Embodied therapy that works.

I help sensitive people resolve chronic stress, emotional problems, and chronic physical pain.

Because sometimes talking just isn’t enough and a deeper approach is needed.

One that speaks with your body, nervous system, and depth of your being.

Modalities

Trauma Release Exercises

TRE allows your body’s natural reflexes (like the neurogenic tremor) to restore a sense of safety and well-being on a grounded bodily level

Somatic Inquiry

Freeing emotional and physical tension patterns through guided inner dialogue

SSP

Experience the soothing power of your nervous system by listening to uniquely filtered sounds

“You can’t reason with the nervous system. But you can listen closely when it tells you what it needs. That is where the healing happens. In the listening.” – Jeff Brown

Attuning to

Your natural capacity

If you are anything like me, you might have a history of trying it all – diets, therapies, and exercises to soothe feelings inside. I know how disheartening it is to apply everything you have learned and still have a daily struggle with stress, anxiety, depression, or a body that aches. This is a sure sign that it’s time to align with the deeper wisdom of the body – and to team up with the symptoms we have so long tried to battle.

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I've been there too

I am a trained psychologist with lived experience in healing from complex trauma, burnout, and medically unexplained physical pain—challenges that required a unique and holistic approach. This journey pushed me to be creative and uncover deep levels of healing that integrate body, mind, and spirit. With over 15 years of training and experience, I am here to support you in finding the well-being that isn’t something to chase, but something already present within you—ready to be embodied.

This approach is

For the sensitive ones

Do you feel deeply affected by the energy around you, even when others don’t seem to notice?

Is your sensitivity a gift that sometimes feels like a burden?

You may be known as a gentle, easygoing person to be around, yet it’s often the sensitive ones who hold back their true voice and emotions in an effort to avoid affecting others. Over time, this can lead to a buildup of emotional and physical problems —manifesting for example as anxiety, headaches, back pain, or related symptoms.

The good news is that this pattern can be unraveled at a deep level. In fact, symptoms often diminish or disappear entirely when these inner layers are reconnected and freed. This is where your sensitive nature becomes the liberating force it was always meant to be.

How do we work?

Each session follows these 3 principles:

Buttom-Up principle: rather than long talks or mental analyses, we follow what the nervous system, the energy in the body, and the emotions show us directly. This is more efficient, revealing, and relieving all at once.
Present moment: your in-the-moment experience provides the depth needed to unravel issues to their root origin.
Law of energy conversion: we cooperate with the natural cycle of contraction and release. We trust the symptoms and work with them rather than against them. This way, stuck energies and patterns follow their own most efficient path of resolution.

Each method supports the 3 principles in its own way. The working ingredient of all techniques is the depth of awareness with which they are used:

TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises)

Somatic Inquiry

SSP (Safe & Sound Protocol)

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testimonials

Client experiences

With Barbara I always feel like I’m being held in a safe and open space. That allows for some very deep processes, that wouldn’t be possible without it. When something is scary to go into I like working with Barbara, because the process feels held in that space.

– Anders Lovaas

Bringing depth in Somatic Inquiry

I contacted Barbara because I was already doing TRE independently at home, but it wasn’t working well and I developed aches and pains. For that reason, I contacted her and wanted to learn more. I immediately felt at ease with Barbara. She was able to immediately give me tools with which I could deepen the practice. I am amazed by the creativity and skill with which Barbara guides you. How I experience TRE has changed enormously and I feel like I get more out of it now. I am very happy that I took the step to contact her and would love to come back again.

– Marieke de Groot

Deepening TRE

I found it very pleasant and it has already helped a lot with the discomforts I had. I’m extremely grateful.

– Macy van E.

Unraveling discomforts

I attended several sessions with Barbara, specifically to get acquainted with TRE. And we succeeded beyond expectations. It is intriguing to experience how the body will automatically release the stored tension with a few simple exercises. The information provided is useful to continue doing those exercises at home. Barbara’s guidance is also very pleasant: careful, respectful, and with genuine interest!

– Daan Limburg

Working with bodily pain and tension

I feel like the first session already benefited me greatly!

– Jenna

Regulating the nervous system

I love how Barbara holds space for me when we meet — grounded, but open. It’s so refreshing how she doesn’t need to define me or make anything a problem to be fixed. Instead, we sit in unknowing and possibility and welcome whatever is arising naturally in the moment. There is so much power in that! I know that whatever comes up she’ll help me meet it with curiosity and compassion, rather than judgment. I always experience so much insight and spaciousness by the end of our time together.

– Amara Alban

Opening to Presence and insight

I probably was the first client Barbara van der Vlugt had as an independent therapist. She facilitated a couple of TRE sessions for me at a time when my stress levels were peaking in the red. It really worked. Now I do TRE every now and then, with her assistance or by myself, not only to blow some steam, but also to explore new moves in my career as a performance artist.

– Carlos Roos

Soothing high stress-levels

I contacted Barbara because I had tried many treatments (operations even) and nothing worked. I really liked the way she approached my problem because she did not try to solve it physically but looked for the underlying cause. I learned a lot and gained awareness about my thoughts and behavior. I no longer suffer from pain, which is such a huge relief.

– Sally J.

Working with chronic foot pain

I have found TRE to be highly effective in releasing stress, trauma, and muscle tension. It has also helped me with related issues such as a previously recurrent lower back pain. As a bonus, TRE is a generally easy, enjoyable, and comfortable process.

I know Barbara as a competent, insightful, and compassionate colleague and have no problem recommending her equally highly.

– Per Kielland

The joy of TRE

I experienced all sorts of conventional and alternative therapies. They all brought me something. But the sessions with Barbara brought me exactly what I needed. We did a combination of TRE, SSP, and inquiry. I was blown away by how much wisdom and self-healing power the body has if you let it do what it needs to do. It always left me going home with clarity, mindfulness, and lightness. This type of work is exactly what is so hard to find in our over-organized mental health care system.

– Eva de J.

Working with anxiety

Barbara helped me a lot! My persistent headache dissolved. More importantly; she put me in touch with my deeper feelings. This was only possible because I felt so comfortable and, above all, safe with her.

- Marie van V

Working with chronic headaches

I’m very pleased. After one session I already notice a lot less tension in my body!

– Claudio

Releasing muscle tension

You have a wealth of well-being available to you.

Even when feeling lost, stressed, or broken you are deeply resourceful by design.

– Barbara