About me

• Introduction >>
• Career and professional training >>
• Registrations and memberships >>

Introduction

My name is Irma Jochems.  I was born (1952) and brought up in the Netherlands but spent much of my adult, married life moving and living in different countries. I have two grown-up daughters.

Twenty years of living abroad (Jamaica, Germany, Lebanon, Belgium and Estonia) has, to a great extent, shaped both my private and professional life. Since Autumn 2012 I have been back in The Hague and have restarted my private practice as a psychotherapist and coach. I hope to continue this for many more years.

During my various stays abroad, through being exposed to the difficulties of living and working in another country with a different culture, I have gained both personal and professional experience in the (possible) problems of being an ex-pat.
I am acutely aware of how difficult it can be to rebuild your life in a new country, how lonely and frustrating the first months can be and that saying farewell is always painful. This is the case for adults and children alike. I have experienced the disadvantages, but I have also learned how to benefit from the many positive aspects of ex-pat life. I can thus easily empathize with expats feeling negative about their new life and can assist and encourage them to face their new situation in a flexible and positive way.

Apart from my work, which is very important to me, spending time with family and friends, sports, arts, culture and music are high on my agenda.

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Career and professional training

My first studies in clinical Psychology were at the University of Utrecht from 1970-1978. Before obtaining my degree, I worked at the Psychiatric department of a hospital in Utrecht and held student-assistant jobs at the Institute of Clinical Psychology at the  University of Utrecht.

In 1981, while in Germany, I started focusing on Systems Therapy. Back in The Netherlands, I did a three-year, post-graduate training in Psychotherapy in The Hague, majoring in Systems Therapy (1985-1988).
Additional studies/certifications include Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Prof. Dr. Robert Abraham in Leiden, a certification as mediator and a certification to work with the “Developmental Profile”(1997-2000).

Since graduating I have held a variety of positions both in The Netherlands and abroad, including in a psychiatric hospital (Jamaica), a psychiatric day care center(Germany), an out- patient clinic for psychotherapy (The Netherlands), a group practice for psychotherapy (The Netherlands), and in private practices in Brussels and The Hague.  I have also worked as a lecturer and student supervisor in Psychiatry (Estonia) and been active on various regional boards and commissions .

Presentations/Publications
Dealing with losses  and grief – Brussels , November 2007
I wrote an article about the Development Profile, which was published in 2008 in the Belgian Journal, “Tijdschrift voor Klinische Psychologie in June 2008.

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Registrations and memberships

Registrations

• Supervisor in systems therapy in Belgium and The Netherlands - 2010
• Registered by the Belgian Commission for Psychologists - 2007
• NMI (Netherlands Mediation Institute) registered Mediator - 2002
• BIG registered Healthcare Psychologist (nr. 99025792325) - 1999
• BIG Registration as Psychotherapist (nr. 09025792316) - 1999

Memberships

• NVRG (Netherlands Assoc. of Systems therapy)
• NIP (Netherlands Institute of Psychologists)
• NVP (Netherlands Assoc. for Psychotherapy)
• EFT (Dutch Ass. Emotionally Focussed Therapy).

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