About Melanie

My name is Melanie. As a UK citizen who spent much of my childhood living abroad, I understand the unique challenges of an international lifestyle. I completed my education in England and began my career with the NHS in London, where I trained in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and earned my accreditation as a CBT therapist.

Seventeen years ago, my journey took me abroad, first to Amsterdam, then to Munich, and eventually back to Amsterdam. In both cities, I’ve had the privilege of using CBT and Life Coaching to support expats from all walks of life.

My personal experience in a multicultural relationship and raising Third Culture Kids, combined with my work with international clients, has given me a deep understanding of both the joys and challenges of expatriate life. I recognize that sometimes, our personal resources don’t quite match up to the demands life places on us, leading us to repeat unhelpful patterns. This is where therapy or coaching can make a real difference.

I believe that a warm, friendly, and approachable setting is crucial for successful therapy. I also like to infuse a bit of humour into my sessions whenever possible. My goal is to empower my clients with the skills they need to manage their current challenges and to equip them with tools for whatever life throws their way.

“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place”
~ Miriam Adeney

Professional Accreditations

Choosing an accredited therapist or coach ensures you’re working with someone who has met rigorous training standards and adheres to professional guidelines. This means you can trust in a safe, effective, and professional practice. I’m proud to be registered with the following organisations:

Accredited Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapist

Vereniging voor Gedrags- en Cognitieve therapieën:

Registered Life Coach

International Coach Federation:

Commitment to Excellence

As a registered coach and therapist, I am committed to ongoing personal and professional development. I regularly attend courses, workshops, and conferences to stay up to date and enhance my skills. To maintain the highest professional standards in my therapy and coaching, I am also regularly supervised by a fellow professional on an ongoing basis.

What My Clients Say

Melanie’s intervention in my life was nothing short of a miracle. When I first reached out to her, I was in a very dark place. I was held hostage by my own ignorance of pretty much everything – environmental conditions, my relationship to those conditions, my thoughts and emotions. Melanie helped me inquire into it all with the greatest insight and support. She has always been kind, compassionate and very clever!

Anonymous, USA

Melanie is armed with compassion, a genuine curiosity to really understand who’s in front of her, and always open to experiment with yet a new approach, she has made every single session memorable, but most importantly, she’s navigated me into a fuller life.

SR, Netherlands

Melanie was definitely my greatest ally during the most difficult of times of my life and I still consider her my best ally now that “life is good”.   Making that first appointment with Melanie was one of the best decisions I’ve made, benefiting not just me, but also everyone in my family.

Anonymous, Belgium

Melanie is very empathetic and was able to successfully mediate between my partner and me, allowing us to finally listen to each other after months of fighting. Thank you Melanie, for your patience and advice!

F&Z, Netherlands

I met Melanie online and she helped me through one of the most difficult times of my life. She was able to coach me through some complex emotions and I gained perspective and insight. She gave me coping strategies and focus for the important immediacies, with reassurance that I was progressing as I went through the array of emotions. It is very useful to able to speak with an impartial person about challenges, perspective and goals.

HM, UK

Melanie helped me out during an existential life-crisis. Not only did she help me find practical tools to understand myself and my behavioural patterns better; she also helped me deal with some old, buried childhood issues in a constructive manner and address some open issues with my family. Her approach is very sound and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for practical tools to understand and deal with the complexities and burdens of modern life.

FB, India

Working with Melanie has allowed me to create new perspectives on beliefs about myself. Melanie asks me the right questions, and guides me in seeing old and new situations with a proactive mindset. This leads me to change the conversation with myself. Our sessions are via Skype, which is quite convenient for both of us, and this hasn’t affect at all the quality of our work.

AM, Portugal

We highly, highly recommend Melanie for couples counseling. She has helped us work through issues surrounding new parenthood, depression, anxiety, and being an expat. She is understanding, direct, and helpful. We’ve really appreciated her help with boosting the health of our marriage.

K&S, USA

Melanie’s coaching helped me draw a picture of the root causes of my frustrations which were negatively impacting my personal and professional life. She has given me the tools to accept myself and change my behaviour so that I can manage the situations myself for the long term. The results were so impressive that I was able to not only accept my environment but embrace it and become a key figure in it. Shortly after our first sessions I was promoted to Manager and kept growing since then.

MA, France

I attended one of Melanie’s workshops and it was a really enjoyable evening! I came out buzzing with ideas and tips as to how to put things into practice. The material she provided was thought-provoking and the discussion interesting, balanced and helpful.

Anonymous, Amsterdam

Melanie has been an absolute godsend for our family. My daughter has been diagnosed on the autistic spectrum and the bond that Melanie built with her was exceptional. This bond of trust combined with Melanie’s creative and caring therapy meant that my daughter (and indeed our family) was able to overcome various issues which had previously felt overwhelming. I have also relied on Melanie’s expert guidance to help me deal with my son’s anxiety. As a mother, besides being a therapist, Melanie really gets to the heart of the issues and provides practical, honest and truly effective advice. I can’t recommend Melanie enough and would like to thank her for all her she has done in her work with my family.

KS, UK 

Melanie has been a fantastic companion in the difficult journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. She’s literally walked me out of a very dark period of my life. When I was stronger, she’s taught me precious tools to walk on my feet again, tackled deep-buried issues and coached me to face big and small challenges alike.

SB, Italy