Our Blog
Insights, Tools, Resources and Stories for Growth and Healing
Our Blog Philosophy: Sharing Knowledge, Building Connection
At The Circle Clinic, we see learning as a cornerstone of healing and growth, accessible to everyone.
Why Share Knowledge?
We believe that sharing is caring. Knowledge is a powerful tool for empowerment and connection. By offering practical, evidence-based insights through our blog, we aim to bridge psychological understanding and everyday life, making mental health resources accessible and relatable to all.
Shame vs Guilt: Understanding the Difference and Why Healing Begins There
Shame says “I am bad,” guilt says “I did something bad.” Discover the real difference between shame and guilt, where they come from, and how healing means moving from hiding into repair.
Emergency Resources
Asking for help takes courage. This page holds a collection of trusted helplines and resources across mental health, family support, addiction, and more for when you or someone you love needs it most.”
What Does ‘Holistic’ Mean? A Guide to Whole Person Healing
Holistic therapy looks at the whole of you, not just your symptoms. It brings together your mind, body, emotions and spirit because real healing rarely lives in just one place. At The Circle Clinic, our integrative approach draws on evidence-based psychological practice to help you reclaim a more whole sense of self.
Schemas: The Mental Lens We All See the World Through
No one sees the world objectively. Our schemas, the webs of core beliefs shaped by genetics, upbringing, and experience, filter how we interpret everything around us. While harmless with bananas, dysfunctional schemas can fuel real emotional pain. The good news? Through cognitive restructuring, we can identify, challenge, and reshape the automatic thoughts that keep us stuck.
My Therapy Approach in 5: Holistic Therapy in Leiden
I do as much as possible to meet you in your fullness of being human. My approach to holistic therapy in Leiden rests on five pillars: client-centred, holistic, trauma-informed, identity-affirming, and rooted in both Western and Eastern psychology. Here’s what each means for our work together.
Mirror Neurons & Trauma
Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt the weight of someone else’s mood without a single word being spoken? That’s not just intuition. It’s your brain doing exactly what it was designed to do. Mirror neurons, the brain cells that fire whether we act or simply observe, are at the heart of how we connect with others. But for those carrying the weight of past trauma, this same wiring can make connection feel less like a bridge and more like an open wound.
Language to Relieve Trauma
Trauma doesn’t only come from war or loss. Research shows that experiences like bullying often dismissed as “just part of growing up” can leave lasting imprints on how we see ourselves and the world. In The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk describes trauma not as a memory of the past, but as something still living in the body. So what can help? One answer, perhaps surprisingly, is language the act of putting words to what happened.