Cabinet de Thérapie brève, Systémique et Stratégique

14/10/2025

Consultations available in French, English, or Swedish
- in person or online.

A new, simplified website: just one page, with clear information about what I offer and how to get in touch.

FRANCAIS
Thérapie brève en français
Le cabinet propose des consultations individuelles et de couple, en présentiel à Éclépens ou en ligne. Les séances peuvent se dérouler en français, en anglais ou en suédois, selon votre préférence.
https://www.tolstoy.ch/

ENGLISH
Brief Therapy in English
The practice offers individual and couples sessions, either in person in Éclépens or online. Sessions are available in French, English, or Swedish, depending on your preference.
https://www.tolstoy.ch/en/brief-therapy-eng/

SVENSKA
Korttidsterapi på svenska
Mottagningen erbjuder både individuella samtal och parterapi – antingen på plats i Éclépens eller online. Samtalen kan hållas på svenska, franska eller engelska, beroende på vad du föredrar.
https://www.tolstoy.ch/svenska/

Brief Therapy Brief, systemic, and strategic therapy is a non-normative and non-pathologizing psycho-relational approach. It offers communication procedures geared toward resolving problems presented by clients. Problems are addressed pragmatically rather than analytically. It is intended for anyone...

09/09/2025

HOLD ME, LOVE ME - Couples Therapy with Daria Tolstoy

When life gets busy and hectic routines take over - whether or not children are in the picture - many couples find themselves drifting apart. Intimacy fades, communication breaks down, and suddenly you're no longer together in the same way you once were.

Have major life changes put a strain on your relationship?
Retirement, children leaving home, health issues, or a career shift - when one partner undergoes a significant change, it can feel like you're living separate lives under the same roof.

Are you stuck in repeated arguments, or silently growing distant?
Maybe you've agreed on certain values or rules, but one of you isn’t following through. Maybe you're noticing a lack of empathy, compassion, or emotional support. Perhaps it feels like it's become all about me, myself, and I.

Do any of these sound familiar?
- Conversations have turned shallow, or stopped altogether
- Emotional or physical intimacy is lacking
- Trust is broken or slowly eroding
- You're hiding things - or being kept in the dark
- You feel unseen, unheard, or emotionally alone
- You’re not sure how (or if) to reconnect
- The distance between you keeps growing

Whether you're facing a crisis or simply want to rediscover the connection you once had, couples therapy can help. You don’t have to navigate this alone.

👉 I also offer individual therapy for those who want to work on personal challenges, relational patterns, or emotional well-being outside the context of a couple.

👉 Sessions are held in French, English and Swedish. I have a good understanding of German and Spanish, should you need to express yourself in one of these two languages.

Let’s work together to rebuild understanding, trust, and intimacy.
You deserve a relationship where both partners feel loved, supported, and safe.

📩 Contact me at: daria@tolstoy.ch, or dtolstoy@gmail.com, or just call +41 79 833 23 50.

24/02/2025

WHAT ABOUT SPIRITUALITY IN THERAPY ?

In these rather special times it feels important to talk about spirituality.

Spirituality is an extraordinary part of our ordinary lives. From birth to death, spirituality is manifest in life’s turning points, revealing mystery and depth during these pivotal moments in time. In crisis and catastrophe, spirituality is often intertwined in the struggle to comprehend the seemingly incomprehensible and to manage the seemingly unmanageable.

However, spirituality is not reserved exclusively for times of crisis and transition. It is interwoven into the fabric of the everyday. We can find the spiritual in a piece of music, the smile of a passing stranger, the colour of the sky at dusk, or a daily prayer of gratitude upon awakening. Spirituality can reveal itself in the ways we think, the ways we feel, the ways we act, and the ways we relate to each other. Paradoxically, the presence of the spiritual dimension can also be felt through its absence, in feelings of loss and emptiness, in questions about meaning and purpose, in a sense of alienation and abandonment, and in cries about injustice and unfairness.

Spirituality is, in short, another dimension of life. An extraordinary dimension, that is a vital part of ordinary life and what it means to be human. We are more than psychological, social, and physical beings - we are also spiritual beings.

