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Linda | Counsellor/Coach, Bsc Applied Psychology

Counsellor/Coach, Bsc Applied Psychology - New Zealand - Linda
Online Holistic Health Coach
New Zealand
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English |  Dutch
✓ I also offer online therapy
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Online Holistic Health Coach

Are you struggling with body image challenges, disordered eating/eating disorders or emotional eating?

Are you looking for therapy and coaching?

I'm Linda, a Dutch qualified Applied Psychologist and Holistic Health coach with a special interest in eating and body image difficulties.

  • Are you ready to rebuild your relationship with your body and food?
  • Do you want to overcome the out-of-control and shameful feelings around food?
  • Are you so over hating your body and obsession about your weight?

I get you, because I was you! I know what it feels like to be obsessing over food, to never feel like you’re good enough and to let that fixation take control over your life.

Deep down you know that there’s so much more to life than obsessing over food and your body, but it’s just so hard to get out of it by yourself. And that’s what I’m here for. 

It is my mission to help people ditch diet culture and food guilt & heal their food, body and exercise relationship.

Is this you now?

  • You think constantly about and plan what you eat
  • You do not feel in control around (particular) food
  • You’ve tried almost every kind of diet and none have ‘worked’
  • You feel uncomfortable in your own skin
  • You tell yourself that once your body changes, you will be happier
  • You are overwhelmed by negative self-talk and anxiety
  • You want to stop thinking about food all the time but you don’t know how

And is this what you desire? 

  • Eating ‘normally’ without dieting and with total self-trust around all food
  • No longer obsessed with food and weight loss – able to focus on bigger, better things in life
  • Feeling comfortable, confident, and at home in your body – no matter what it looks like
  • Feeling confident and happy again

About me

My name is Linda and I am originally from the Netherlands and I live with my partner from the UK in New Zealand.

I hold an Applied Psychology degree and I have spent the majority of my career on supporting children, youth and adults in the area of emotional health and well-being.

In 2020/2021, I studied at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a Certified Health Coach and decided to turn my own 5+ years- mess into a message for others struggling. I want to help others to overcome their body and food struggles and so my business was born.

I love self- development, travelling, mountain biking, full-body workouts, Yin Yoga, tennis and sharing my humour! 

What will you achieve from my help?

  • Be able to eat foods with moderation, without restricting, binging or emotional eating
  • Silence your inner mean voice and respect and love yourself again
  • No more stress or guilt around food
  • Moving your body because it feels good, not because you have to
  • Believe that your body is good exactly as it is in the here and now
  • Get out of the all-or-nothing thinking trap

We will do this by focusing on the emotional factors behind your habits and together work on building a healthier mindset and lifestyle.

Our conversations will go beyond food, seeking to bring balance to important elements of your life such as relationships, career, and  movement.

I will empower you to take charge of your health and provide ongoing support and guidance as you set goals and make sustainable changes that improve your health and happiness.

I’m there for you every step of the way!


Find out more & start your journey by scheduling an initial FREE 20-min discovery call. 

Look forward to connecting with you,

Linda

Online therapy

Online sessions from the comfort of your home. It's for anyone who has limited access to support, time constraints or other obstacles. Online sessions are also very effective for those who are anxious about seeing a professional.

 

Qualifications and registrations

I hold an Applied Psychology degree and I have spent the majority of my career on supporting children, youth and adults in the area of emotional health and well-being.

In 2020/2021, I studied at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a Certified Health Coach.

I offer therapy in

Specialisations

  • Body image coaching & therapy

  • Eating disorders coaching & therapy
  • Disordered eating coaching & therapy

  • Emotional eating coaching & therapy
  • Binge eating coaching & therapy

  • Over-exercising
  • (Chronic) dieting

  • Intuitive eating coaching
  • Food freedom

Fees

You can choose between a package of 8 or 12 sessions depending on where you are at. Be aware that your unhelpful relationship with your body and food including limiting beliefs didn’t appear overnight, so it will take some time to reprogram them.


