Equipo

Daniel verhuisde toen hij acht jaar oud was uit Nederland naar Spanje met zijn ouders en zijn twee zusjes en broertje, om een nieuw avontuur te beginnen. Hoewel hij de taal snel onder de knie kreeg, vond hij het als Third Culture Kid niet makkelijk om zich aan zijn nieuwe omgeving aan te passen. Hij werd gepest op school en werd daardoor in contact gebracht met lijden en afwijzing, wat hem dichter bij zijn roeping als psycholoog bracht.

Omdat hij Amerikaanse familie heeft, maakt Engels deel uit van zijn familiebetrekkingen. Hij benutte elke gelegenheid om de taal te oefenen, zoals een uitwisselingsreis naar Chicago toen hij 17 jaar oud was. Voordat hij aan zijn opleiding begon, wilde Daniel de wereld verkennen. Hij nam deel aan verschillende zendingsscholen van de Evangelische Kerk in India en Oeganda. Deze reizen boden hem een unieke gelegenheid om dichter bij andere culturen te komen en te leren samenleven, verschillen te overbruggen en manieren te vinden om te communiceren. Hij nam een belangrijk besluit: het proberen om te leven zoals de mensen leven in het land van bestemming. Zo wende hij in India aan een pittig ontbijt en reisde meer dan 2000 km met de trein. India was een land waarvan hij de gastvrijheid en het vermogen om verschillende culturen te verwelkomen bewonderde.

Na zijn terugkeer deed hij een Bachelors degree in psychologie via de Complutense Universiteit in Madrid. Hij liep stage bij de Stichting ANAR, die kinderen en tieners helpt; daar leerde hij om in een veelzijdig team te werken en verstevigde hij zijn therapeutische vaardigheden. Hij kreeg een Erasmus-beurs om het derde jaar aan de Universiteit in Warwick te studeren, waar hij omringd was door studenten van over de hele wereld. Tijdens zijn verblijf in het Engeland legde hij contacten die hem ertoe aanzetten na zijn studie terug te keren naar de West Midlands (Coventry) waar hij ongeveer een jaar woonde en werkte. Dit was zijn eerste buitenlandse ervaring als expat, met de bijbehorende uitdagingen van aanpassing aan nieuwe gewoonten en tijdschema’s, het weg zijn van familie en het opbouwen van nieuwe vriendschappen.

Hij hervatte zijn opleiding door een postgraduate in integratieve psychotherapie, “Experto en Psicoterapia Integradora (Nivel Básico)”, te studeren aan de Universiteit van Alcalá, waardoor hij verschillende theorieën en therapeutische scholen kon onderzoeken. Het zou de Systeemtherapie zijn wat hem het meest interesseerde. Het bood een andere kijk op relaties, in het bijzonder de ontdekking dat een relatieprobleem in stand kan worden gehouden dankzij moeilijk op te geven evenwichten. Daarom was zijn volgende stap het behalen van een Master in Gezins- en Relatietherapie, via de Complutense Universiteit in Madrid. Voor Daniel, als therapeut, is het essentieel dat iedereen zich gehoord voelt en zich bewust is dat er niet alleen één waarheid is, maar meerdere versies. Systeemtherapie helpt om te begrijpen dat wat «normaal» lijkt te zijn afhankelijk is van onze ervaringen en sleutelfiguren. Bij problemen is het belangrijk om over ieders behoeften te praten waarbij het over en weer verwijten wordt vermeden.

Tenslotte behaalde hij de Master in “Psicología General Sanitaria” aan het Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros, verbonden aan de Universiteit van Alcalá. Hij liep meer dan 9 maanden stage in het centrum voor NB-psychologie. In die tijd leerde hij de onderliggende oorzaken beter kennen van angst als fysiek/ mentaal verschijnsel, van activering van lichaams- en mentale alarmen en van depressie met zijn negatieve overtuigingen en schema’s.

Daniel gelooft dat psychologie gezonde relaties en genezing bevordert; in humor als een middel dat versterkt en weerstand geeft. Hij zet zich in om zijn patiënten te helpen ontdekken hoe ze vollediger kunnen leven en gelooft dat we niet bepaald worden door een script, maar dat onze verhalen kunnen worden herschreven en herontdekt.

Getrouwd met een Braziliaanse vrouw, kent hij uit zijn eigen ervaring de uitdagingen van een bicultureel huwelijk.

Daniel moved at the age of eight from the Netherlands to Spain with his family, parents and three siblings, to start a new adventure. Although he was quick to adapt to the language, as a Third Culture Kid he did not find it easy to adapt to his new environment. The challenge of undergoing bullying made him connect with suffering and rejection, bringing him closer to his vocation as a psychologist.

Having American uncles and cousins, English is part of his family relationships, and he always benefited every opportunity to practice it, such as an exchange to Chicago at the age of 17. Before embarking on his academic path, Daniel wanted to discover the world. He participated in several missionary schools through the Evangelical Church in India and Uganda. Both trips offered him a unique opportunity to get closer to other cultures and learn to live together while bridging differences and finding ways to communicate. He made a very important decision: to try to live as they live in the country of destination and so, in India he had spiced food for breakfast and traveled over 2000 kms by train. It was a country of which he admired its hospitality and the ability to welcome different cultures.

Upon his return, he obtained a graduate degree in Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid. He completed his internship at the ANAR Foundation, a psychological helpline for children and teens, where he learned to work in a multidisciplinary team and consolidated his therapeutic skills. He obtained an Erasmus scholarship to study his third year abroad at the University of Warwick; a place where he was surrounded by students from all over the world. During his time in the United Kingdom, he made connections that encouraged him to return, after finishing his degree, to the West Midlands (Coventry) where he lived and worked for about a year. This was his first experience as an expat adult with its challenges of adapting to customs and schedules, being far from family and making new friendships.

