From my earliest days I have asked myself what it means to be fully alive and why living is such a struggle for some people. I have always searched for ways to help those who seem to find themselves in a permanent battle with life. Having worked for years in the Dutch health care system, I now offer this kind of support through in my private practice ‘Floras’.

In my years as a hospital spiritual counselor I had countless interactions with patients, that fundamentally affected my understanding of life. It is my work with people that has been my greatest teacher. No matter who we are or what our situation might be, we all want to have a meaningful life. We all want to be in harmonious relationship with ourselves and with the world around us.

In my own life I have come to understand that relational connection can be broken and that this has deep-seated reasons. I have experienced myself what it takes to engage in profound self-exploration and enduring the painful process leading to transformation. I discovered again and again the possibility for inner movement in the direction of healing and the chance to flourish afresh.

Originally I studied Religious Studies which taught me how to take an objective view on spirituality and religion. In my personal life I have explored many spiritual traditions and have learned about their benefits and pitfalls. Now I feel most at home in the eastern traditions, in particular early non-religious Buddhism. I practice several forms of meditation and yoga.

As a therapist I have a special interest in high sensitivity and burn-out, attachment trauma, pre- and peri-natal trauma, meditation and spirituality.
WORK EXPERIENCE

I studied Religious Studies at Radboud University, Nijmegen and practiced as a spiritual hospital counsellor for ten years. I offered Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to patients and hospital employees. I was a spiritual care consultant at the Integrated Centre for Cancer Netherlands (IKNL). As a mindfulness therapist, I was involved with ‘Be-Mind’, an online mindfulness programme for cancer patients.
Currently I offer mindfulness training to patients with chronic bowel diseases in Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis in Den Bosch, within the framework of scientific research.
As a meditation teacher I am part of the Compassionate Care and Mindfulness Medicine (CCMM), an online platform that offers daily mindfulness meditation to health care workers.
Qualification and certification

I completed a Master’s degree in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy at the Karuna Institute registered in the United Kingdom at UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) and ACPP (Association for Core Process Psychotherapy).

As a mindfulness trainer, I completed a postdoctoral training as a category 1 trainer at the Radboud University Medical Centre for Mindfulness in Nijmegen. I am a member of Vereniging voor Mindfulness (VVM).

I have practiced multiple styles of Buddhist meditation and yoga for many years, and followed an intensive Dharma teaching course at Bodhi College, England. Christina Feldman and Stephen Batchelor were among my teachers there.Click here for my complete CV

Links:
United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
Association for Core Process Psychotherapy
Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum voor Mindfulness
Vereniging voor Mindfulness
Bodhi College
Compassionate Care and Mindfulness Medicine