P s y c h o t h e r a p y
T r a u m a - i n f o r m e d & h o l i s t i c
“Contact is the source of our richest joy and our most intensely painful moments.”
Welcome
I warmly invite you into my practice — a safe and welcoming space where you can slow down, be still, and reconnect with yourself. Here, your experiences are received with care, compassion, and attentive presence.
In a way that is attuned to your unique needs, I support you in deepening self-awareness, navigating change, responding differently to life's challenges, and fostering inner growth and transformation.
My work focuses primarily on the following themes:
- Relationships & conflict
- Loss, grief & developmental trauma
- Life questions, meaning & soul exploration
I believe that there is nothing inherently "wrong" with you and therefore nothing that needs to be fixed.
Balance, healing, and meaningful change become possible when you learn to listen again to your inner wisdom and trust the guidance of your own inner compass.
From that place, you can reclaim authorship of your life and move from merely surviving—or living with the brakes on—to living more freely, guided by conscious choices and a deeper connection to yourself.
Drawing on more than 33 years of experience within organizations, I have developed a particular sensitivity to relational challenges, emotional suffering, and psychological wellbeing in professional life.
I deeply believe in the power of sharing, growing, and healing in community. For this reason, I regularly facilitate groups and circles.
I would be honoured to accompany you for a part of your journey.
Perhaps You Recognise Yourself in One or More of These Situations
- You experience challenges in your personal and/or professional relationships, such as setting boundaries, taking up your space, or dealing with differences and disagreements.
- You long for greater authenticity, intimacy, and connection in your relationships.
- You feel stuck in a conflict that drains your energy and are looking for alternatives to avoidance, withdrawal, shutting down, or constantly fighting your way through.
- You are navigating a period of loss or transition in your life or career, such as redundancy, divorce, an empty nest, or retirement.
- You notice yourself falling into familiar patterns of behaviour that keep leading you into the same difficult situations, leaving you feeling stuck and less free than you would like to be.
- You have come to realise that painful experiences in your childhood may have left lasting marks — such as emotional neglect, subtle forms of violence, a lack of safety, or not feeling seen and valued.
- Somewhere along the way, you lost touch with yourself and now find yourself living a life that no longer feels truly your own.
- A difficult experience or life challenge — such as burnout, illness, or a personal crisis — has brought questions of meaning, purpose, and direction to the surface.
- You find yourself at a crossroads in life and are uncertain about what your next step should be.
If any of these resonate with you, you do not have to navigate them alone. Therapy can offer a space to explore what is asking for attention, understanding, and change.
Inspiration
Gestalt Therapy – The Therapy of Contact
At the heart of Gestalt therapy lies the process of awareness: what is asking for your attention right now?
A central focus is the quality of your relationship with yourself and with others. Together, we explore what may be hindering connection and discover ways for you to move through relationships and life with greater freedom, authenticity, and ease.
Difficulties in contact are not seen as pathology or disorder. The patterns and ways of coping you developed were often intelligent and creative adaptations to situations that once felt challenging, overwhelming, or unsafe.
What unfolds between us during our sessions becomes a kind of microcosm in which these patterns can become visible. It is a space where you can experiment with new ways of being, receive feedback and resonance, and gain fresh perspectives on yourself and your relationships.
Your personal and professional environment is an essential part of the therapeutic process and a powerful source of healing and growth. For that reason, I will often invite you to explore small experiments or practices in your daily life.
Because ultimately, your life itself is where the real therapy happens — where awareness is integrated, new choices are made, and lasting change can take root.
Holistic & Trauma-Informed
Rather than applying fixed methods or procedures, I work from a deep curiosity about what it means to be human. Together, we explore your experience on different levels, recognising that healing and growth involve the whole person. Below are some examples of the dimensions we may work with.
Mental
Identifying limiting beliefs and habitual thought patterns - Working with overthinking and cultivating mental clarity - Reframing experiences and discovering new perspectives - Clarifying what truly matters to you - Reflecting on themes and questions that are meaningful in your life - Re-authoring the story you tell about yourself and your experiences
Emotional
Learning to feel and fully experience emotions - Connecting with the felt sense beneath a story or situation - Developing emotional awareness and regulation - Exploring the messages and meaning carried by emotions - Working with anger in a constructive way - Creating space for the pain of old wounds to be acknowledged and felt
Physical
Deepening connection with your body - Using the breath as a resource and ally - Becoming aware of the state of your nervous system - Recognising and softening physical tension and protective patterns - Supporting nervous system regulation - Sensing and honouring your personal boundaries - Cultivating grounding and presence - Mobilising the body's innate resources and resilience - Embodying qualities you wish to develop - Bringing greater congruence between what you say and how you express it
Relational
Exploring your place within your family system - Understanding relationship patterns that continue to influence your life today - Recognising protective responses that arise under stress - Gently exploring survival strategies with curiosity and compassion - Feeling more free to be yourself - Strengthening contact with yourself and others in conversation - Navigating tension, differences, and conflict more consciously -Experiencing connection without losing yourself in the process
Meaning & Purpose
Finding meaning in difficult life experiences - Reconnecting with your potential, values, and deeper longings - Living in closer alignment with who you truly are - Making conscious and authentic choices - Deepening your connection with your unique path in life - Having the courage to choose a life that feels inspired, meaningful, and alive
"Trauma compromises our ability to engage with others
by replacing patterns of connecction
with patterns of protection."
How We Work
While conversation is at the heart of the therapeutic process, there is also space for exploration through experience, practice, and creative experimentation.
