Integrative Psychotherapy Fundamentals by Thomas van Sonsbeek.
For psychology students, graduates, and practitioners.
Integrative Psychotherapy aims to help clients integrate distinct parts of their personality, relinquish defence mechanisms and avoidance strategies, learn to regulate and let go inhibitory emotions, and get in touch with vulnerable suppressed emotions. Additionally, it focusses on processing clients' unresolved past and trauma, enabling them to form and sustain healing relationships, and becoming more fully themselves.
In a series of five lessons, you will learn integrative psychotherapy frameworks combining psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, experiential, systemic, and trauma-focused approaches — with lots of case material throughout, including transcripts of therapy sessions.
Thomas van Sonsbeek is an integrative psychotherapist with more than ten years of experience in clinical practice in Amsterdam, specialising in personality disorders. He teaches clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and has extensive experience supervising colleagues in individual and group settings.
All lessons: Wednesday 18:30–21:30 · Science Park Campus Amsterdam & Zoom.
Wednesday 29 July · 18:30–21:30
"Our unresolved past shapes who we are, and how we feel about ourselves, others and the world."
Most psychological problems are related to our relationships with our parents and siblings, and painful or traumatic life experiences. In this first lesson, you will learn how past experiences shape personality and symptoms, and techniques to help clients work through unresolved and traumatic past.
Wednesday 5 August · 18:30–21:30
"In essence, psychotherapy is about our feelings; what meaning we give to them and how we deal with them."
This lesson will focus on all the different emotions, their functions, how they can lead to symptoms and how to respond to them effectively in psychotherapy. We often have emotions about emotions. We may feel guilty about our anger, ashamed about our sadness and afraid of love. You will learn how to help clients work through their conflicting emotions and problematic defense mechanisms.
Wednesday 12 August · 18:30–21:30
"Every relationship carries the potential to be either toxic or healing, leading to happiness or suffering."
This lesson will focus on the therapeutic relationship — its three dimensions and how to adjust them by client. Balancing empathy and confrontation, acceptance and change. Plus conflicts in romantic relationships and couples therapy techniques.
Wednesday 19 August · 18:30–21:30
"Our personalities are layered. What we identify with may only be the surface layer of who we really are."
Psychological problems come in many forms. This lesson offers a framework organising them into five categories — and how to adjust your approach across personality presentations.
Wednesday 26 August · 18:30–21:30
"Change happens naturally when the impediments to it have disappeared."
This final lesson will explore the three phases of psychotherapy and how your techniques must be different depending on the phase that the client is in. We will also focus on the five mechanisms that lead to change, and many different kinds of interventions used by cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic-experiential and trauma-focused approaches.
Everything included in the full package:
€145Try one evening
Join additional lessons if it's valuable
€525vs €725 separately
All five lessons + five detailed handouts
€21060% off full package
Students & recent graduates · all handouts included
Practitioners with their own client base are offered a four-week supervision deep-dive directly after workshop completion. In small groups of 4 to 6 practitioners you'll bring your most challenging client cases to apply the frameworks under guidance from experienced integrative practitioners, and deepen your understanding of the integrative approach.
Four 2h supervision groups + a 1-on-1 mentoring session — €340, max 12 applicants.
Therapy schools often contradict each other, like blind men describing parts of the same elephant. Integrative psychotherapy connects those schools and helps clients integrate conflicting parts of themselves.
Yes. All five lessons run at Science Park Campus Amsterdam and on Zoom simultaneously. Join in person or remotely — same content, same schedule (Wednesdays 18:30–21:30).
The student rate (€210, 60% off) is for current students and recent graduates. You'll be asked to confirm your status when you register.
Five detailed physical or digital handouts covering the five integrative frameworks, plus practical models, mindmaps, and flowcharts for therapy.
Practitioners with their own client base are offered a four-week supervision deep-dive directly after workshop completion. In small groups of 4 to 6 you'll bring your most challenging client cases to apply the frameworks under guidance from experienced integrative practitioners. Four 2h supervision groups + a 1-on-1 mentoring session — €340, max 12 applicants.
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email to [email protected].