About Hanne

My career began in 1998 as a social worker. In the Netherlands, Scotland, and London, I worked with children, adolescents, families, and adults. Within child and family services, child protection, and mental health care, I gained extensive experience working with people facing complex challenges and life-changing experiences.

At the same time, another thread was running through my life: theatre. As a child, I already loved acting. I enjoyed dressing up, stepping into different roles, telling stories, and expressing myself creatively.

During my time in England, I decided to bring these two passions together. I trained as a Drama Therapist at the University of Hertfordshire, just outside London and discovered that the combination of working with people and using drama and theatre techniques really resonated with me. Rather than only talking about what is going on, I wanted to help people experience, feel, and discover new possibilities.

What particularly appeals to me about this approach is that change does not happen through the mind alone. Many people understand very well why they get stuck, yet they continue to find themselves caught in the same patterns.

After returning to the Netherlands, I started my own private practice. Initially, I worked with a wide range of clients and presenting issues. Over time, I increasingly specialised in working with adults who have experienced trauma, personality disorders and issues around self-image and identity.

Along the way, I continued to deepen my expertise in, among other approaches, Schema Therapy, Psychodrama, and the Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM Psychodrama).

'Therapy helped me develop a much deeper awareness of myself. I began to reflect more intentionally on my behaviour, my choices, and the direction I wanted my life to take. In the process, I rediscovered a part of myself that I had lost. For the first time, I truly asked myself: Who am I? What do I want from life? How do I want to shape it? And what would I like to change? I will always be grateful for this journey of self-discovery and for everything it has given me'. Former client. 

'The therapy sessions with Hanne were exactly what Veerle needed. Through the weekly sessions, we watched her gradually transform. Where she had previously become trapped in feelings of sadness and anger, she is now able to navigate her emotions with greater confidence and resilience. The result is a cheerful young girl who knows her value and believes in herself'. Parent of a client. 

TSM Psychodrama is where everything comes together for me: my background as a social worker, my love of theatre and creativity, my experience as a drama therapist, and my specialisation in trauma. It integrates trauma treatment, psychodrama, body-oriented approaches, and experiential learning in a way that perfectly reflects how I like to work.

What I value most about this model is its focus on strengthening people's resources and their innate capacity for healing. It is not only about addressing pain and survival patterns, but also about developing the inner strengths that help people stay grounded, make healthy choices, and regain a sense of agency in their lives.