Today we’d like to introduce you to Julika Lomas.
Hi Julika, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started out in Germany as a psychology student looking for a year abroad – enjoyed that and some neuroscience internship at UCSD back in 2005. With such exciting exchanges, I realized that there is more to be learned and found outside my education system. So I studied family therapy in the US in a master’s program – and still was missing a larger creative element that was not gonna be met in “becoming an art therapist”. While working on startup team in Pittsburgh on a language learning app (Duolingo), I fell in love with the agile way of working and applied design methods. This, I then combined in my approach “Design Your Life” with first workshops in San Diego in 2015. At the same time, I started my own company, Pixel Story Studio, to learn design on the job and network with inspiring design practitioners – I literally design the career track that I had not been served. Fast forward seven years, I am working with clients from California and in Europe on individual and relational design-based coaching. A dream come or rather made come true.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Challenges have been transferring degrees and knowledge to new places that I’ve moved to. For instance, the German diploma degree to a US lifestyle – and also getting recognition for it. Or transferring from West Coast of the US to the East Coast mid-way through my studies. That cost me time and dollars in my education and career path – yet in the end, gave me a wider angle and more empathy for people that have also deviated. Other challenges have been the stigma for the mental health profession. I’ve heard, “Why not become a real estate agent instead?” It was clear to me that I loved the professional field that I’ve chosen even though some working conditions weren’t ideal – it has always been deeply gratifying to design people’s lives from struggle to a flow state. Finding someone a perfect house might be nice too, but it doesn’t fill my sails to the maximum.
Lastly, the pandemic has been a mid-sized challenge as of recent. While I’ve been lucky in several regards, because I stood in good health the receive the vaccine, have sufficient trust in the dominant healthcare system to follows its advice and have a profession that allows for online work, I’ve also struggled with the “new normal” situation. Even today, my compass needs daily adjustments as in “Is this worth freaking out about or can I handle this?”
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am offering systemic psychotherapy using design methods. With these new methods for mental health, I serve individuals and couples – and small groups, like coops, small work teams and even families.
Design Therapy is combining reactive mental healthcare with more proactive approaches (think: coaching) in one to include conversations about their futures and visions.
– Are you thinking to go on a sabbatical?
– Are you curious to find out about your fertility in a home test or freeze your eggs, just in case?
– Are you about to get married yet scared to face divorce like your parents?
Designing consciously your life or future together? That’s what I am there for. Where Standford offers something similar to its students to explore their career life, I am making sure to also address the entire layer of psychological wellbeing. I am a trained mental health professional with extensive experience in three countries. I believe that knowing of your personal life and struggles will benefit also the coaching in career questions.
Lastly, I work both in person and via video calls to reach clients abroad, at home, and in the United States and elsewhere. These tools are incredibly empowering and still allow for holistic work – incl. body exercises, emotional processing and fostering human connection. It’s best to start scheduling a “starter session” online to get to know me to take it from there.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Well, I’ve lived 5+ years in the San Diego region and never made it to Joshua Tree. Maybe I left something good to come back for? I would then also really tackle surfing with a fine coach. I would love some hand-holding with that skill.
Pricing:
- 60 min starter session is 95 Euro
- 90 min starter session is 140 Euro
- 4 x 60 min sessions are 360 Euro
- 6 x 60 min sessions are 540
Contact Info:
- Email: info@pixelstorystudio.com
- Website: www.designtherapy.org
- Instagram: @designtherapyspace
Image Credits
Taken by Elisabeth Lanz, https://www.elisabethlanz.nl/ Commissioned by myself.
