To register login Working & learning For professionals Press and media read for What do we offer? care units About us Frequently asked Contact “I had a laundry list of labels and countless complaints.” Kim (26) has been in mental health care since she was 13. She suffered from an eating disorder and was hospitalized for it. In 2009, she became psychotic and depressed, then was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “I had a laundry list of labels, countless complaints, fear of failure and a negative self-image. The treatments hadn't really helped. When I came to Altrecht FACT Utrecht, the psychologist and social psychiatric nurse said: 'We are going to do things differently. You will receive an extensive examination and then we will draw up a treatment plan.' I myself had a strong preference for EMDR, a recognized treatment for trauma processing. To see conections The extensive intake process gave me hope, because I got the feeling that something was finally going to happen. I have experienced the conversations to portray my life story as very positive. It was the first time in all those years of treatment at mental health care that this was discussed. The psychologist also asked me questions that I had not been asked before and which made me see connections between things. Human instead of number Eindelijk kreeg ik een echt behandelplan, waar ik zelf een aandeel in had. Het gaf me het gevoel dat ik serieus werd genomen, dat ik weer een mens was in plaats van een nummer. Samen met de psycholoog heb ik in kaart gebracht waar we tijdens de EMDR aandacht aan moesten besteden. Mijn incestverleden was een van de onderwerpen. Ik dacht het inmiddels verwerkt te hebben, maar dat bleek niet het geval. In één EMDR-sessie is dit trauma aangepakt en kon ik het echt een plek geven. Ook had ik moeite met mijn uiterlijk, het liefst wilde ik nog steeds maat 34 hebben. In enkele sessies heb ik geleerd mezelf te accepteren en was ik tevreden met mijn uiterlijk. Trauma’s verwerkt I was someone who suffered from trauma. Now I am someone with a bipolar disorder, who no longer has depression and only takes lithium. I have become much more confident, much happier. My life has improved so much in every way. It was very good that my husband and I also had some conversations with the psychologist. Because my recovery was so fast, it was actually impossible for my husband to keep up. He had to learn to give me more of my own responsibility. What I found difficult was that I would never be the old Kim again. In our relationship we both had to learn to deal with 'the new Kim'. We have received good tips from the psychologist for this. I now work as an experience expert with young girls with eating disorders.” Need immediate help? Frequently asked Report Therapy file Complaints Cost Rights and obligations Other fast to TOPGGz Working and learning Client Council Experience stories Privacy: general information Privacy statement if you are (have been) in treatment The Wishing Tree Diseases Cookies Disclaimer Contact Contact with Altrecht is through the various care units. Look at the contact page or at the care units. Twitter In order to provide you with a better service, Altrecht uses cookies. Our Cookie Policy explains how we use cookies . We recommend accepting the cookies. Please note: if you click through on the website without making a choice, you give permission to place cookies. Disable cookies Allow cookies