Dr. Alina Kastner, MSc
Even smart people often make stupid choices in love.
Dr. Alina Kastner knows why.
She's watched brilliant minds lose themselves to toxic partners. She's seen capable people shrink. And she's discovered something most therapists miss: healing isn't about logic. It's about seeing the invisible patterns that trap you.
Alina has the credentials - PhD in Psychotherapeutic Sciences, master's from LSE, years studying how relationships work. But credentials don't heal people. Insight does.
Here's what she does differently:
She shows you what you can't see. The patterns. The loops. The story you're telling yourself that keeps you stuck. Then she hands you a new lens.
Her clients don't just "move on." They rewire. They see their ex differently. Themselves differently. Love differently.
The work spreads like wildfire. Hundreds of thousands follow her on Instagram and TikTok. Not for therapy speak. For truth that lands hard. For the moment when someone says "Oh. That's what was happening." Her book Break Up with Narcissism isn't another breakup guide. It's a manual for thinking clearly when emotions scream. It's about reclaiming your mind from someone who colonized it.
The work spreads like wildfire. Hundreds of thousands follow her on Instagram and TikTok. Not for therapy speak. For truth that lands hard. For the moment when someone says "Oh. That's what was happening." Her book Break Up with Narcissism isn't another breakup guide. It's a manual for thinking clearly when emotions scream. It's about reclaiming your mind from someone who colonized it.
Her method:
Science meets empathy. Precision meets art. She runs intense sessions, workshops, writes research. But always with one goal: help you see what kept you blind.
The life behind it:
Vienna-born. Lived in Dallas, Ottawa, London, Moscow. Now back in Austria with her son, dog, and horses. She knows what it's like to rebuild. To choose yourself. To leave and mean it.
The work isn't about fixing broken people. It's about showing capable people how they got lost - and how to find their way back.
Education
- 2021 – 2022 Specialization: Emotionally Focused Therapy / ICEFT
- 2021 – 2022 Specialization: Equine Assisted Therapist / VÖPP Akademie
- 2020 Specialization: Mindfulness Based Emotional Processing Therapy (Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA) / Robert Weisz, PhD
- 2018 – 2022 Specialization in systemic family therapy / Institute for systemic family therapy (LA:SF)
- 2017 – 2022 Doctorate in Psychotherapy Sciences / Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna
- 2018 – 2019 Systemic Sexual Therapy (Heidelberg, Germany) International Society for Systemic Therapy (IGST)
- 2016- 2018 Psychotherapeutic “Propädeutikum” / ARGE Bildungsmanagement
- 2014 – 2015 Master of Science in Work, Organizational and Business Psychology (London, United Kingdom) / London School of Economics
- 2010 Exchange Semester (Moscow, Russia) / Lomonosov University
- 2009 – 2012 Bachelor of Art in Psychology & Management (Vienna/London) / Webster University/Regents University
- 2011 – 2012 Public Speaker Training: Moderation / The school of speech (Schule des Sprechens)
- Before: High School (Dallas, Texas) & Austrian Matura (Vienna, Austria) / Plano West (Plano, Texas), Musikgymnasium (Vienna, Austria)
Professional Experience
- 2023 Psychotherapist at the Psychiatric Department with Center for Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics / Otto-Wagner-Spital, Baumgartner Höhe
- Since 2019 Founder & CEO, SF Psychotherapist (Registration Nr. 12389) / Kastner Consulting GmbH
- 2019-2022 Research Associate / Medical University of Vienna
- 2018 Psychotherapeutic Internship / University Hospital Vienna (AKH)
- 2017 Psychotherapeutic Internship / University Clinic for Children and Youth Psychosomatics, Landesklinikum St. Pölten
- 2014- 2019 Founder & CEO / Breakupbuddy GmbH
- 2012-2014 Strategic Assistance / Erste Bank Österreich AG
- 2011 Private Wealth Management (London) / Deutsche Bank
