Drs. Amélie van den Brink-El Makkaoui's professional journey and expertise

Our founder, Drs. Amélie van den Brink-El Makkaoui (BA, MA, ATR, and more), is a multilingual professional fluent in English and French. With a rich background as a mixed Burkinabé-Dutch individual and a true global nomad, she has lived and worked across West & Southern Africa, North America, Western Europe, and South East Asia, infusing therapy with a diverse and multicultural perspective.

Her clinical degrees were obtained in the United States, including a Bachelor's in Psychology from the College of Santa Fe (magnum cum laude, 2011) and a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from New York University (cum laude, 2013).

Her extensive clinical training provided a robust foundation for specialized youth care. This included:

• Training at the children's and women's psychiatric units of the Bronx Psychiatric Center in New York, gaining extensive experience with complex conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Disorder.
• Specialized treatment care at the League Education and Treatment Center, focusing on children with special needs, including those on the autism spectrum (Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, PDD-NOS), and developmental and behavioral issues.
• She has accumulated extensive experience working at a special needs camp over several summers, where she served as a case manager for children with ADHD, autism, and severe behavioral challenges, in addition to her role as an arts and crafts instructor.
• Furthermore, she has engaged with vulnerable populations, including street children in the Philippines, as well as children affected by traumatic events, both man-made and natural. Her work includes significant contributions following Typhoon Haguipit in the Philippines and during the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone.
• Currently, she maintains professional online collaborations with both international and local educational institutions, such as the International School of Dakar in Senegal and the International School of The Hague in the Netherlands. If your school needs a ADHD and Trauma consultant, kindly send us an email.

Our approach stands out through several key certifications highly effective for emotional regulation in young people with ADHD and trauma challenges. These include:

• Art Psychotherapy
• Play Therapy
• Internal Family Systems (IFS, Level 1)
• Emotional Freedom Tapping Techniques (EFT)
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ, Level 1)
• Adjunct Breathwork Facilitation

Integrating these powerful techniques help to foster preventive mental health care and empower individuals with lasting coping mechanisms.