Nervous system & regulation
Understanding patterns of activation, shutdown and overwhelm, while building a wider capacity to respond with awareness and choice.
Desert PsychologyMarleen Laubscher · Clinical PsychologistMake an enquiryDesert Psychology · Swakopmund & online
A space to understand
what you carry.
Thoughtful, relational therapy for adolescents and adults navigating emotional distress, difficult patterns, relationships and periods of change.
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Therapy is not about becoming someone new. It can be a way of meeting yourself with greater clarity, compassion and choice.
A relational approach
Change begins with being understood in context, not reduced to a symptom.
Desert Psychology is the clinical practice founded and led by Marleen Laubscher, a clinical psychologist working with adolescents, adults and groups.
Marleen works relationally, which means therapy looks beyond symptoms in isolation. Attention is given to how earlier experiences, important relationships, nervous-system responses and protective parts may shape the way a person feels, copes and connects.
The therapeutic relationship becomes a collaborative space in which these patterns can be understood with compassion and gradually approached differently.
What relational work meansAreas of focus
The work often begins where coping has become costly.
These themes are not separate boxes. They often overlap and are explored in the context of each person’s history, relationships and current life.
Burnout, boundaries & capacity
Exploring what has been carried for too long and developing more sustainable ways of living, working and caring for the self.
Protective parts & emotional patterns
Meeting inner conflict, self-criticism and protective responses with curiosity rather than shame.
Identity, relationships & transitions
Making sense of change, attachment, belonging and the patterns that shape how a person relates to self and others.
Ways to work with Desert Psychology
Psychological support shaped around people, not simply problems.
Individual therapy
One-to-one relational therapy for adolescents aged 12 and older and for adults navigating anxiety, mood difficulties, trauma, overwhelm, identity questions or significant transitions.
Explore therapyTherapeutic group spaces
Selected relational and psychoeducational groups in which people can reflect, learn and connect around shared experiences.
Enquire about groupsConsultation & guidance
An initial conversation to clarify what support may be most appropriate, including referral guidance when another practitioner may be a better fit.
Begin an enquiry
Beyond the consulting room
Psychology can also meet people in shared spaces.
Alongside individual clinical work, Marleen brings psychologically informed ideas into workshops, programmes and conversations for groups, workplaces, practitioners and the wider community.
This work is grounded in the same relational depth as the practice, while being shaped around the particular people, context and purpose of each shared space.
CapacityRegulationBurnoutResources
Explore capacity work Articles & resources
Something useful to return to between conversations.
A growing library of psychologically informed articles, handouts and worksheets, beginning with nervous-system understanding, regulation and sustainable capacity.
About Marleen
Clinical depth, human warmth and a wider view of mental health.
Marleen Laubscher is an HPCNA-registered clinical psychologist, researcher and mental-health educator. Her experience spans hospital-based, inpatient, outpatient and private-practice settings, as well as group facilitation, public education and community and organisational work.
Meet MarleenMake an enquiry
You do not need to know exactly what to ask for.
A brief enquiry is enough. Marleen will consider what is being sought, current capacity, fit and the most appropriate next step.