In our free discovery call, we’ll discuss which package option is the best fit for you. 

 

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Children/youth between the age of 5 and 25, I can access partial funding for the first 2-4 sessions.

Low income earners may be eligible for WINZ to cover a significant portion of the counselling fees. 
You do not need to be currently on a WINZ benefit to qualify for the counselling subsidy. WINZ can subsidise up to 40 payments per year at $70.04 each week. Just ask me and request your doctor to complete the WINZ Disability Certificate - Counselling Form. 

Payment plans are available.

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All packages include 24/7 email/text support between sessions for any questions or concerns that come up in between our sessions. 

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Reviews Online Holistic Health Coach

Below you will find reviews about Online Holistic Health Coach - Linda

rating
Rating of 5 out of 5
Based on 13 reviews

(Write your own review)
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I would definitely recommend reaching out to Linda

I came to counselling at a time in my life where I felt exhausted after battling anorexia on my own for so long. With Linda's help I was able to see that sharing my struggles made them so much easier to fight and overcome. The first few weeks of my recovery journey were difficult to say the least but with constant guidance I was able to push through the hardest part of letting go of my eating disorder. I’m now rediscovering who I truly am as a person without an eating disorder and what I want my life to look like. It feels so freeing and is something I never imagined would be possible for me. To anybody else considering starting counselling, I would definitely recommend reaching out to Linda. She will set realistic goals for you and work at your own pace whilst still challenging you, by the end of your time you will find yourself again and see that recovery is possible.

| North Canterbury | 14 Feb 2024
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I no longer live in a state of deprivation or negativity!

I came to counselling because I was extremely sad and miserable, I was morbidly obese, and my weight consumed every thought I had from waking to sleeping. I needed help. I needed to find a way to live. I had tried and failed at every attempt to lose weight, this in my eyes branded me a loser with no willpower or discipline. I was shutting down and shutting off to the world. I lived with constant negative thoughts about myself.

The positive changes to my well-being are phenomenal. I no longer am consumed with the shape and look of my body. I would say that 90% of the time I no longer am consumed by  “diets, what I can and can’t eat”. When I wake in the morning my first thought is not about food, it’s about my day. When I have negative thoughts, I can use the Tools that I have experienced through the counselling sessions to work through them. 



Linda took time to know me as me, not as a number or person to fix. She nudged me in the right way: to enable me to reflect on a lifetime of negative thought processes and to live my life in a positive way. Linda enabled me to come to terms with some confronting issues and work through them.

I think that the biggest gift that Linda has given me is that I no longer dread life, I can enjoy food, and I no longer live in a state of deprivation or negativity!

| - | 20 Apr 2023
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I really wish I had bigger words than THANKYOU

Linda had an understanding and an ability to connect with me 100%. She spent time to get to know me and went above and beyond to get invested in my healing and my journey.
Working with Linda completely transformed my relationship with my body and my relationship with food. She took me back to the beginning of my eating and got me in touch with my natural needs. What I had been doing was not working for me and Linda helped me transform my relationship with myself and my body.
I am finally free from the prison I’ve subjected myself to over the last 30 years and for the first time I feel beautiful and ALIVE and above all else I have FREEDOM and happiness. I have started to truly live my life focusing on how I want to feel.
I’m more confident, kinder to myself and happier than I’ve been in so long (if not ever).
Growth is uncomfortable and to be honest at the start I couldn’t have even imagined being where I am today as at all seemed just impossible to me!
Seeing Linda once a week for 12 weeks and then a further 3 sessions over 2 months was CRUCIAL for me and it opened my eyes to how much of a chronic dieter I’d become and how low my self-image and confidence was!
I really wish I had bigger words than THANKYOU to say to Linda I honestly do.

| Tauranga | 3 Jan 2023
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I felt very comfortable

I reached out to Linda because I had a complex relationship with body image, food and exercise after years of competitive sport and studies. These concerns and thought patterns were taking up a lot of my time and energy and making me very unhappy. I was eager to address them for my own well-being.

