Calum Anderson, Psychologist and Psychotherapist

It is a privilege to work as a psychotherapist and gather so much wisdom about what it means to be a human being making our way through this life with all its challenges. In my daily work it is my priority to provide my clients with a safe connection within which to explore things they may never have spoken about before, so they can 1) understand themselves better, 2) identify what they need and 3) bring about positive change. For me psychotherapy is a collaboration between two experts. As an expert for psychotherapy it is my task to support you as the expert of your own life so you can make good decisions for the next steps ahead.

It’s ok for you not to know what to do or say

You are welcome in my therapy room with all your thoughts and feelings. Whether you are male or female or however you define yourself, you can cry, be angry, afraid, not know what to say and so on. No matter how embarrassing or senseless your thoughts or experiences may appear to you, you can talk about anything and will find, in me, a therapist who respects your unique personal experience. And if you can’t find the words, that is also ok. You can be quiet. You don’t always have to know what to say next. The point at which words run out is often the point at which something new emerges and that helps us move a step forward.

Gathering insights and creating solutions

Our first step needs to be getting an overview of the facts. I firmly believe in understanding problems before attempting to solve them. It was my intense training as a state approved behavioural therapist that gave me the basis to understand and diagnose a full range of mental health problems. But many teachers have helped me know how to creatively support people as they find solutions to focus on achieving greater well-being, more meaning and better relationships. 

To my work I bring the buoyant optimism that it is possible for good things to result out of bad things. Crises can lead to opportunities for growth and healing that would not have been possible without the challenges. While fully acknowledging the difficulties that are there now, we can keep a look out together for the hopeful signs ahead.

Internal Family Systems 

The Internal Family Systems model has become fundamental to my therapy style as it has deeply enriched my knowledge of the human psyche, our weaknesses and more particularly our strengths. Clarity and optimism about positive, sustainable change have increased for me immensely. Because I experience this therapy modality as coherent and pragmatic for facing the challenges of life as a human being, it is now the main framework I use when I listen to and support my clients. 

Some beliefs that we work with in Internal Family Systems are that the conflicts we experience internally are connected to different parts of ourselves with contradictory and seemingly incompatible agendas. The therapist’s role is to support you in accessing a space of inner self that is calm, curious, creative, open-minded and compassionate etc. Our wish is to help reduce disharmony and invite more peace into your inner life by cultivating open-mindedness, curiosity and kindness towards the different parts and trying to get to know them and appreciate them. We aim to recognise and alleviate any burdens, pain and distress being carried by any parts and also help parts shift organically into new, updated and less extreme roles. The result we are aiming for in therapy is to increase your resilience by helping you be a better leader, who has gained wisdom from tuning into the different parts of your internal life. 

My team

I have chosen to surround myself with colleagues who inspire me. Together with Richard Scott and Irena Morgan, we are a small team of therapists working in the same practice and I am a part of a larger network of colleagues in various practices throughout Munich.

It is a pleasure to offer my help to you. Please just get in touch if you have any questions. 

1976 Born in Dundee, Scotland.
1994-1999 First class degree in Philosophy and French from Oxford University.
1999 – 2008 Advisor on Language and Culture for various organizations incl. City University, London and the German Patent and Trademark Office, Munich.
2002 – 2008 Psychology degree at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich.
2005 – 2013 Lecturer for GMAT-preparation for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), Berlin, the Handelshochschule, Leipzig (HHL), GISMA Business School, Hannover, as well as e-fellows.net, München.
2008 Psychiatric Clinic of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich – Postgraduate Position as Psychotherapist.
2008-2010 Tagklinik Westend, München – Co-head of the Group for Burnout and Depression, later  co-head of the Anxiety disorders group.
2008-2012 Psychotherapy Training at the VFKV, Munich.
2010-2012 Psychotherapist in Dipl.-Psych. Michael Schulze’s practice.
2012 Establishment of own private psychotherapy practice.
2019 onwards Increasing Specialisation in Therapies for the LGBTQ+ Community.
2020 Contributor towards podcast „Different Kind of Gay“, episodes on Beauty (Ep.7), Unpacking: Rejection and Daddy (Ep.8), available on Spotify and other places.
2023 Internal Family Systems Therapy – Stepping Stone 16 week comprehensive course which has qualified me to offer IFS-Informed Therapy.