Marie-Diane 

Specialties: EMDR, narrative approach, work with neurodivergent clients, depressive/anxiety disorders, complicated grief, attachment, PTSD, questions related to sexual orientation and gender identity (exploration and affirmation), as well as associated traumas, questions related to Jewish identities (exploration and affirmation), as well as associated traumas, expat counseling, couples, and polycule counseling. 

Languages: English, French. 

Pronouns: she/they.

Education:

Other activities:

  • Previously HR/recruitment, journalism, officer in the French Navy (Supply Corps), law degree.

  • Co-hosts BiPositive, a podcast surrounding the psychological experience of bisexual/queer people. 

Affiliations: NIP Psycholoog (#228716), APA International Affiliate (00223162), EMDR Belgium.

Speaker/Panelist:

  • Since 2022 - Lycee Francais Vincent Van Gogh The Hague - Workshops on Mental Health & LGBTQ+ inclusion

  • April 2019 – ClexaCon (Panelist) Bi+ Representation in the Media, Finding LGBTQ+ Mental Health Resources, Queer Storylines in Therapy: Constructing Your Narrative Through Fictional Characters

  • November 2018 – ClexaCon London (Panelist) Bisexual Representation in the Media, Podcasting as an Outlet for Queer Voices, Pride and Prejudice: How Representation Affects Your Mental Health

  • October 2018 – Leiden University Pride (Guest Speaker) A Day in a Queer Life: LGBTQ+ and Mental Health

  • May 2018 – Leiden University Pride and Amnesty International Student Group Leiden (Main Speaker) – Does Representation Matter? Exploring the Effects of Positively Perceived Media Representation on LGBTQ+ Mental Health

  • October 2017 – Leiden University Pride Culture and Coming Out (Guest Speaker) Under the Rainbow: How Culture Affects Queer Identity and the Coming Out Process

Training Attended: 

  • 2023 - Kesher Shalom project Supporting your Jewish clients during an active war & rise of antisemitism

  • January 2022: Resilience Institut (Luxembourg) EMDR training "la boîte de vitesse" with Helene Delucci

  • 2020-2021 – Université Paris Saclay Diplôme Universitaire Grief and Grieving

  • January 2020 – University of Amsterdam Global Mental Health

  • October 2019 – AAMFT Treating Nonbinary Clients Systemically

  • October 2019 – Integrativa Treating Adults with Insecure Attachment

  • June 2019 – APA Suicide Prevention

  • February 2019 – Integrativa EMDR Training Part II

  • October 2018 – Webster University Schema Therapy Workshop

  • October 2018 – Integrativa EMDR Training

  • June 2018 – University of Amsterdam Summer Institute on Addiction

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How do I work? 

I believe that therapy should be co-constructed. As a client, you are “behind the wheel” in the therapeutic process, which is why my approach always takes into consideration my clients’ needs and preferences. I always take time to explain the mechanics of what we are doing together in therapy. 

As a therapist, I understand my role as providing care and guidance for the person to find their own path towards recovery and self-realization. Together, we examine the person’s functioning and identify the mechanisms that might have grown to be maladaptive to transform them or develop new adaptive alternatives. 

I am here to provide support to the best of my ability, share my knowledge, help the person build appropriate tools and gain skills, and ultimately help them achieve their therapeutic goals. 

I use techniques from different approaches; however, most of my work is influenced by EMDR. I also use person-centered, CBT, DBT, and narrative therapy-based techniques. Additionally, I offer couples and polycule counseling. 

I always ask about the clients’ worldview to use their references as much as possible in the therapeutic process, whether it’s their spiritual beliefs and practices or their favorite book, series, or movie. 

I mostly work with LGBTQ+ people, expats, and people with a multicultural background. My areas of focus are trauma-related symptoms and disorders, emotional regulation, identity exploration, and affirmation.  I’m also trained in grief counseling.

Who am I?

Psychology is a second carrier for me after about 15 years spent as an officer in the French navy. I also studied law and briefly worked as a journalist. Being a therapist is something that I had wanted to do since I was a teenager; it took me some time to feel ready to do it. I probably needed time to accept myself as a Jewish queer neurodivergent person, to cope with the transgenerational trauma, and generally make sense of my complex cultural identities. I’ve had to hide, adapt and grieve for many things in my life, but I now see those experiences as resources useful in my work as a therapist, and that’s why I think it’s essential to be transparent about them. I’m also very open about my nerdy side and any personal interests that could help the therapeutic process. 

I try to promote genuine human connection in therapy. That’s why I try to make sure the people I’m working with are comfortable enough to express if they’re not happy with some aspects of the therapeutic process if they don’t feel that we’re a good match or if they need to move forward after some time working together.