Karin Brouwer

As an experienced life course psychologist, I am focused on your strength, well-being and growth.

Do you feel like you don’t feel heard? Annoying when, for example, you have a psychological issue, you experience problems at work, study or in your (family) relationships. Perhaps you are struggling with a fear or negative thought, cultural differences, or perhaps you are struggling with important life questions. This can hinder you in your daily life. That’s not what you want.

Life course psychologist

As a life course psychologist, I start from the vision that your development takes place in interaction with your environment. You learn by trial and error and develop yourself dynamically throughout your life. All those steps in life lead to qualitative changes.

For more than twenty-five years I have experience working with people with a wide variety of issues. For example, I worked in a specialist mental health (GGZ) practice for youth, but also as POH-GGZ in various general practices, where many expats also come. Treatment is available in English and I am used to seeing people from all over the world.

In addition, I worked in a medical setting as a psychologist for several years, together with anaesthesiologists, psychiatrists, physiotherapists and geriatric specialists.

My method

In my treatment I use, among other things, positive psychology. The focus is on promoting well-being, growth and self-realization, as a counterpart to negative thoughts and experiences (Balance model). We start by clarifying and providing insight into your problems and try to reduce them where possible. Then we will look together in which way you can positively use your strengths, and even the negatively experienced sides. This treatment makes life course psychology a unique way of treating, which goes beyond theories and concepts. It touches the core of your perceived obstacle (for example a minor or major trauma in your life) and who you are as a person and what you want. And that discovery, that’s what we’re going to work on together. The result? We will then know what your problem is related to and we will continue to work hard together to make lasting, appropriate, positive change possible for you.

Two techniques that I can use, in addition to the more well-known psychological interventions, are EMDR and Emotional (individudal) Freedom Techniques (EFT). Both (EMDR and EFT) focus on an emotional change necessary for continued growth and well-being.

Something personal about me

I am interested in my work and its meaning, sports (both active and watching), new psychological and scientific developments, social developments, my family life and friends.