I write about mental health, psychosis, altered states, trauma, yoga therapy, nervous system regulation, philosophy, spirituality and the many ways people find their way back to themselves. My work lives at the meeting point of psychiatry, psychology, yoga, ancient wisdom traditions and what I call Original Medicines: the practices, relationships, rhythms and ways of knowing that reconnect us with body, community, nature and meaning. After more than 25 years working in mental health as a psychiatric nurse, therapist and yoga therapist, I’m especially interested in what becomes possible when we widen the conversation beyond diagnosis and symptom reduction — without losing discernment, safety or good clinical care. Through Terrapy, I work with individuals and groups and teach healthcare professionals, therapists and others who care. I also share reflections from my books, research, conversations, trainings and the questions I’m currently exploring.If you’re curious about a broader, more humane and integrative approach to mental health and healing, you’re very welcome!
The story of psychosis is changing | many updates
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Hey there, Reader Summer is slowly starting on this side of the earth — and I'd love to connect with you. So much is brewing, and I'm very curious how you are doing (feel free to reply this email to let me know). First of all, yes, I am still a bit in my post-partum phase as author of Wisdom of Psychosis. I am so happy to share that the book has now been shipped to 12-13 countries in the world. If you're reading it, you read it, or you want to read — or even just want to show it some love — I would be so grateful if you could shelve it on Goodreads and leave a review if you feel called to. It makes a real difference. Every word counts. Furthermore, here's what's alive right now in my life:
Latest Podcast 'Desperately Brave' — Simon's StoryIn this episode I sit down with Simon — musician, singer, violin 🎻 maker, and Waldorf teacher — who reached out to me after reading about Wisdom of Psychosis on LinkedIn. He flew from Vienna to The Netherlands, we met in person and recorded his interesting story: indeed, the Story of Psychosis is Changing! Simon takes us through his journey: from early dissociation at 13, to a dark night of the soul at 23, to finding his calling as a classical musician through — and because of — psychosis. His story weaves together ancestral healing, the music of Mahler, a GP who protected his individuality, and a moment at the Berlin Philharmonic that changed everything. This is a conversation about what psychosis actually is (or can be) when you stop being afraid of it. No-one is saying that this is an easy path. It's about initiation. About the wisdom that can only be found in the dark. Listen/ follow the podcast here from Monday probably. AIM conferenceI was invited to the AIM conference — one of the Dutch Integrative Medicine conferences — with my book, to (re-)connect with old and new colleagues. These conferences are always inspirational and rich ways to connect with the network. Super grateful that they hold space for me and also grateful I had a chance to have a little chat with Jim van Os, who I mention in my book a several times... to be continued! Yoga & Vedic StudiesYou probably know that I've been studying yoga since I was 17-18 years old. My yoga path went through some curves — up and down, like any path — and after a period of losing direction (and one of my main teachers), I needed a pause to recalibrate. To make a deeper dive now into my studies, into the Vedas. I now see why I loose direction sometimes, thats my necessary katabasis, or descent and the natural return after hitting rock bottom (we need the bottom to press up again, right!) hitting the bottom and something in me decided to come back. I would love to see the creation of a study group with others on a similar path, an easy going group. I'm just dropping it here, for serious students to respond to it. Working with Altered StatesOne thing that is being rolled out soon: weekly therapeutic group sessions, in person in The Hague (first — I see this rolling out elsewhere and online too). These are ongoing therapeutic sessions in 8-week sequences to join first, followed by a professional program — for all who care —that teaches you to guide this 8-week sequence too. Trauma- and altered state informed (remember, we are all on the spectrum of altering). You will learn all about these states of being, and especially how to work with yourself or someone who is stuck in one, what to do in crisis etc. Gentle therapeutic yoga, yoga psychology, IFS, the nervous system, compassion based work and so much more. Just keep an eye on this email and Substack — this is where I will share more soon, when we start.
A lot of seeds are opening: I also would like to start an peer-supervision group for those who work with psychosis, spiritual emergency, DID, complex trauma and so forth.
SubstackYes, maybe you saw this already — with my book I started a Substack, first to share the content that didn't make it into the book, and now it's already much more than that. I share articles and in-depth information and inspiration there (free and paid), and I've been leaving short notes multiple times a day. A thought about sensitivity. A quote from the book. Something I noticed in the work this week. Not essays, just small offerings between the longer pieces. If you want to follow along, you'll find them here. And if something lands — I read every reply. This is my main connection center. That's it for today — a second email is on its way soon. Keep your eyes open. It's about finding your way in. A quiz, a map, about a directory of people who can walk with you through the dark... And hopefully I hear from you, if you are interested in some of my ideas. More on that soon. I'm genuinely glad you're here. Thank you for being part of this unfolding, With love, Anneke |
Terrapy | The Original Medicines
I write about mental health, psychosis, altered states, trauma, yoga therapy, nervous system regulation, philosophy, spirituality and the many ways people find their way back to themselves. My work lives at the meeting point of psychiatry, psychology, yoga, ancient wisdom traditions and what I call Original Medicines: the practices, relationships, rhythms and ways of knowing that reconnect us with body, community, nature and meaning. After more than 25 years working in mental health as a psychiatric nurse, therapist and yoga therapist, I’m especially interested in what becomes possible when we widen the conversation beyond diagnosis and symptom reduction — without losing discernment, safety or good clinical care. Through Terrapy, I work with individuals and groups and teach healthcare professionals, therapists and others who care. I also share reflections from my books, research, conversations, trainings and the questions I’m currently exploring.If you’re curious about a broader, more humane and integrative approach to mental health and healing, you’re very welcome!
5 min read · Full (hunter's) moon | October 26, 2026 Every transformation has a moment when the old way of being stops working. The ground crumbles. What held you (the roles, the certainties, the masks, the story of who you are) loosens its grip. And there is nothing yet to replace it. Like a free fall into a never-ending depth. The Greeks called it katabasis: the necessary going down into the underworld, the un-doing before again becoming. I know this place. I have gone through it, and I...
Dear Reader In 1967, psychologist Julian Silverman published a paper with a curious title: Shamans and Acute Schizophrenia. It's a question close to the heart of the online summit coming up: what happens when people move through reality-altering experiences that the world around them understands completely differently? Silverman argued the real difference wasn't only what happened inside the person, but what happened around them. Was there a cultural map? Was there a (safe) place for the...
Dear Reader, When I first started imagining this summit, I didn't begin with keynote speakers. I began with circles. I wanted to turn the usual conference model a little upside down — not four days of sitting behind a screen listening to expert after expert, but a living gathering where you can enter the conversation yourself. So throughout the summit there will be live circles — smaller, facilitated spaces built around shared experience. Some are pure experience, like Gaby's drum circle,...