If you want to work with me, you might want to know a bit about my story. Here it goes…
I grew up in Zwolle, a city in the east of The Netherlands, with two sisters. My parents were convinced atheists, which gave us, in this city that was officially part of the ‘bible-belt’, a pretty liberal upbringing, free of religious dogmas. Even more so, it was free of any form of animation, with not much between life and death. In my younger years I was very much connected to this animated reality, as probably all kids are that age. I especially remember when we went camping, I was awake at night and saw this different reality around me, filled with children playing with fairy creatures and animals. At some point these realities went to the background, but I do think it informed my later choice in studying the psyche. And maybe even to move to Sweden.
In 2008 I graduated as a psychologist. Not sure if I could fully connect with the strong cognitive behavioural approach underlying the study, I decided to move into the corporate world to learn more about psyche in practice.
I discovered the corporate financial field at ABN AMRO bank as a credit relationship manager before I entered my main position there, as a facilitator of leadership transformation. Together with our team, I supported leaders to build commitment and engagement for the new purpose and strategy of the bank. We designed leadership journeys and supported them with team/individual coaching.
I very much enjoyed seeing what happens when leaders connect to their full selves and bring this to work and can connect their own purpose to the company they work for.
I also saw, particularly with female leaders, the struggle to bring their full dimensionality to work. Together with a small group of colleagues we started gatherings with female leaders to talk about this topic: what is it like to work in an environment that was once built by men and still has dominant masculine/yang values?
We let women’s artwork inspire the conversation and this eventually grew into two art exhibitions accompanied by an audio tour to voice these female perspectives.
Through this experience, I started to understand my own struggles better: I also had a thirst for connecting with wisdom beyond logic. But where to find it? How to trust it? Especially when not recognised and/or validated by others?
Exhibition 1: “11 women, and more…” at ABN AMRO bank
I felt I needed more time to explore this. This longing let me to taking a sabbatical in an attempt to explore where it could take me. The day I came back for work I had to call in sick because of a covid infection. I never really came back, because the infection turned into Long Covid and extreme energy loss as a result.
It was such a messy and dark period, seeing part of my future collapse, having two young children, dealing with my own expectations from life and the ones of my partner. It was proper chaos. It was also the time my mother suddenly fell very ill and passed away. There was very little ground left under my feet.
The whole period brought up a proper amount of anger in myself about the loss of the feminine, which I still feel is quite rightful and important to feel. To not normalise what we have lost and are still losing by suppressing and marginalising the feminine, how it affects women and mother-daughter relationships, the relationship we have with the animated, the earth. On the other hand, victimhood was also triggered, and I projected a lot of the anger on men, which was most of the time both quite unrightfully and unproductive.
Through connecting with shadow figures of men in my own dream, I learned that the suppression of the feminine was taking place inside my self as well, and this was the place I had actually agency to change something. To let the dreams (and some great therapists) guide me through complexes and figure out how to welcome both the feminine and healthy masculine back in a balance, a sacred marriage as they would call it in the Jungian world, which is a life long learning journey I belief.
I started feeling solid ground beneath my feet again. My energy came back and I fully recovered from Long Covid. I started studying more on the work the imaginal (dream and storytelling/work and Jungian Psychology): it was that, that I had thirsted all along.
Today I hold some deep gratitude for this messy journey and everyone that offered me pieces of wisdom, support and feelings of belonging by navigating the depths together. My aim is to honour and work with each leg in both worlds: the seen and unseen, rational and irrational, conscious and unconscious. Because these are both our realities.
There is one question I hold really close to my heart in this: how can we live an animated life? It informs my own development as a human being and the research I do. You can also see my offerings as an invitation to you to travel along with me on this journey. I will show you places I have looked and I am curious to learn about your experiences.
I happily hold the title of psychologist again, but more in the way of connecting to the original meaning of the word psyche, Soul, again. I do this now from Lund, Sweden, where my family and I moved to in 2025. I have a physical practice there and work online.
Trainings/Education
These are the trainings and education that supported me on my path and formed me as a human being and Psychology practitioner:
Psychological Alchemy - Embassy of the Free mind Amsterdam
Ecologies of Imagination: a 3 year research programme - Anima Mundi School (finishing 3rd year)
Jungian Psychology - Jung Academy Amsterdam (1 year) and Karen Hamaker Zondag (2 years)
Reclaiming the mythical Feminine - Anima Mundi school
Dreamwork - Jung Academy Amsterdam | Anima Mundi School | Toko-pa Turner
Energetic Perception - School of Energetic Perception (3 years)
Mindfulness Trainer - Center for Mindfulness Amsterdam
Bachelor & Master's in Work and Organizational Psychology - University of Amsterdam
Leadership in Transformation - Aberkyn (4 years)
Certified trainer at Value-driven Organizations - Barrett Values institute
Systemic approach to transformations in organisation - Bert Hellinger Institute