Gijs Tecklenburg

Overview

Gijs Tecklenburg is a Dutch therapist and coach with over three decades of experience in mental health and mindfulness training. He integrates talk therapy with a pragmatic spiritual perspective, aiming to bridge traditional psychotherapy and spirituality. His background includes two decades working in the Dutch mental health system, with fifteen years in crisis intervention; he later introduced mindfulness training in a mental health setting and now runs a private practice offering individual psychotherapy, coaching and group training. He sees therapy as a place to recognise pain and struggle while cultivating self‑compassion and a sense of wholeness beyond personal stories.

Gijs believes that healing requires more than conversation alone; anxiety, low mood and restlessness are felt in the whole body. He emphasises regulating the physiological state through practices like mindfulness, yoga, heart coherence training, breathing techniques and neurofeedback before engaging in deeper psychological work. His sessions encourage clients to explore the present moment, meet their experiences with sobriety and kindness, and open to deeper layers of being. He sees spirituality as essential to therapy, offering clients a simple, non‑dogmatic way to make peace with the present and reconnect with meaning and gratitude.

Best for

Adults seeking support for anxiety, low mood or a general sense of unrest, particularly when they feel stuck in habitual patterns or disconnected from themselves, may benefit from his work. His approach suits people open to integrating mindfulness, meditation and spiritual perspectives into therapy and those who value targeted exercises between sessions. He also runs group training for mindfulness and self‑compassion.

• Individuals struggling with anxiety, depressive feelings or persistent restlessness

• People looking for a blend of psychotherapy and spirituality

• Clients seeking mindfulness‑based training, breathwork or heart coherence practices

• Professionals wanting workshops in mindfulness, compassion or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Approach

Gijs combines modern psychological methods with ancient contemplative traditions. He draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness‑based stress reduction (MBSR), Open Focus, compassion training, Interpersonal Mindfulness, heart coherence training, transformational breathwork and neurofeedback. Sessions often begin with regulating the body’s state—using mindfulness, yoga or breathwork—to create readiness for therapeutic work. He encourages clients to practice exercises between meetings so that insights are integrated into daily life.

Spirituality and non‑duality form the foundation of his approach. He invites clients to discover the dimension of themselves beyond their stories and to see things as they are, cultivating self‑compassion and acceptance. He focuses on how clients deal with current experiences rather than recounting past histories and emphasises that the present moment is both a gift and a path to healing. His therapy integrates pragmatic spirituality with evidence‑based psychology and neuroscience, drawing inspiration from Buddhist and Advaita traditions as well as contemporary research.

Practical details

Gijs works from his own practice in the Netherlands and can be reached by telephone or email to arrange an introductory meeting. The website does not specify an address or city, but it indicates that he offers individual psychotherapy, coaching and group training, including mindfulness courses, retreats and professional workshops. At present he notes that he is unable to accept new therapy or coaching clients. Sessions and trainings are likely conducted in Dutch.

• Formats: individual therapy and coaching; group courses and retreats

• Initial meeting: free introductory conversation to assess fit

• Contact: phone and email to schedule sessions or obtain information

• Language: Dutch

Training

• More than 30 years’ experience as a full‑time trainer and therapist

• About 20 years in outpatient mental health services, including 15 years in crisis intervention

• Introduced mindfulness training within mental health care in Den Bosch in 2006

• Has conducted over 180 eight‑week mindfulness training courses and many individual trainings

• Provides follow‑up trainings, retreats and workshops in Open Focus, compassion, ACT, Interpersonal Mindfulness, Mindfulness & Open Focus, year‑long programmes, breathwork, heart coherence and neurofeedback

• Trained as an Open Focus trainer by Dr. Les Fehmi in Princeton (2010) and introduced Open Focus in the Netherlands

• Registered member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS)

• Long‑term meditation practitioner who has completed numerous retreats and draws inspiration from spiritual teachers including Sri Mooji

• Offers professional workshops and continuing education for coaches, therapists and mindfulness trainers

Disclaimer:

This description was generated based on information from the official website and other materials provided by the provider.