Ann Lambert
Clinical psychologist, contextual behavioural therapist & Focusing trainer
I truly want to meet you, just as you are now
Whatever you struggle with,
whatever you've been through,
with sides of yourself that you may not like to see or show so much,
with a lot of feeling or just a little,
all of you is welcome here.
You, just as you are now.
I look forward to meeting you here.
You and me, between us.
Being together,
from person to person,
in all honesty and vulnerability.
As a clinical psychologist, I think it is important to offer you a warm place where you can be yourself and where you can feel safe and at ease. I think it is important to be present in a real and authentic way. I am human, just like you, with my own sides and struggles.
I am curious to get to know and discover you. I want to know what it's like to be in your shoes or what you're up against. I am also curious about how your behaviour is colored by your circumstances or your past. At the same time, I would like to discover what makes you happy and how you can choose more for yourself.
I like to go deep. That means I'm not the right person for quick tips and tricks that may help in the short term but bring no real change in the long term. Nothing needs to be fixed. Above all, I want to help you reconnect with yourself and gain insight into what drives you, so that from that deep self-knowledge you can choose a life that you find valuable.
Lifelong learning
I remain fascinated by developments in the field and enjoy deepening my knowledge by reading widely, taking further training and consulting with colleagues in intervision and supervision.
Today my interest lies mainly in how body and mind work together. I am exploring Focusing, and how words, images and movement can give language to what lives within.
Stress is a theme I love working with: how it settles in your body, and how you can find calm and space again. Loss and life-changing experiences also have a place in my work. I then look at what your body has been carrying all this time, and how, step by step, movement can return.
During my therapy training I also trained in trauma therapy. I deepened this further through workshops with the NICABM network on trauma and body-oriented work.
“Feel welcome and at home at Praktijk Onder Ons, where you can safely be yourself.”
My expertise in clinical psychology
Becoming a mom inspired me to study again. What a journey of discovery, watching a child grow up. My interest and desire for more knowledge about child development was born. I started studying clinical psychology.
2014 – 2016 | Open University of the Netherlands (Antwerp Study Centre) Master in Psychology Specialisation in Clinical Psychology Thesis: “Fear of the dark in children: the effect of a cognitive prevention training” |
2008 – 2013
| Open University of the Netherlands (Antwerp Study Centre) Bachelor in Psychology Thesis: “The relationship between dyslexia and self-esteem in primary school children” |
My expertise in contextual behaviour therapy
ACT behavioural therapist
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy is a third-wave behavioural therapy from the same family as traditional Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It starts from the idea that suffering is part of life. The aim of ACT is to help people live a meaningful life again.
This means that in situations you dare to choose things that are important to you (= commitment) while allowing difficult thoughts and feelings that go with it, without trying to change them (=acceptance). In my first years as a therapist, I mainly worked with ACT therapy for children and young people.
I attended several ACT training courses at home and abroad at the ACT Academy, Allegre Institute, Dr. Russ Harris and other trainers associated with ACBS.
Third generation behavioural therapies
With the years and experience, the need for deepening also grew. I followed a therapy course, the four-year postgraduate contextual behavioural therapy at Vives University of Applied Sciences. In this course, I gained that depth in ACT therapy and the contextual behavioural framework that underpins ACT.
I became acquainted with:
- Relational Frame Theory, the theoretical underpinnings of ACT
- Process - Based Behavior Therapy, for more precision in behavior analysis and selection of behavioural interventions
- Compassion Focused Therapy, to take care of yourself with kindness and gently choose what you need
This behavioural therapy framework forms the basis of my work in the therapy room.
2018 – 2022 | VIVES University of Applied Sciences Postgraduate Contextual Behavioural Therapy |
My expertise in body-oriented therapy
Heart coherence
At the beginning of 2023 I trained as a heart coherence coach at Nerva (Certificate ALT621). I followed the Resilient Heart™ module at HeartMath® on trauma-sensitive work with heart coherence.