He resumed his training through a postgraduate course in Integrative Psychotherapy (basic expert level) through the University of Alcalá, which allowed him to explore different theories and therapeutic schools. It would be systemic family therapy that would spark his interest the most, as it provided a different vision of relationships, allowing him to discover that a problem can be maintained thanks to balances that are difficult to abandon. That explained that his next training step would be to do a master’s degree in Family and Couple Therapy, through the Complutense University of Madrid. For Daniel, as a therapist, it is essential that everyone feels heard and for all to be aware that there is not only one truth, but several versions. Systemic therapy helps to understand that what can be considered ‘normal’ depends on our experiences and role models and how when there are problems it is important to talk about our needs and abandon the blame game.

Finally, he fulfilled the remaining requirements to work as a psychologist through a master’s degree in General Health Psychology through the Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros, affiliated to the University of Alcalá. He did his internship at the psychological center from NB Psicología for a period of over 9 months. During this time, he got a better grasp of the roots of anxiety as a physical (such as the triggering of body alarms) and mental phenomenon, and depression with its related negative beliefs and schemas.

Daniel believes in a psychology that promotes healthy relationships and the repair of wounds; in humor as a tool that strengthens and provides resilience. He is committed to enabling his patients to discover how to live more fully and believes that we are not determined by a script, but that our stories can be rewritten and rediscovered. 

Married to a Brazilian woman, he knows firsthand of the challenges of a bicultural marriage. 

Born in Romania, Alina was always clear that she wanted to find a profession where she could make an impact on society. This led her to explore opportunities beyond her borders at the age of 16. She arrived in Spain without previously knowing the language, and after taking her only three months to learn it, she discovered that the profession she was looking for was going to be speech therapist.

While studying the Degree in Speech Therapy at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Alina combined her studies with another of her great vocations, childcare, where she had the opportunity to identify for the first time the importance of language development and communication at an early age. For this reason, she decided to specialize in developmental and learning disorders. Later, she would complete his training in this area by obtaining the Master’s Degree in Early Intervention at the UCM.

However, what truly marked Alina’s professional future was her brother, who from a young age showed serious difficulties with social interaction and the use of language. Her curiosity and desire to deepen her knowledge made her do the university internship at the Leo Kanner Special Education College of the Association of Parents of People with Autism (APNA), where she later worked for 4 years. She combined this work with collaborations as a speech therapist for different Early Care Centers and with speech therapy services at home with patients with speech, language, literacy and atypical swallowing disorders.

Throughout this stage, Alina completed the Post Graduate Degree in Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder by the UNED and became one of the first certified therapists in Spain in the PACT methodology (Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy), a specific communication therapy for children with autism or needs in the field of social communication developed at the University of Manchester.

Her passion for the profession of speech therapist prompted her to share her knowledge by participating as a teacher in the APNA ASD Specialization Course and tutoring future professionals during their university internships.

She currently combines her clinical work as a bilingual speech therapist at SINEWS with her psychopedagogical labor at Kings College Soto de Viñuelas, where she has acquired conscience of the academic impact that language difficulties have.

Născută în România, Alina a avut mereu clar că își dorea să găsească o profesie în care să aibă impact asupra societății. Acest lucru a determinat-o să exploreze oportunități dincolo de granițele ei la vârsta de 16 ani. A ajuns în Spania fără să cunoască limba în prealabil, iar după ce a intarziat doar trei luni să o învețe, a descoperit că profesia pe care o căuta avea să fie cea de logoped.

În timp ce studia Licența în Logopedie la Universitatea Complutense din Madrid (UCM), Alina și-a combinat studiile cu o altă mare vocație, îngrijirea copilurilor, unde a avut ocazia să identifice pentru prima dată importanța dezvoltării limbajului și a comunicării la o vârstă fragedă. Din acest motiv, decide să se specializeze în tulburări de dezvoltare și de învățare. Ulterior, își va finaliza pregătirea în acest domeniu prin absolvirea Masterului în Intervenție Timpurie la UCM.

Cu toate acestea, ceea ce a marcat cu adevărat viitorul profesional al Alinei a fost fratele ei, care de mic a manifestat serioase dificultăți în interacțiunea socială și în utilizarea limbajului. Curiozitatea și dorința de a-și aprofunda cunoștințele au impinso să facă stagiul universitar la Colegiul de Educație Specială Leo Kanner al Asociației Părinților Persoanelor cu Autism (APNA), unde a lucrat ulterior timp de 4 ani. Ea a combinat această activitate cu colaborări ca logoped pentru diferite centre de îngrijire timpurie și cu servicii de logopedie la domiciliu cu pacienți cu tulburări de vorbire, limbaj, alfabetizare și tulburări atipice de deglutiție.

De-a lungul acestei etape, Alina a finalizat Specializarea în Intervenție cu Persoanele cu Tulburare din Spectrul Autismului de la UNED și a devenit unul dintre primii terapeuți autorizați din Spania în metodologia PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy), o terapie specifică de comunicare pentru copiii cu autism sau nevoi în domeniul comunicării sociale dezvoltată la Universitatea din Manchester.

Pasiunea ei pentru profesia de logoped a determinat-o să iși împărtășească cunoștințele prin participarea ca profesor la Cursul de specializare in TSA și îndrumarea viitorilor profesioniști în timpul stagiilor universitare.

În prezent, își combină activitatea clinică ca logoped bilingv la SINEWS cu munca de sprijin psihopedagogică la Kings College din Soto de Viñuelas, unde ajută la minimizarea impactului academic cauzat de dificultățile de învățare și îi ajută pe copii să-și atingă potențialul maxim.