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My approach ● Therapy ● Coaching ● Assessment

A structured, thoughtful approach to therapy, coaching, and assessment

My way of working is warm, structured, and analytical.

I do not believe that lasting change comes from vague encouragement, empty reassurance, or generic advice.

I work by helping people understand what is happening more clearly, respond more consciously, and build a more reliable relationship with themselves over time.

Depending on the person, the difficulty, and the kind of change needed, I may draw from several complementary approaches rather than relying on a single method.

Anna Maffucci Psychologist & Coach

the principle behind the work

Why I use different approaches rather than one fixed method

No single approach is equally useful for every difficulty. Some people need help understanding a pattern. Some need help regulating what happens in the moment. Some need a clearer way to work with thoughts, beliefs, relationships, or decisions. Some need a more structured assessment before deciding what to do next. That is why I do not treat methods as identities — I use them as tools.
- Anna Maffucci, Psychologist and professional coach

The question is not:
“Which method sounds best?”


It is:
“What is most useful for this person, this difficulty, and this stage of the work?”

This way of working reflects both my clinical training and my broader professional experience in psychodiagnostic assessment, resilience, leadership development, and organisational transformation.

the approaches i use

The main approaches I draw from in my practice

Below is a simple overview of the approaches I may use, what they are most helpful for, and how they fit into the wider picture of the work.

Neuropsychology

What it helps with

Useful when difficulties involve attention, cognitive overload, mental fatigue, stress, emotional regulation, or the way the nervous system is affecting concentration, memory, or day-to-day functioning.

What is distinctive about it

It helps link psychological experience to how the brain and nervous system are functioning, rather than treating everything as only “mindset” or personality.

Who it may suit

People who want a clearer understanding of how stress, overload, fatigue, or emotional activation affect thinking and behaviour.

Who it may suit less

People looking mainly for open-ended reflective conversation without interest in how cognition, regulation, or mental functioning interact.

How it fits into my practice

I use this perspective to make symptoms more understandable and more concrete. It is part of how I think, not usually a separate “module” of therapy.

Why I choose it

Because some difficulties become much easier to work with once we understand the relationship between emotional life, stress, cognitive functioning, and the nervous system. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

What it helps with

Particularly useful for anxiety, overthinking, self-doubt, harsh self-criticism, avoidance, perfectionism, emotional reactivity, and recurring thought patterns.

What is distinctive about it

CBT gives practical tools for understanding the links between thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and triggers. It is often especially useful when someone feels caught in patterns they can name but cannot interrupt.

Who it may suit

People who appreciate clarity, structure, and practical tools, and who want to understand how patterns are maintained in daily life.

Who it may suit less

People who want exclusively open-ended exploration without any interest in identifying mechanisms or working with patterns more directly.

How it fits into my practice

This is one of the central approaches in my work. It supports behavioural precision, emotional regulation, and clearer interpretation.

Why I choose it

Because it is practical, evidence-based, and especially useful when insight alone is not enough and a person needs help changing how a pattern actually operates.

Positive Psychology

What it helps with

Useful for rebuilding strengths, resilience, motivation, hope, self-respect, meaning, and a more balanced relationship with one’s own capabilities.

What is distinctive about it

It does not focus only on symptoms or what is wrong. It also helps identify resources, strengths, values, and conditions that support psychological growth and recovery.

Who it may suit

People who have become overly identified with their difficulties and need help reconnecting with strengths, direction, and psychological resources in a grounded way.

Who it may suit less

People who fear being pushed into superficial positivity. though, that is not how I use it.

How it fits into my practice

I use positive psychology as a balancing approach, not as a substitute for depth. It helps shift the work from only reducing suffering to also rebuilding inner resources and a more usable sense of self.

Why I choose it

Because healing is not only about reducing distress. It is also about restoring direction, strength, meaning, and confidence in a way that feels real.

Art Therapy

What it helps with

Useful when emotions are difficult to verbalise, when reflection through words alone feels limited, or when a person needs a more indirect and creative way to access experience.

What is distinctive about it

It can create access to feelings, images, tensions, and meanings that are not always easy to express directly. It often helps when a person knows something is there, but cannot yet put it clearly into words.