“Heart coherence is a scientifically based method for learning to manage stress independently. The heart sends more signals to the brain than the other way round. With a simple breathing exercise you can influence your heart rhythm to such an extent that the heart is no longer in a fight-or-flight response, but in a safe mode. At that moment the heart signals to our brain that everything is safe, bringing balance to our brain and nervous system.”
Source: Nerva Coach
| 2024 | Training ‘Heart Coherence and Trauma’, Blijven Ademen |
| 2024 | Training Heart Coherence – Hyperventilation, Katrien Geeraerts and Peter Rosvelds – Blijven Ademen |
| 2023 | Resilient Heart™ – trauma-sensitive work with heart coherence – HeartMath® |
| 2023 | Training as a heart coherence coach – Louis Van Nieuland – Nerva (Certificate ALT621) |
Holistic Pulsing
After experiencing the positive effects of body-oriented therapy myself, I decided to deepen my knowledge with a training in holistic pulsing. This gentle, rhythmic massage technique supports the release of tension and encourages a natural connection with yourself.
Holistic pulsing is a body-oriented method that brings the body into a rhythmic movement. This creates a sense of security and deep relaxation. It helps to release blockages, calm the nervous system and bring your body and mind back into balance.
| 2025 | Training ‘Advanced Holistic Pulsing’, KIOM Opleidingen |
| 2024 | Training ‘Holistic Pulsing’, KIOM Opleidingen |
My expertise in Focusing
Focusing came into my life during a period of grief, when I couldn't find words for what was going on inside me. It gave me a way to stay with it anyway: listening with attention and kindness.
Focusing was developed by the American philosopher and psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin. You turn your attention inwards and wait until something can be felt. At first it is often vague: a knot in your stomach, a heaviness in your chest. If you stay with it gently, it can find expression in a word, an image or a movement. Then something shifts, and a next step can be felt.
Over time, Focusing has become part of my daily life. It gives me a growing trust in an inner source of wisdom, in myself and in the people I accompany.
| 2026 | Focusing trainer pathway, Aaffien de Vries, Certifying Coordinator, The International Focusing Institute (New York) |
| 2026 | Whole Body Focusing, Saren Swinnen |
| 2026 | Focusing Level 4, Kim Van Beylen |
| 2025 | Focusing Level 3, Kim Van Beylen |
| 2025 | Focusing Level 2, Kim Van Beylen |
| 2025 | Focusing Level 1, Educatieve Academie |
How I work today
Each method has given me something different. Contextual behavioural therapy and ACT provide a solid framework for understanding where you get stuck and what drives you. Heart coherence and Holistic Pulsing help your body return to a safe mode. Focusing invites you to listen to what lives within.
In the therapy room I often bring them together, tailored to what you need. Individual therapy
In small groups I give trainings in which Focusing and ACT come together, with words, images and movement. Trainings
I also offer heart coherence and Holistic Pulsing separately, as body-oriented sessions. Heart coherence · Holistic Pulsing
It is always about the same thing: helping you reconnect with yourself, so you can live from there.
Publications
Lambert, A. (2020). Van eetprobleem naar weer voluit leven [From eating problems to living fully again]. Tijdschrift voor voeding en diëtetiek, 46(3), 8-11.
Simon, E., Driessen, S., Lambert, A., & Muris, P. (2020). Challenging anxious cognitions or accepting them? Exploring the efficacy of the cognitive elements of cognitive behaviour therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in the reduction of children’s fear of the dark. International Journal of Psychology, 55(1), 90-97.
Simon, E., Lambert, A., Driessen, S., Muris, P., & Field, A. (2016). What cognitive therapy suits the cognitive level of children best?: OR0199. International Journal of Psychology, 51.
Deontology
I am recognised as a clinical psychologist by the FPS Public Health (visa number 347509) and by the Flemish Agency for Care and Health. I am not affiliated with the national health insurance agreement (not ‘geconventioneerd’).
I am registered with the Belgian Psychologists’ Commission (Compsy number 722130728) and bound by its code of ethics.
You can read the code here .
In 2022 I obtained the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP).
I am a member of ACBS (Association for Contextual Behavioral Science) and ACBS BeNe, and of The International Focusing Institute (TIFI).