Linda formed a lovely rapport with me, is a great listener and is non-judgemental. I felt very comfortable sharing things with Linda that I had never voiced aloud previously.

I now have awareness of restrictive food habits that I hadn’t given much thought to previously, I can now approach and undertake intuitive eating and have a different view of health as more than just body size, food intake and exercise.

Thank you Linda for all your help and guidance over the past few months. It's helped me more than I can say. I will use the skills you have helped me to develop for the rest of my life.

| 23 May 2022
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Linda has amazing empathy skills

I started my coaching journey with Linda because I wanted a more positive/neutral body image, and I needed some guidance on intuitive eating and finding movement I enjoyed. 

Linda is really good at making you feel comfortable and safe to open up about anything and everything! A lot of the time it felt like I was having a zoom call with a close friend giving me advice.

Linda has amazing empathy skills and also has an awesome sense of humour! Linda always knew the right questions to ask to make me look at my thought patterns with a different perspective, and that ultimately led me to having more balanced thought patterns in the long run. 

Since working with Linda, I understand the root cause of my emotional eating. Instead of numbing my feelings with food, I now acknowledge them and work through them and honestly can’t remember the last time I ate until I was sick, which is a huge win for me.

To put this into perspective, I’m currently going through an extremely challenging time with a ruptured Achilles as well as an endometriosis diagnosis with fertility struggles (in other words, this would have been prime emotional eating time for me in the past) and I haven’t once turned to emotional eating to regulate myself.

I can have photos taken of me without freaking out or feeling like I need to edit or delete them! I love that I can look at photos as a whole instead of zooming into parts of myself. 

I’ve let go of food labels and instead listen to what my body feels like - and know that my body has different needs every day and that’s okay! I’m embracing gentle nutrition and focusing on movement I enjoy.

I don’t get upset if clothing is too small for me anymore, and I don’t find clothes shopping as stressful as I used to. Clothes are meant to fit me, not the other way around! 

I’m still working on this one but I’m feeling more comfortable with letting go of the perfectionism trap. I’ve learnt that perfectionism is just another way of restricting myself. 

After this being my goal for so many years, I can finally say that I’m now focusing more on how I FEEL rather than how I look.

| Dunedin | 13 May 2022
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Linda created a space that felt safe and judgement-free

I sought support because I have been struggling with my body image for over a decade and was unable to “resolve” the issue on my own. I was looking for tools to better be able to handle self-criticism, comparison to others as well as to myself in the past, and in general low and negative moments regarding my appearance and eating habits.

Linda has helped me address more than just the things I contacted her for and has helped me make some real tangible changes (I’m still going to the gym every week and while I have lost no weight at all, I’ve become way stronger – exactly what I wanted).

Linda created a space that felt safe and judgement-free and in which I was able to admit things (out loud and therefore to myself, as well), which I would normally not dare to admit to others.

Linda challenged me to redefine the things which I regarded as flaws and to describe the person I want to be in new words. Those were my favourite exercises.

I’ve become kinder to myself, both regarding my “failures” (for example by not seeing them as such) and self-criticism.

I am more accepting of the way I look now and I am better able to avoid comparing myself.

Fun fact, the two things I wanted from my wedding dress were to hide my arms and my belly but I went for a form-fitted, sleeveless dress and really like the way I look in it!

I feel like I can rely on things we discussed, it’s like having a safety net to fall back on.

| 4 May 2022
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Linda is empathic and understanding

I came to see Linda because I wanted to process some of my fears around a new diagnosis while not resorting to diet-culture solutions. I also wanted to unpack why exercise was so difficult for me and find new ways of engaging with exercise that worked for me.

Linda is empathic and understanding, with a strong body-positive focus. Linda is flexible, which meant that I felt able to talk about what I needed to.

Linda helped me become aware of and work through my hang-ups around exercise. I now do yoga reasonable regularly and I am also still managing to eat with enjoyment (without bingeing), despite needing to replace a few things due to a medical diagnosis.

| Auckland | 25 Jul 2022
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My whole life is different!

