{"id":128590,"date":"2021-07-07T09:30:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T07:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=128590"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:43","slug":"ruth-van-der-hallen-learned-that-its-ok-to-make-errors-in-therapy-when-she-read-de-naakte-therapeut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/07\/07\/ruth-van-der-hallen-learned-that-its-ok-to-make-errors-in-therapy-when-she-read-de-naakte-therapeut\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruth Van der Hallen learned that it\u2019s OK to make errors in therapy when she read De naakte therapeut<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Psychology student, Ruth Van der Hallen was really concerned about how therapists can get things wrong. \u201cI was worried that I\u2019d make problems worse as a therapist, that I\u2019d make someone suffering from depression even more depressed.\u201d But during her internship in a psychiatric hospital, she was touched by the genuine contact between people. The book De naakte therapeut<\/em><\/a> by Peter Rober\u00a0really helped her appreciate the profession.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Assistant professor of Clinical Psychology Ruth Van der Hallen grew up in Antwerp. She was ten years old when she decided she wanted to study Psychology. \u201cStudying to become a psychiatrist seemed too difficult.\u201d Human Resources was a clear alternative. \u201cI could see myself testing people who were seeking a suitable job and telling them the kind of work that would be a good match for them.\u201d But when studying Psychology in Leuven, she discovered that she was more interested in clinical problems. She has been involved with how people cope with difficulties since that time.<\/p>\n\t

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Ruth Van der Hallen is assistant professor of Clinical Psychology at EUR. She completed a PhD at KU Leuven, the title of her thesis being Little things, big things: perceptual organization in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder<\/em>. She is a researcher and lecturer.\u00a0 Van der Hallen has worked as psychodynamic psychologist since 2012.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

The error she feared<\/h2>

Her love of therapy developed during her master\u2019s degree, when Van der Hallen followed an internship at a psychiatric hospital in Kortenberg, Belgium. \u201cI\u2019d prefer diagnostic examinations to therapy,\u201d she told them. \u201cThings can go wrong during therapy. I was afraid that I\u2019d make problems worse by asking questions; that I\u2019d make someone who was suffering depression even more depressed.\u201d Van der Hallen now knows that you shouldn\u2019t listen to your fears. She set her trepidations aside and during her internship therapy sessions she was affected by moments of meeting, \u2018the moments in which the psychologist and client make real contact\u2019.<\/p>\n

And those errors, yes, she made them, however minor. She sometimes became distracted during a discussion or no longer knew what to say. Her best friend had the same experience. \u201cWe drove together from Antwerp to Kortenberg every day and chatted about everything that had gone wrong. That she had the same experience as I had wasn\u2019t entirely reassuring. We were both at the same level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therapists are people<\/h2>

During her internship, Van der Hallen read De naakte therapeut <\/em>by Peter Rober. This did reassure her. The book is composed of short stories about the writer\u2019s experiences as a psychotherapist. He describes his internal dialogue during therapy sessions. He said what always remained unsaid. The therapist in the book makes shopping lists in his head during a session with a client and feels relieved that the client\u2019s child is dead rather than his own child. \u201cAfter reading this book, I discovered that it\u2019s logical that I turn over everything in my mind during sessions. It made the work less fraught.\u201d<\/p>\n

The writer, Peter Rober, was a professor of Van der Hallen at KU Leuven. \u201cHe was someone I looked up to. \u2018If even he is more affected by one session than another, then maybe it\u2019s OK,\u2019 I thought at the time. Then you can then learn from your thoughts instead of judging them.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Reading habits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Number of books per year: 25<\/p>\n

Favourite genre: detectives<\/p>\n

Most important motivation: the delight of the intellectual stimulus<\/p>\n

Most recent book: the books by Jussi Adler Olsen. \u201cI like to read series. When I find a book by an author I like, I want to read the next one too. Sometimes I save books for a few years so I don\u2019t need to wait for the second book.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Combining is enhancing<\/h2>

After her internship, she chose two directions at the same time. She started her PhD in Leuven and also became a psychotherapist, after following an additional study programme. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel I\u2019d finished learning.\u201d Now, as well as her job as lecturer and researcher at EUR, she still works as independent psychologist just over the border in Belgium. She is convinced that one role improves the other: \u201cIn my lessons I use practical examples and as a researcher I know what is important to people. In turn, I can apply my research experience during therapy sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

She regularly recommends De<\/em> naakte therapeut<\/em> if students want to know the realities of therapy. A new version has now been published, with new stories, and Van der Hallen has a copy of that too. Sometimes she rereads the most imposing sections. \u201cThese remind me of sessions I\u2019ve had with my own clients. I no longer need the book to reassure me. I know how fantastic and rewarding it is to be a psychotherapist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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