A little bit about me. I’m Tracy. I am an English native, and I moved to the Netherlands in September of 2000. I didn’t intend to stay here for so long, but sometimes life leads you down paths you don’t expect. That’s what makes life interesting (and sometimes scary). I enjoy living in The Netherlands, but I certainly understand the difficulties and challenges of making a life in a different country. I have raised a child here, re-kindled my career here, been divorced, been single and then remarried. These familiar events in a life were made more challenging for me because I was doing them in a culture other than my own. There have been huge positives to my life in The Netherlands and I am lucky to have been able to experience them, but equally there have been losses, sadness and compromises along the way simply because I am living in a country other than my own. I have first hand experience of making a new life here, and so I come with a wealth of knowledge, understanding and empathy for those undertaking the same life challenge. Whilst all are welcome as clients I am, I feel, a good match for expats and international people, whether they are beginning their journey in The Netherlands or have been living here for some time.
I have worked for some time as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher in the Eindhoven area. As well as being taught English, my students often needed someone to listen to them, to support them, both with life issues they were experiencing and also in their new lives in The Netherlands. This was a part of my job I felt was equally as important as learning English. We all need help sometimes, and that can be very difficult to find when you are living in a different country without your friends or family.
Some years ago, after my divorce, I had some counselling and then coaching and, for me, it was a very positive and transformative experience. It was the beginning of my decision to retrain as a coach and counsellor myself,
I believe in looking at the whole person, and that is what coaching does. I think it is necessary to look at different aspects of yourself in order to grow, to discover what you want to change in your life. What is not working for you? What is not making you happy? What is it that is blocking you? What behaviours are you holding onto that do not serve you? All of life is about balance; light and dark, happy and sad, chocolate and salad – you get the idea. We need balance too in order to thrive, and to find it we need to grow.
If I sound like the coach for you, we can work together to discover what you need to feel more contentment, fulfillment and balance in your life. If you have any questions, or you simply want more information about me or how to start your coaching journey, please do contact me.
I trained as a coach/counsellor, at bachelor level, at the Academie voor Coaching & Counselling, based in Amstelveen. The course is recognised both nationally and internationally by:
LVSC (Landelijk Vereniging voor Supervisie en Coaching)*
IAC (International Association for Counselling)*
SNRO (Stichting Nederlands Register voor Opleiding)
NRTO (Nederlandse Raad voor Training en Opleiding)
CRKBO (Centraal Register Kort Beroepsonderwijs)
KABIZ (Kwaliteit en Accreditatie Beroepsbeoefnaren in de Zorg)
BLCN (De Beroepsvereniging Leefstijl Coaches Nederland)
*I am a member of both the LVSC and the IAC
“YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO
SET ANOTHER GOAL OR TO DREAM A NEW DREAM. “
CS LEWIS