Magdalena Hristova, MSc

In my work as a psychologist and therapist, I have broad experience with students and expats living in the Netherlands. I have worked with topics such as cultural adjustment, feeling at home, identity questions in a foreign environment, staying motivated but also with different kinds of mental health problems such as managing anxiety and stress, depression, trauma, grief, low self-esteem, attachment and (interpersonal) relationship issues.

My approach is client-centered, aiming at empowering you to achieve greater independence in life and to not only help you manage the current issues but to also assist you to cope with problems in the future. My approach is also influenced by the Buddhist teachings that I have been practicing already my whole life and the mindful attitude that I have developed as a result. I have also completed workshops and courses in the field of couple’s therapy, family systems therapy, family constellations, and psychodrama.

At the moment I am in training to become a certified systemic therapist at a few different educational institutions in Amsterdam. In my work with clients, I use elements of existential psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Schema therapy, Insightful therapy, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Systemic therapy. With couples I mainly use the Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) approach which is based on the attachment theory of John Bowlby.

I was born and raised in Bulgaria but already at the age of 19 I moved to the Netherlands. I hold a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and a Master’s degree in Work & Organizational Psychology. Having been through my own challenges and milestones as an expat, I am very well familiar with the potential difficulties that may arise when living, studying or working in a foreign country. I help people to find their inner strength and seize the opportunities that life offers them. I strongly believe that by knowing ourselves better we can make the right decisions and have a more meaningful, happy and fulfilling life.

At Inter-Being I offer individual, couples and systemic therapy in English, Dutch and Bulgarian in Amsterdam and online.

Registrations / memberships:

PSYCHOLOOG NIP – Nederlandse Instituut van Psychologen

In training to become a systemic therapist recognized by the Dutch Association for Relationship and Family Therapy (NVRG)