When appropriate, we may draw on a variety of approaches that can help deepen awareness, access new perspectives, and support integration. These may include:
- Table constellations and systemic exploration
- Reflective and therapeutic writing
- Creative exercises
- Guided visualisations
- Breathwork and breathing practices
- Drawing and expressive arts
- Somatic and body-based practices
- Photography-based reflections and assignments
- Chair work
- Nature as a source of insight and inspiration
- Practising transparent and authentic communication
- Dialogues with and between inner parts
- Creating personal rituals to mark transitions, intentions, or meaningful life events
These approaches are never used as techniques for their own sake. Rather, they are invitations to explore your experience in ways that words alone sometimes cannot reach.
Together, we will discover what best supports your process, always respecting your pace, needs, and boundaries.
“Your capacity to respond to another from your authentic core depends on your level of availability.
When you are stressed or contracted by overwhelm, you will be less available, less able to respond from your core.
Stress generates reactivity rather than responsiveness. In significant stress you may feel cornered, threatened, taxed. (…)
As we practice transparant communication, we develop the capacity to sense and expand inner spaciousness, presence, and availability and to honor the rights of being, becoming, and belonging.”
Contact & Registration
Have you taken the time to read the information on this website? Do you feel that my approach and way of working resonate with you? If so, I warmly invite you to get in touch.
You can contact me via the contact form below or simply by email:
silvia@circlesforconnection.be
Once I receive your message, I will send you a brief registration form. This short questionnaire mainly helps me understand what brings you to therapy and what you hope to explore or address.
brief phone call & Intake
After receiving your registration form, I like to arrange a brief phone call. This gives us an opportunity to make initial contact and schedule a first appointment.
The intake (60 minutes) is without obligation.
During this meeting, we take the time to get acquainted and explore your questions, concerns, and intentions for therapy. As there is currently a high demand for therapeutic support, I believe it is important to carefully assess whether we are a good fit for working together.
At the end of the conversation, we will decide whether it feels right to continue the journey together.
If we choose to proceed, we will discuss practical arrangements and schedule further sessions. It is often helpful to book a few appointments in advance to ensure continuity and secure your place in the practice.
What Drives Me
My name is Silvia. I am 63 years old and the mother of three adult children.
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the dynamics of relationships, human connection, and conflict — especially the often unseen relational undercurrents that shape our interactions and experiences.
This fascination led me to study Clinical Psychology and, many years later, Gestalt Therapy.
I am particularly drawn to the field of developmental and attachment trauma, as it is far more common than many people realise. It concerns the impact of experiences such as chronic emotional neglect, not feeling seen or valued, growing up in unhealthy relational environments, and the survival strategies and sense of limitation that can emerge as a result.
I am endlessly curious about what shapes us as human beings and why relationships can sometimes be so complex. How do we release the burdens of the past and heal old wounds so that we can live with greater freedom and ease? How do we reconnect with our vitality and life energy, allowing us to live more fully and contribute meaningfully to the world around us?
My understanding has grown gradually over the years through academic study, extensive professional training, novels and professional literature, the often bumpy road of life itself, and my own personal healing journey. Each has offered valuable lessons and insights, deepening both my understanding and my capacity to accompany others.
I continue to learn, explore, and deepen my practice, inspired by the belief that growth and self-discovery are lifelong journeys.
education
Master in Clinical Psychology (registration number 632113541 – visum 347059)
Gestalt therapist (IVC)
additional training
- The Power of Embodied Transformation (Coaches Rising)
- Neuroscience for Change (Coaches Rising)
- Foundations of Embodiment Certificate (Embodied Facilitator)
- Different trauma modules (Ybe Casteleyn)
- Trauma training C2Trauma2Peace (Erik de Soir & Jessie Delooz)
- Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma (Janina Fisher, Mens)
- Polyvagal Theory (Deb Dana)
- Yoga Teacher Training (Yogalife)
- Breath (Studio Zuid)
- Somatic Experiencing (year 1, Traumahealing Belgium)
- The Art of Attunement (Thomas Hübl)
- Navigating the Levels of Trauma (Thomas Hübl)
- Summer intensive week (Thomas Hübl, 2024)
- Timeless Wisdom Training, Academy of Inner Science (Thomas Hübl, 2025-2026)
PRActical information
Welcome in my homey practice!
car
Easy to reach by car. My street is one way traffic.
During the day parking is usually quite easy in my street or the surrounding streets.
Attention: since January 2026 you need to pay in this zone: 2,50 €/hour.
BUS
There is a bus stop at a distance of 200 meter (bus stop "Naamsepoort").
TRaiN
From Leuven station you can take a bus or rent a Bluebike.
From station Heverlee it is a 10 minute walk.
bicycle
There are bicycle racks in the street.
Please make sure not to put your bike against my neighbors' facade.
There is no waiting room, so please be on time.
Broekstraat 32
3001 Heverlee
dog
I have a dog. If you like, he can join us.
schedule
Tuesday: 11am - 6pm
Wednesday: 11am - 6pm
sessions
A session lasts 1 hour (60 minutes).
I take breaks between sessions, so we can wrap-up our conversation without any pressure.
LIVE Or ONLINE?
You are most welcome in my homey practice in Leuven.
We can also work online (Zoom). A combination is also possible.
Cancellation policy
Please warn me at least 48 hours before your scheduled sessions, otherwise I will need to charge you.
fee
90,00 € for a session of 60 minutes.
payment
You can pay via your bank app.
If we work online, you can pay via bank transfer.
refund?
Make sure you inquire if your Belgian health insurance fund reimburses part of your therapy sessions.
summer schedule
Tuesday: 1pm - 3pm - 5pm
Wednesday: 10am - 12pm - 2pm
Thursday: 1pm - 3pm - 5pm
The practice is open on the following dates:
July 1 - 7 - 8 14 - 15 - 16 - 21 - 22 - 28 2026
August 6 - 26 2026