Who it may suit

People who are open to non-verbal exploration, symbolic work, or a more creative route into understanding themselves.

Who it may suit less

People who strongly prefer a more cognitive, verbal, or highly structured approach.

How it fits into my practice

This is not the dominant format of my work, but it can be useful when language alone is not enough. I use it selectively rather than routinely.

Why I choose it

Because some experiences need to be approached indirectly before they can be fully understood directly.

Systemic Coaching

What it helps with

Useful for professional transitions, leadership questions, workplace complexity, relational systems, role confusion, communication difficulties, and situations where the problem is not only inside the person but also in the system around them.

What is distinctive about it

It looks not only at the individual, but at the wider system: relationships, roles, expectations, dynamics, and patterns of interaction.

Who it may suit

People dealing with work, leadership, career transitions, role shifts, or complex interpersonal dynamics where context matters as much as personality.

Who it may suit less

People whose main need is therapeutic containment of psychological pain rather than goal-oriented or role-oriented work.

How it fits into my practice

This is especially relevant in coaching and in work with professionals under pressure. It is also supported by my long experience in organisational development, change support, leadership development, and multicultural corporate contexts.

Why I choose it

Because people do not suffer or make decisions in isolation. They do so in families, teams, organisations, and relationships.

Psychometric Assessment

What it helps with

Useful when a clearer evaluation is needed: strengths, personality patterns, cognitive tendencies, values, decision-making style, or aspects of functioning that would benefit from a more formal assessment process.

What is distinctive about it

It adds structure and objectivity. It helps turn vague impressions into clearer hypotheses and a more grounded understanding.

Who it may suit

People facing important decisions, identity questions, career questions, or recurring uncertainty who would benefit from more structured insight.

Who it may suit less

People who want only reflective conversation and do not feel any need for formal assessment.

How it fits into my practice

Psychometric and psychodiagnostic work is a real part of my background, not an add-on.

Why I choose it

Because sometimes clarity requires more than discussion. It requires a more structured way of seeing things.

Authentic Intelligence™

What it helps with

Useful for people who need help reconnecting thought, emotion, values, behaviour, and authentic direction — especially when they feel fragmented, over-adapted, or uncertain about who they are beneath pressure or performance.

What is distinctive about it

This is my own integrative lens. It brings together psychological clarity, self-awareness, authenticity, behavioural precision, and the logic of how a problem is framed and understood.

Who it may suit

People who want more than symptom relief and are ready to work at the level of self-understanding, values, interpretation, and behavioural change.

Who it may suit less

People looking only for quick reassurance, simplistic “confidence hacks,” or highly standardised support with little room for deeper reflection.

How it fits into my practice

This is the most integrative expression of how I work. It is connected to my ongoing work on authenticity and to the development of the Authenticity Index™, an exploratory diagnostic framework.

Why I choose it

Because many people do not need more advice. They need a more accurate, more honest, and more usable relationship with themselves.

the principle behind the work

How I choose which approach is useful for which difficulty

I do not begin by imposing a method. I begin by looking at:

  • what the difficulty actually is
  • how it shows up in daily life
  • what keeps it going
  • what kind of change is needed
  • what kind of work the person is ready for


Sometimes the most useful starting point is emotional regulation. Sometimes it is clarifying beliefs or recurring patterns. Sometimes it is building practical tools. Sometimes it is slowing down enough to understand the question properly before trying to solve it.

This is why the work is tailored, but not vague. It is adapted with structure.

in practice

What this means for your therapy, coaching or assessment sessions

For you, this means:

  • you do not need to fit yourself into a pre-made method
  • sessions are shaped around what is most useful, not what sounds fashionable
  • the work can be reflective, practical, structured, or exploratory depending on what is needed
    approaches may evolve over time as the work becomes clearer
  • the aim is always meaningful change, not performing progress


This also means I am selective about fit. Not every approach is right for every person. Not every person needs the same kind of support. And not every situation should be treated in the same way.

That is part of taking the work seriously.

This approach feels right for you?

If you are ready to begin, scheduling your appointment is easy and takes only 2 minutes.

You do not need to know exactly which approach you need before reaching out. That is part of my role: helping to clarify what is most useful, and why.

You can also email contact@annamaffucci.eu or call +33 9 54 28 58 41