I initially went to coaching/therapy with Linda as I was feeling constantly feeling at war with my body and struggled hugely with body confidence. I had a lot of guilt around my eating and exercising habits and really wanted to find freedom from this.

Linda was/is a fantastic coach as she has been through some similar experiences and really understood where I was coming from and how I felt. Linda has a great sense of humour and is able to create a very safe environment to share. She is excellent at helping give another perspective and at showing the difference between what you may perceive to be true versus what is actually real. She provides consistent, calm and straightforward advice with no judgement and really believes in you.

What I've gained from the sessions (apart from feeling like my whole life is different!):

- A different perspective on what I eat and how I feel about it. I no longer feel shame or guilt towards food and eating (woohoo!!). It's something that I genuinely didn't think was possible to achieve before this and my whole attitude and approach to food is different now. I now want to nourish my body rather than judge or feel guilty for everything I am putting into it.

- I don't feel resentment towards my body like I did before. Linda's sessions have helped me to come to more peace with how I look and feel in my body. I used to be hyper-aware of how I felt in public situations and worried about everyone's opinions but through working with Linda I have learned tools to change my perspective in these situations.

- I feel more confident in myself!! Prior to coaching, I hadn't worn shorts in public in about 4-5 years at least and now I am the proud owner of a new pair of shorts which have been worn in public on multiple occasions.

| Dunedin | 10 Jul 2022
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Linda is honest and shares excellent tips

I was struggling with an eating disorder when I found Linda. I was hoping Linda would help me on my journey to food freedom and she really did!

Linda did not treat me like a number, which is the case at many other places where you can find help for eating disorders. She is kind and takes the time to really listen and find solutions that suit my situation.

Linda makes time for you and listens very well. She is kind and makes sure you feel comfortable. She is honest and shares excellent tips. I have gained insight into why I have struggled with food, I am more honest about my struggles and have found more freedom around food!

| 18 May 2022
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It has been transformative in my life

I want to thank you again so much for how much you have changed my life already.

I find myself being more positive about myself and feeling so much better in general. I’m now able to go days without thinking negatively about my body, rather than thinking about it and feeling upset 24/7.

I am able to accept how I am right now rather than feeling like I have to lose weight.

I now feel freedom around food and exercise. I understand that I do not have to force myself to exercise which has brought back my motivation and my enjoyment. I now focus on exercise for how I feel, rather than trying to change how I look.

I would recommend your service to others, it has honestly been transformative in my life!

| Dunedin | 22 Jul 2021
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I have found working with Linda really valuable

I have found working with Linda really valuable, I have learned so much about myself!

She really understands what it's like to struggle with food and body image. I have a completely new perspective on life.

| 29 May 2021
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Linda has helped me massively

Linda made me feel comfortable and safe right from our very first session.

Linda made the sessions fun and lighthearted but also provided a space for me to be vulnerable and to feel the emotions I was feeling.

Linda provided me with strategies that have already made such a positive difference in my life.

I can now have snacks that I enjoy in the house without feeling as though they are ‘bad’. I eat them when I feel like it and enjoy them more because I no longer have the mindset that all ‘unhealthy’ snacks have to be eaten on my one ‘treat day’ a week.

My mindset around exercise is a lot less fixed. I exercise when I feel like exercising and for an amount of time that I choose on the day. I can now recognise when I am thinking in a way that is negative or unhelpful and the majority of the time I am able to interrupt those thoughts and replace them with more helpful, positive ones.

Linda has helped me massively and has provided me with strategies that I know I will be able to use for the rest of my life!

| Tauranga | 13 Oct 2021
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Linda was great at making me feel comfortable

Linda was great at making me feel comfortable to be completely honest/open with her.

 

I struggled with this with the clinical psychologist I had previously worked with.

 

Linda has helped me to form new habits with food and understand more about intuitive eating. Food is now NOT the first and the last thing on my mind! I feel more in touch with myself and have strategies to help me deal with my emotions.

 

Linda also helped me to see that my worth is not in my appearance!!!


| Dunedin | 20 Sep 2021
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