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I was born in Belgium, the
oldest of nine children. After my degree in Pharmacy, I owned a private
medical lab in Brussels, and managed the consultations of a group of
medical doctors and professors from the University of Leuven. In 1985, I
moved to the US with my husband and two children, then aged 5 and 15. I
became an active volunteer in local schools. Trained and licensed as a
psychologist in California, I have worked with children, teenagers, adults,
elders, couples, and families since 1993.
An important aspect of
my work is helping people, particularly bereaved mothers, to deal with
loss. I have extensive training in this area. I also lost a six year old
son in 1978, so I have dealt firsthand with this devastating experience. In
addition, I wrote my doctoral dissertation, Interventions for Bereaved
Mothers, about mothers who had lost a child. My findings reflected how
this incalculable loss affects the couple’s relationship, the mother’s
relationship with her surviving children, and her changed view of her life
and work; also, how important it is to allow the other children to grieve.
I offer tri-lingual
counseling (French, Dutch, and English) for multinational families who are
facing the challenges of integrating two or more cultures. An immigrant
myself, I enjoy helping people with the stresses of fitting in,
understanding the differences in cultures and religions, and making friends
in a new environment.
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