When people walk into my therapist office, they do not leave their spirituality behind in the waiting room. They bring their spiritual beliefs, practices, experiences, values, relationships, and struggles along with them. Implicitly or explicitly, this complex of spiritual factors often enters the process of therapy. Yet many are unaware of or unprepared to deal with this dimension in treatment.

You can contact me - Daria Tolstoy - via email daria@tolstoy.ch, to find out more about how I work (based on brief therapy) and to book a session in person in Eclépens Switzerland, and/or for an on-line session from anywhere in the world. If you would rather talk, please just call me.

I do sessions in French, English and Swedish. I used to speak German and Spanish well, so I have a good understanding of these two languages, even though I am not fluent anymore.





́rapiebrève

13/11/2024

UNTANGLE TO GET EMOTIONALLY UNSTUCK

Are you stuck in a dysfunctional communication pattern with your partner? Are you having the same argument, over and over again, with your child? Is your anxiety interfering with your sleep? Are you missing out on opportunities and happiness because of worries? Is it hard to say no, because you fear you will be rejected or disliked?

Brief strategic systemic therapy is defined as neither normative nor pathologising. Problems presented by clients are approached practically rather than analytically. There is no attempt to determine past causes, instead the goal is to identify current dysfunctional patterns of behaviour and to address those patterns directly.

One part of the work takes place during the sessions. Another very important part takes place outside the sessions, by the clients in their real-life situations. The client improves his or her current status by taking an active part in changing how they deal with challenging situations.

Call +41 79 833 2350 to find out more and/or to book a session. If you prefer, send an e-mail to daria@tolstoy.ch

28/06/2024

RELATIONSHIPS INVOLVE WORK

When one or both partners have demanding jobs and busy schedules, and when there are children around, couples end up not having enough time to focus on each other and their relationship.

Do you have issues due to disagreements around money, parenting, lifestyle, in-laws or other family members? Has something bad happened, and you are both struggling with it, like infidelity, loss, redundancy or illness?

Has a big life change come between you, like retirement, children leaving home or health matters? When life changes for one person and not the other, there can be a sense you are suddenly living different lives. Even if you both experience the change, you might feel differently about it. Judgements and conflict can come into play, and you can drift apart. One partner might even blame the other for the change.

Do you face s*x and intimacy issues, including a difference of libido, one partner losing interest, lack of trust, as well as different wishes and styles in lo******ng? It is easy to say such a thing should not be enough to ruin a relationship. The tension from not talking about s*x and intimacy problems can cause conflict over other things, and/or leave one partner feeling bitter or neglected.

When life throws a curve ball, it would be ideal if our partner could be totally available to support us. However, we all respond to challenges in different ways. You might be an emotional sort and your partner someone who withdrawals, for example. These differences during difficult times can lead to you feeling distant from the very person you hoped to feel closest to.

Is the communication between you really poor? Have you stopped sharing your experiences and feelings? Are you hiding something from your partner? Is there a trust issue? Do you have e feeling you are drifting further and further apart?

CONTACT daria@tolstoy.ch to relieve your emotional distress and help your suffering couple.

23/04/2024

La thérapie brève systémique et stratégique est une approche psycho-relationnelle non normative et non pathologisante. Elle s'adresse à toute personne qui désire de prendre en charge un problème personnel, professionnel ou relationnel.

Le cabinet propose des consultations individuelles et de couple. Les consultations se déroulent en français, en anglais et en suédois. Une partie du travail est faite en consultation. Une autre partie importante du travail est réalisée en dehors des séances dans la vie réelle du patient. Ainsi, il améliore son état en prenant un rôle actif dans le changement de la manière dont il gère ses situations complexes et délicates.

Appelez au +41 79 833 23 50 pour prendre rendez-vous, ou pour partager votre situation et comprendre comment on peut vous aider. Posez toutes les questions que vous pourriez avoir. Si vous préférez un e-mail, laissez vos coordonnées et nous vous appelerons.