Imagine arriving in a new place, not speaking the local language, or knowing where to find mental health care that your child or you need, especially specialised type of care. It can take a toll on one's mental health, with all kinds of frustrations and other emotions.

As a clinician, I, too, was frustrated when I first arrived in The Netherlands in 2016 and wanted to open my private practice for children, but didn't know where to go or who to contact. After researching and connecting with allied professionals in both the mental and healthcare fields, I decided to form a Network, a Network that would specifically help new comers-parents and clinicians alike-to navigate the mental health care system with peace of mind.

Not only that, I wanted a Network of clinicians who were specialised in using alternative-evidence based forms of therapies, such as the expressive arts-dance, music, art,- or Animal Assisted Therapy because children often do not have the words to explain what is happening to them or what has happened. These friendly ways to reach children can help them to tell their story and help them cope in both the short and longterm. And that is precisely what I sat out to do.

On April 2019, I opened the Child Behavioral Health Network ('CBHN' or the 'Network') for children only. But then Covid hit the world in January 2020 and college students started knocking on my door for help. So in 2021, I pivoted to include young adults on our list of populations we serve and other verbal yet specialised treatment areas such as EMDR. Today, I am proud to say that we serve everyone-children, adolescents and (young) adults, with different abilities and challenges.

Together, we are a beautiful, melting pot of different nationalities, speaking more than one language, and informed by different, yet effective psychological trainings, with the aim of getting to the core of an issue and more quickly. And it is my hope that we will continue to grow with added new services and languages so that everyone can access therapy when they need to (and hopefully from anywhere they are too).

It takes a village to raise a child or to repair a (young) adult. On behalf of the Network, I look forward to welcoming you or your family to our village and help you begin the healing process together.

Take great care and stay calm,

Drs. Amélie van den Brink-El Makkaoui

CBHN Founder