Freya Zaninka De Clercq
Freya holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology of Children and Adolescents from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, and a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Relations from the University of Montreal in Canada.
She specializes in talk therapy using a psychoanalytic and systemic approach. She works with adults, children and adolescents, and for young children she conducts therapy through play and drawing. She provides support for those entering parenthood and psycho-education for parents in need. She works with clients experiencing depression, anxiety, identity crisis, stress, and burn-out among others. Freya has facilitated support groups for people living with schizophrenia, HIV/AIDS, and with trauma.
In addition to her clinical work, Freya has more than 15 years’ experience in public health, youth, and early education development. She has worked in Canada for an NGO addressing senior hunger and isolation, in New York for an NGO providing healthcare and housing support to those most in need, and in Cambodia coordinating a youth advisory program with the UN. In Rwanda, she has worked on a project for HIV research and couples counselling, with a genocide survivors association to foster social justice, and for a foundation working to support the development of a healthy, educated, and prosperous society through community empowerment. Most recently, Freya was working for the National Child Development Agency for the child development, promotion, and protection department where she had the opportunity to expand her interest in community approaches and community solutions to mental health issues. Her experience with NGOs, development agencies, and government institutions has enhanced her conviction on the importance of mental health to strive for growth and development. She has facilitated various capacity-building trainings and is passionate about peer-to-peer learning.
Freya works in English, French, and Kinyarwanda.