SPECIALISED IN COMPLEX POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (CPTSD)
Do you sometimes feel stuck, as if the same patterns keep repeating in your work, friendships, or relationships? Do feelings of insecurity, loneliness, perfectionism, sadness, or anger sometimes overwhelm you, leaving you unsure how to move forward? You may have tried different ways to feel better, yet lasting change still feels out of reach.
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I am Nathalie Wellstood and as a specialised CPTSD trauma counselor I am here to help you navigate these challenges and rebuild a compassionate, trusting relationship with yourself. Together, we can work toward a life where living fully—not just surviving—is possible, allowing you to feel grounded, authentic, and whole once again.
"Trauma isn't what happened to you.
It is what happens inside you, as a result of what
happened to you. " Gabor Maté
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In my work, I support you in rebuilding a deep and lasting connection with yourself — so you can feel grounded and safe within your own body, in your relationships, and in the present moment. Together, we move away from the restrictive or self-protective patterns that once helped you survive but no longer serve you.
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I help you make sense of your inner conflicts and self-sabotaging behaviours. By placing your experiences in the context of your past, your thoughts and reactions begin to feel like understandable responses to overwhelming or abnormal situations — rather than signs that something is wrong with you.
With compassion at the centre of our work, we move toward gradual, sustainable healing, where feelings of safety, self-trust, self-love, and genuine connection with yourself and others can gently return. While the traumas you’ve been through are part of the starting point, our focus is on nurturing awareness and healing the shifts that have taken place in your body and mind — whether because of what happened to you, or what you needed but didn’t receive at the time overwhelming things happened to you.
My approach is grounded in evidence-based and highly effective therapeutic modalities:
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Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) by clinical psychologist Janina Fisher
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Internal Family Systems (IFS) by psychotherapist and neuroscientist Richard C. Schwartz
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EMDR by psychologist Francine Shapiro
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Polyvagal Theory by neuroscientist and professor Stephen Porges
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"Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood and untreated cause of human suffering" Peter Levine
Education
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Certified Trauma counselor - University of Social Studies Utrecht (NL)
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Bachelor in Foundations of Psychology - University of Amsterdam (NL)
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Internal Family Systems - Level 1 - IFS institute Bristol (UK)
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EMDR basic training - EMDR International Association Massachusetts (USA)
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Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment - Janina Fisher (USA)
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Working with Complex Trauma - Bessel van der Kolk (USA)
about you.
Complex trauma develops when a person’s basic needs are consistently unmet. For example, a child who needs safety, care, and support but instead experiences abuse, neglect, denial, humiliation, manipulation, criticism, isolation, or threats from their parents or caregivers. Many children in these situations, as a way to protect themselves, may come to believe that they are inherently “bad.” This belief can serve to justify the behavior of their caregivers and preserve the illusion of having loving parents.
Every child deserves to grow up in an environment where they are guided in managing strong emotions, where they can ask for and receive comfort when needed, and where they learn to relate to themselves and others in healthy ways. They deserve to witness that self-love, boundary-setting, and self-protection are safe and normal.
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Practice Internal Affairs is here for those who didn’t receive these experiences or examples at home — for those who have had to learn to comfort, support, and care for themselves on their own.
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"It's not a personality respons,
it's a trauma respons." Janina Fisher
Your experiences as a child and young adult have a profound impact on how you develop as an adult. When, as a child, you didn’t receive the help, comfort, encouragement, or support necessary for your growth, you may learn never to ask for help again, even when you need it.
If your only experiences of eye contact were with angry or unavailable parents or caregivers, you may learn to turn your gaze away from the outside world and avoid eye contact when meeting new people. And if your parents or caregivers never asked about your emotions or experiences, or showed no space or interest for them, you may also struggle to recognize or name your own feelings, learning instead to prioritize the feelings of others and stop asking for attention to your own.
Experiencing ongoing insecurity and unpredictability in childhood can therefore lead to a range of difficulties in adulthood, including:
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Difficulty asking for, or accepting help
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Not fully understanding your own feelings, struggling to talk about them or put them into words
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Being afraid of your own emotions
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Avoiding connection and vulnerability
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Difficulty trusting others — being hypervigilant
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Automatically blaming yourself for everything
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Constantly putting yourself down — self‑hatred
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Feeling worthless or helpless
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Feeling like you don’t belong anywhere, or disconnected from the world around you
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Being unable to say “no”
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Becoming too close to people too quickly
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Expecting too much from others
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Consistently prioritizing the well-being of others
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Making your own wishes and needs secondary to those of others
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Having a tendency to avoid people as much as possible
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Having a tendency toward extreme dependence or extreme independence
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Emotional shutting down — feeling nothing, feeling numb inside
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Self‑isolation — withdrawing from the world and avoiding others, then wondering why no one seems to care
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Dissociation — feeling disconnected from yourself and your surroundings
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Only being able to feel or release intense emotions through things like music, art, film, or TV
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Impulsive or reactive behavior
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Acting extremely tough — “I don’t need anyone, and if you try to hurt me, I’m ready for you”
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Intense anger
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Substance misuse and addiction
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Depression
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Despair
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Anxiety and panic attacks
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A strong need for control
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Perfectionism
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Workaholism
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Passive behavior, feeling unable to take action or make decisions
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Self‑destructive or suicidal behavior
Do you recognize yourself and wonder if I might be able to help you? Please leave your details and your request for support through the contact form at the bottom of this page. You can also send me an email or WhatsApp message with your name and your request, and I will get back to you within 48 hours to discuss the possibilities together. And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out — I’m happy to help.
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You are the greatest project, you will ever work on.
information & reimbursements
APPROACH
I provide individual counseling and couples counseling to adults (18+).
Our journey together begins with an intake session, a safe space where we can get to know each other and see if we are a good fit. During this session, we’ll explore your experiences, your current challenges, and the type of support you’re seeking. Together, we’ll decide whether I am the right therapist for you, and if not, I will refer you to a better fitting therapist. If we decide to continue, we’ll schedule our next session right away.
A referral from your doctor is not needed to start therapy with me.
Investment & Reimbursement
Therapy is an investment in yourself, both in time and in cost, but the benefits and growth you gain are lasting and worth it.
Each therapy session lasts 60 minutes and costs €100.
Sessions are VAT exempt.
Your supplementary health insurance can cover part of the cost of therapy. Follow the link to find out whether your sessions can be partially reimbursed:
Health Insurer Reimbursements 2025.
Reimbursement through your employer may also be possible. For more details, please check this website:
privacy & terms and conditions
At Internal Affairs, we handle your personal data with the utmost care and confidentiality, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) effective from May 25, 2018. Your information will only be shared with other healthcare providers for treatment purposes if it is necessary and with your explicit consent. You can find more details in our privacy statement.
Payment for therapy is per session and can be made either by invoice afterward or by debit card at the practice. If you need to cancel a session, please do so in writing at nathalie@internalaffairs.nu. Cancellations are free of charge up to 48 hours before your scheduled session. For cancellations made within 24 hours of the session, a fee of 50% of the session cost will apply.
For more information, please see our privacy statement and terms and conditions.​​​​​​