Dr. Grohs, what does psychology have to do with hormones and our hormonal system?
"Hormones are the foundation of all our feelings and sensations. Only when the optimal levels of oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline are maintained can we engage in trusting relationships, pursue common goals, make and keep agreements, and experience deep respect and admiration for expertise. These are precisely the conditions that secure our trust and sense of community, enable our recognition, and facilitate our role-specific integration in society. Therefore, the optimal levels of the hormonal system are the prerequisites for our happiness.
Dr. Grohs, you have explained that the '4ME Complex' you developed can resolve chaos in the body's hormonal system. What exactly do you mean by this?
"During or after stress and challenging experiences such as separation, divorce, the death of a loved one, exhaustion, withdrawal from addictive behaviors, failure, setbacks, demanding phases in professional or family life, as well as burnout, the body's hormonal system can become chaotic. In 'emergency mode,' the organism prioritizes the body over the psyche. When the psyche is not well-supported, it can lead to a lack of motivation, drive, joy, and pleasure, as well as depressive moods or anxiety states. In such cases, support through dietary supplements may be necessary. This understanding led to the development of the 4ME Complex."
Dr. Grohs, what exactly can the "4ME Complex" do?
"Psychological stability is only possible when the optimal levels of key neurotransmitters—noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin—are maintained. 4ME provides the building blocks for the production of these neurotransmitters, which we know as happiness hormones. The 4ME Complex contains 16 highly concentrated nutrients and vital substances, including vitamins C, D, B12, B3, B6, and E, as well as magnesium, L-tyrosine, wheat germ extract, and hop cone extract. The active ingredients are combined in four different capsules to ensure the optimal levels of these neurotransmitters, thereby initiating a self-healing process. This helps restore psychological balance. The 4ME Complex is a unique dietary supplement, not a prescription medication."
Mag. Susanne Grohs-Schlager, what role does nutrition play?
"You can best support your body's maintenance of essential hormones by giving it enough time to perform all the necessary cellular maintenance tasks. Ideally, allow your metabolism 16 hours of rest each day and eat only during the remaining 8 hours. Numerous studies demonstrate the health-promoting and immune-boosting effects of an uninterrupted metabolic process. The adjustment period takes just a few days, during which it might be uncomfortable. Hunger acts as a powerful hormonal pump, unlocking all energy stores in the body. During the 8-hour eating window, you can enjoy whatever food you like. It's best to primarily eat vegetables, salads, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and cold-pressed oils. Your body's hormonal system needs these vital nutrients.
Choose when to give your body those 16 hours of rest. If your social life mainly happens in the evening, let your metabolism handle the night and the following morning after your last bite. If you enjoy your main meal in the afternoon, then relish a rejuvenating breakfast after 16 hours. In this case, the night works for you. If you do this at least three times a week, you'll provide yourself with a tremendous energy boost. Make it a regular habit, and you'll be unstoppable."
Dr. Grohs, why did you become a psychologist?
"Even as a child, I often found myself standing in front of astonished adults who puzzled over why I behaved in one way and not another.
When I was seven, my teacher called me to the front of the class and earnestly told me that she would love to give me a top grade (an 'A' in our grading system). I simply asked why she didn’t. I wasn’t being cheeky; I genuinely didn’t understand. After all, she was the one who assigned the grades. Even at that age, I grasped that much.
As my parents built their lives, society began to see women as equals to men. Women no longer needed a man's permission to pursue a career and could participate in politics as equal citizens. As women became less dependent on men, strong women were devalued, and the expectation was for women to be thin and weak, to tilt their heads playfully and wear high heels to remain immobile. This led to my weight being closely monitored even as a child, with one diet after another. Insulin resistance with all its consequences in adulthood was the result."
"Childhood experiences persist in adults too"
"In 1985, I started working with misunderstood children and adolescents and their parents. These children displayed behaviors such as fear, refusal to eat, sleep, or play, isolation, aggression, locking themselves away, taking things that didn’t belong to them, lying, etc. In short, they were difficult and labeled as behavioral problems and unhealthy.
Even then, I understood quite a bit about the thought worlds of children and adolescents. By this time, I was already a psychologist, soon to be a mother of two, and an aunt to three children in the neighborhood through my brother, who is only ten months younger than me and was on his way to psychiatric and psychotherapeutic training.
In the first families I encountered during my training at a psychosomatic clinic for children and adolescents, I saw the seemingly insurmountable thought worlds of children and adults.
At the same time, I saw parents crying like six-year-olds, getting angry and stamping their feet like three-year-olds, developing irritable bowel syndrome, and lacking control over their bodily functions like one-year-olds. I perceived that the childhood worlds were still active in the adults. From this perception, a deep-psychological concept for cross-hierarchical communication has formed over the last 35 years, which our entire team now embodies as Psychodynamic Psychology at our institute."
"Laughing, Living, Achieving, and Loving Together"
During this time, my daughter Susanne also developed her interest in psychology, which she pursued in her education. Even as a 15-year-old, she described complex family environments with great humor in her lunchtime stories, essays, discussions, and texts. Today, she has four children, making me a happy grandmother of six and responsible for a dog, alongside her brother. Incidentally, all three of my aforementioned nieces are psychotherapists.
Today, my daughter and I co-direct the institute with much joy and trust. We tackle our challenges together with an enthusiastic team of psychologists, doctors, and educators, all united by a common interest in the well-being of those entrusted to our care. Our shared passion lies in understanding the interplay of inner forces and promoting the healthful integration of mind, body, and soul. We strive to make the childhood mindset in responsible adults conscious and vibrant, passing on insights, methods, and techniques that enable everyone involved to laugh heartily together, live well together, achieve enthusiastically, and love passionately.
From this, our work at the institute and the development of 4ME arise.
Dr. Ursula Grohs
- Psychologist, Individual Psychological Analyst, and Child Analyst.
- Specializations: Leadership Development, Parental Guidance, Nutritional Psychology, and the Development of Psychodynamic Psychology.
Mag. Susanne Grohs-Schlager
- Clinical and Health Psychologist, and Nutritional Psychologist.
- Specialization: Treatment of Stress Reactions, Personality Disorders, and Behavioral Issues.
As mother and daughter, Ursula Grohs and Susanne Grohs-Schlager jointly lead the Dr. Grohs Institute.
Development of Psychodynamic Programs for Health Promotion
Both psychologists focus their collaborative work on developing psychodynamic programs for health promotion. For example, their PDM® smoking cessation program "Smoke-Free in One Day" achieves the highest success rate globally and is internationally published (Zernig et al, 2008, Addiction & Fritz et al, 2010, Pharmacology). The program has the highest recommendation (A, Evidence Ib) for healthcare providers from the World Health Organization (WHO). "Smoke-Free in One Day" has also been published as a bestseller three times. As an empirical study, it was published by the Academic Publishing House as a psychotherapeutic tobacco cessation program (Horvath, 2015, AV Akademikerverlag).
Additionally, Dr. Ursula Grohs is an author, lecturer, teaching analyst, and trainer for psychologists and psychotherapists.