Born and raised in the Netherlands, I studied for my physical therapy degree at the hanzehogeschool in Groningen, the Netherlands which I completed in 2008. I have 20+ years of private practice experience from multiple countries, including the Netherlands, Ukraine, Seychelles, Argentina, England and Switzerland which helped me broaden my view and develop as an enthusiastic, empathetic, all-rounded physical therapist.
My goal and strength is to translate the medical jargon in such a way that you can visualise it, understand it and heal from whatever your complaint is. Combined with plenty of hands on therapy, specially selected and well explained exercises I aim to help you get back on your feet as soon as possible.
As an enthusiastic hockeyplayer in my late teens/early twenties, I can relate to sport injuries and how these impact your life very well. This is what inspired me to become a physiotherapist originally. I remember sitting in a practice, aged 15, after an ankle injury and being amazed at the power of physiotherapy and the privilege it is to be connected so closely to someone’s recovery process. This motivated me to pursue a sports specialty.
After 10 years of classic and sports physiotherapy, I expanded my knowledge to pelvic health physiotherapy because I was fortunate enough to become a mother to my 2 boys (born in 2016 and 2018) but came out of it a different person. Lacking the knowledge myself at the time combined with little support around me I struggled to find out what I could do postnatally, and which exercises to avoid. Hearing, don’t do anything until 6 weeks and then start doing everything after 6 weeks didn’t work for me, and I made it my personal mission to educate myself and everyone around me who wanted it about the pelvic floor, continence, diastasis, exercises, core control. To achieve this I attended the MummyMOT practitioner course as well as the pelvic floor assessment and visceral abdominal mobilisation course. In the end, we all have a pelvic floor and I think it’s time we break the taboos around it and start talking about it, spreading the word and start healing this very intimate, but important part of our bodies. I try to make it fun, light and enjoyable to educate you on how to contract and relax your pelvic floor.
In addition to these two main directions my professional life has taken me, I have continuously developed throughout the years with monthly online seminars to stay in the loop and up to date, as well as multiple in person courses like:
- Triggerpoint therapy,
- Sport Specialisation,
- Dry Needling,
- Lymphatic Drainage,
- APPI Pilates,
- Ante and Post Natal Pilates,
- Medical Taping Concept,
- Pitch Side First Aid,
- Mummy MOT practitioner
- Visceral Abdominal Mobilisation
- Pelvic Floor Assessment.
Moving to Northern Ireland in July 2024 has been an excellent choice for our family. Our boys are loving the local life and our dog enjoys the local beaches for his walks. We’ve found the northern Irish people a very open, welcoming kind and we look forward to settling down here long term. Opening my own practice, servicing our town D’Dee and the Ards Peninsula for physiotherapy is a dream come true and I take pride in offering this service to this area. To have it all start at Donaghadee Golf Club is even more fitting, because you’ll regularly find me here on the course playing as well.