during a separation or family recomposition, in response to parenting difficulties, or when an event affecting one member changes the balance of the family as a whole.
Therapeutic work notably aims to enable each person’s experience to be heard, to bring to light the relational dynamics that sustain the difficulties and to foster the emergence of new ways of relating.
The aim is not to determine who is right or who is responsible, but to understand how interactions are constructed and how they can evolve.
Dr Alicia Landbeck holds a Master 2 degree in Clinical Psychopathology and Family Clinical Psychology. Her clinical and research background includes family interviews, therapeutic work with families, and work focusing on relational dynamics and parenting.
Psychological Assessment
A psychological assessment is an in-depth clinical process that seeks to better understand a person’s psychological functioning at a given point in their life.
It is not solely a matter of producing a score or seeking a diagnosis. The assessment aims to bring together different elements: subjective experience, current manifestations, the person’s history, affective and relational functioning, resources and, where relevant, certain cognitive dimensions.
The process generally begins with one or more consultations to clarify the request and determine the most appropriate tools.
Depending on the clinical question, the assessment may combine:
- clinical interviews;
- observation;
- standardised psychometric tools;
- projective tools when their use is relevant;
- clinical scales or questionnaires;
- a cognitive assessment integrated into a broader psychological process.
The WISC may notably be used with children and adolescents, and the WAIS with adults, when exploring cognitive functioning provides information that is useful for understanding the situation.
An assessment may be appropriate when there are complex emotional or behavioural difficulties, questions concerning development or psychological functioning, a request for diagnostic clarification, or when a more comprehensive understanding is needed to guide support.
The different elements gathered are brought together within a clinical formulation, then presented and discussed during a feedback consultation. Recommendations may be offered where relevant.
Dr Alicia Landbeck trained in psychological assessment as part of her university education and subsequently through specialised clinical experience in a child and adolescent psychiatry intensive care unit at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, including the use of psychometric and projective tools. She also conducts psychological assessments with children and adolescents.
Collaborative & Coordinated Care
Some situations require several forms of support.
When useful, and with the patient’s or family’s agreement, psychological support may be coordinated with the work of other professionals.
Dr Alicia Landbeck works in particular with psychologists, psychiatrists and other professionals working in the fields of mental health, childhood or education.
Depending on the situation, this may include:
- combining psychotherapeutic support with psychiatric follow-up;
- a referral to a professional with more specific expertise;
- support or accommodations in the school context;
- educational or developmental support;
- coordinating different forms of support that are already in place.
The aim is not to multiply the number of professionals involved, but, when the situation requires it, to build coherent support around the patient’s needs.
Online Consultation
Online psychological consultations take place via Telegram.
For consultation enquiries, you can contact Dr Alicia Landbeck directly on Telegram to briefly discuss your request and appointment arrangements.
If you prefer to book directly, you can also select an available appointment through the online calendar.
Individual online consultation — USD 65 / 45 minutes
When booking, patients are asked to indicate their language preference and a brief reason for consultation, so that the appointment can be arranged appropriately.
Khmer-Speaking Patients & Working With an Interpreter
Khmer-speaking patients may also be seen for consultations.
Dr Alicia Landbeck uses Khmer in certain professional, clinical and research contexts. When exchanges can be conducted with sufficient precision, part or all of the consultation may take place directly in Khmer.
In situations where the complexity of the clinical work requires greater linguistic nuance, working with an interpreter may be proposed.
Working with an interpreter is not simply a matter of translating what is said: it forms part of the clinical setting and should preserve mutual understanding, confidentiality and each person’s place within the consultation as fully as possible.
Consultations in French and English • Khmer-speaking patients welcome • Interpretation available according to need