Bertine de Jongh

Originally from the Netherlands, I have been married to my German husband for more than 15 years. Our journey together has taken us across 5 different countries on 4 different continents. I intimately understand the challenges of living in a country I did not grow up in, navigating the exciting and challenging dynamics of an intercultural relationship and trying to raise my two multilingual kids the best I can. There have been many sacrifices I had to make along the way, but I have come to appreciate that these experiences have given me so many opportunities for personal growth. Understanding the importance of relationships and feeling connected to others around me, and truly appreciating differences in strengths and values, are among the most important ones for me.

Through my personal and professional experiences in many different cultural contexts, connecting and valuing difference have become central to my therapeutic approach: not to persuade one another to comply with our own values, but to become more curious again about our differences and your unique personal journey in life, distinguishing between what you would like to change and what others would like you to change into. My therapeutic work is strongly rooted in the systemic psychotherapy approach, and has evolved over time to include more mindfulness-based approaches (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), emotion-focussed therapy by Susan Johnson and most recently, hypnotherapy.

In addition to my therapeutic work, I share my knowledge and experience by teaching systemic counselling at the Medical School Berlin, and facilitate training to other mental health professionals in the area of culture, migration and mental health.