Pauline Darcis - Psychologist
Location: Leuven & Online
I am a fluent trilingual (Dutch, French, English) registered Clinical Psychologist in Belgium and offer sessions in English, French, and Dutch to adults and teenagers, both online and in person.
I have spent most of my childhood and early adulthood living in the UK. There I was surrounded by many cultures and people due to growing up at multicultural schools. Whilst studying for my Masters in Clinical Psychology at the University of Reading, I completed an internship during the Covid pandemic which meant that my training moved online. During this experience, I assessed any calls coming in to the service which meant that I dealt with a lot of different experiences, issues, and disorders. I also treated patients with CBT; these patients experienced a variety of diagnoses such as depression, anxiety, phobias, low mood, negative thoughts, issues with the workplace, autism, ADHD, marital difficulties, and self-harm. This was an incredibly challenging time, but I found that being able to help people in difficulty, made me feel like I was in the right place.
I moved back to Belgium after Brexit was finally passed and it took almost one year to have my ‘foreign’ degree recognised in order to be able to work as a psychologist. Having experienced this shift of cultures and the feelings of uncertainty when moving abroad, I use my newfound knowledge to better understand the complexities people experience during migration.
I wanted to keep learning and found the Masters of Social and Cultural Anthropology at KU Leuven, which is the study of human diversity. My thesis supervisor invited me to join her research project looking into shifting family dynamics in asylum-seeking families. Through this project I followed two families, one Congolese and one Somali, both single-mother families who had been through devastating situations. This challenging experience has helped to open my eyes to the realities of unwanted migration and the difficulties of integrating into a new culture.
With my experiences and knowledge, I offer a calm and empathic environment where I look at the broader picture and identify the best way to help you through a collaborative process where we work together to help you feel better. Which is why I have joined this amazing practice and look forward to helping people in the best way I can.
Qualifications
2025: Master of Science in Social and Cultural Anthropology, KU Leuven, Belgium
2022: Master of Science in Clinical Psychology, University of Reading, United Kingdom
Further Training
2022: Understanding Autism Diploma - New Skills Academy
2022: British Sign Language Diploma - New Skills Academy
Work Experience
2024-2026: Research Assistant, Odisee University of Applied Sciences, Belgium
2023: BlueBook Traineeship, Cabinet of Vice President Schinas, European Commission, Belgium
2020-2022: Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner, TalkingSpace Plus, United Kingdom
