Eva
Specialties: mindfulness-based practices, transpersonal/holistic approach, emotion regulation, coping with difficult life events, interpersonal problems, attachment, bullying, confidence, vocational indecision, dissolving creative and career blocks, counseling for artists/creatives, students, adolescents, and people living abroad.
Languages: English, Spanish, French.
Education:
● MSc. in Clinical Psychology from Leiden University, Cum Laude
Master’s Thesis - Investigating the effect of CBT and ACT in older adults on both dimensions of mental health: positive mental health and mental illness
● BSc. in Psychology from Leiden University
Bachelor’s Thesis - Burnout prevention in higher education students with learning difficulties
Affiliations: NIP (#238024).
How do I work?
Humans are resilient by nature. When faced with an adverse situation, our brain will adjust to it and develop ways to cope. These adaptations are often beneficial because they allow us to navigate a threatening or unsafe environment. However, the same strategies that once helped us can become maladaptive in a different environment where there is no threat. Part of the therapeutic process is to identify what coping strategies have we carried that do not benefit us anymore. I will listen and ask you about your own story so we can see what patterns emerge, which ones we need to keep and which ones we need to let go of.
I take influence and draw techniques from different therapeutic approaches (acceptance and commitment therapy, emotion-focused therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, internal family systems, transpersonal psychology, positive psychology, and trauma-informed therapy) because therapy is not a one size fits all. Different therapeutic approaches will work for different people because each person has their own unique story and worldview.
Even if we have friends, family, or romantic partners we can rely on, it is not always possible to express all our feelings and say anything that is in our hearts without fear of being judged, misunderstood…This is what therapy is for, to provide a space where it is possible and safe to do so. I view the first session as not just a time for me to get an idea of what brought you in, but especially as an opportunity for you to get to know me and see if you feel comfortable. Having a good relationship with your therapist is the most important factor for therapy to go well, so it is up to you to assess if we are compatible and work well together.
Who am I?
I am Eva. I was born in Burgos, a city in the north of Spain. Even though I lived there most of my life, I have been fortunate to live in other countries as well. At 9, I lived in France for six months with a french host family. At 12, I traveled around the world for 10 months with my family while being homeschooled. At 16, I lived in the US for 10 months as an exchange student. Right before my 18th birthday, I moved to the Netherlands. It was not common for people in my hometown to go abroad so much, so I often felt like the odd one out. If I could avoid it, I'd prefer not to talk about it with my peers because I did not want to feel different from them, or for them to feel different from me.
I do not know for certain what led me to work as a psychotherapist, but I knew it was what I wanted to do since age 14 and it still feels right years later. What I learned during my studies validated things I had seen in my own life: time alone does not heal all wounds; suffering can make you more compassionate and wiser, but it also leaves you with a heavy burden to carry; the quality of our lives goes hand in hand with the quality of our relationships… And most importantly, most things about humans are paradoxical: we want closeness in relationships yet we want to keep our freedom, we admire when people open up yet we think it's awkward or embarrassing when we do it, we see the potential in the things around us but it's not so easy to see it in ourselves, etc.