About me

My name is Audrey Gibeaux and I am French. As a clinical psychologist and a trainer since 2007, I have managed several mental health and psychosocial programs. My title of psychologist is recognized by the Belgian Psychologists Commission. I started my career working in psychiatric hospitals and organizations supporting asylum seekers in France and in Belgium, then through international non-governmental organizations, mostly in Africa and in the Middle-East.

Expériences

J'ai obtenu mon titre de Psychologie Clinicienne à l'Université Paris X-Nanterre

Humanitarian

Intervene in the field during critical incidents

Training

I regularly give training to people who are not psychologists

Publications

I am starting to write an article about my current work in Brussels and abroad

See more
Audrey Gibeau photo

Learn more about me

Since 2018, I have shared my time between my therapeutic work – conducted in my private practice located in Brussels – and consulting missions for humanitarian organizations in Brussels and overseas.

I am specialized in the field of Psycho-traumas, consisting in sudden experiences of extreme violence that threaten the psychological and physical integrity of an individual or a group, and leave the victim unable to react, stuck with a strong sense of helplessness. 

My work also focuses on issues such as accumulative stress, vicarious trauma (or secondary trauma), anxio-depressive disorders, grief and interpersonal relationships.

In my private practice or via Skype, I provide psychological support to adults as well as to expatriate staff and humanitarian workers. Note that I work in both French and English. 

My goal is to accompany you through difficult times, and guide you progressively towards peace of mind, next leading to personal balance. In that process, we will take into consideration your existing coping strategies and resources and will work together to build new ones. 

Degrees and work experiences

I graduated with honors as a clinical psychologist from the University Paris X-Nanterre (Master II Professional) in 2007. In 2015, I completed a training in EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with EMDR Europe. A year later, I graduated in Hypnosis Therapy  from the National Guild of Hypnotherapists. 

Later, I took some victimology classes in Belgium as a free student  and I am currently being trained in Psychoanalytic Psycho-traumatology  at Chapelle-aux-Champs.

I did internships and worked in France and Belgium in psychiatric hospitals as well as prisons (Maison d’Arrêt des Hauts-de-Seine, Nanterre Psychiatric Hospitals and Day Care Center for Adults, Jean Titeca Hospital, La Ramée Clinic) , as well as non-profit organizations such as Doctors of the World, in their Primary Reception and Orientation Center (CASO). 

Then I worked in the humanitarian field as a psychologist and as a Coordinator for Mental Health and Psychosocial projects in countries undergoing armed conflicts or their aftermath : Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali, Haiti, Syria, Lebanon, West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Palestine), Libya and more recently, Uganda and Iraq. The organizations I have worked for include : Doctors Without Borders, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Action Against Hunger, Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) and RedR UK.

Learn more about my professional journey : 

Humanitarian Work

Field interventions during critical incidents.

Trainings

I frequently provide training sessions for non-specialists (in the Psychology field).

Publications

I write articles about my current work in Brussels and overseas.

My tools

Icon

I practise several types of therapies that have proven their effectiveness in the Psycho-trauma field. According to your requests and issues, we select what the most suitable tools are for your specific situation. The duration of the therapy varies from one person to another as it depends on the observed signs of suffering, whether they are related to a specific single event, or to deeper struggles rooting in childhood.

Hypnosis

As described by Milton Erickson, hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness that can go from shallow (reverie, light hypnotic trance) to deep. During the hypnosis session, the psychotherapist will help reproduce this pre-consciousness state to facilitate the process

of suggestion with fewer barriers. It allows the therapist to work deeper than when the patient is fully conscious. Moreover, it helps support and guide the patient towards the most suitable solution. In the comfort of that position, he is guided by the therapist’s words and is free to comment on his feelings anytime throughout the session.

To know more

Therapeutic relationship

The therapeutic relationship, based on caring and empathy, plays an essential role in the therapy, regardless of the tools that are selected for the patient. Feeling that you are heard and understood in a safe place is fundamental. It allows bonding with the therapist. This

bond will help you feel comfortable enough to be able to express the sources of your anxiety and difficulties. Once words are released, we can work on your vision of the world, which will allow you to have a better understanding of the way you interpret reality. This therapeutic relationship will shed a new light on your irrational negative thoughts and their recurring manifestations that have proven to be at your expense. The goal we are aiming for is the emergence of new behavioral patterns, consistent with what you truly want.

To know more

Psychoanalytic support therapy

This therapy is based on the classical therapy as invented by Sigmund Freud- with adapted settings, enhanced by the work of numerous psychoanalysts from the 20th century. It believes that the human psyche operates on the basis of conflicts related to the individual’s

development and to events experienced in childhood. Both leave their mark on the unconscious and are transformed throughout childhood and adult life. This therapy takes into consideration the expression of painful emotions to have a better understanding of conflict. The goal is subsequently to give it a new meaning through the process of adaptive compromise, helping to avoid recurring patterns, expressed through psychological symptoms. The emphasis is then placed on the present experience, the « here and now » and goals of self-development and self-fulfillment.

To know more

The EMDR « EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING »

Desensitization and reprogramming through eye movements was invented in 1987 by Francine Shapiro, PhD (U.S.A), the EMDR is a psycho-neurobiological therapy based on sensory stimulus. Recommended by the World Health Organization since 2013, it helps patients process

traumatic events by connecting the rational and emotional parts of the brain.

To know more

Hypnosis

Hypnosis as described by Milton Erickson, hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness that can go from shallow (reverie, light hypnotic trance) to deep. During the hypnosis session, the psychotherapist will help reproduce this pre-consciousness state to facilitate the process of suggestion with fewer barriers. It allows the therapist to work deeper than when the patient is fully conscious. Moreover, it helps support and guide the patient towards the most suitable solution. In the comfort of that position, he is guided by the therapist’s words and is free to comment on his feelings anytime throughout the session.

Psycho-somatic Approach

The therapeutic relationship, based on caring and empathy, plays an essential role in the therapy, regardless of the tools that are selected for the patient. Feeling that you are heard and understood in a safe place is fundamental. It allows bonding with the therapist. This bond will help you feel comfortable enough to be able to express the sources of your anxiety and difficulties. Once words are released, we can work on your vision of the world, which will allow you to have a better understanding of the way you interpret reality. This therapeutic relationship will shed a new light on your irrational negative thoughts and their recurring manifestations that have proven to be at your expense. The goal we are aiming at is the emergence of new behavioral patterns, consistent with what you truly want.

Psychoanalytic support therapy

This therapy is based on the classical therapy as invented by Sigmund Freud- with adapted settings, enhanced by the work of numerous psychoanalysts from the 20th century. It believes that the human psyche operates on the basis of conflicts related to the individual’s development and to events experienced in childhood. Both leave their mark on the unconscious and are transformed throughout childhood and adult life. 

This therapy takes into consideration the expression of painful emotions to have a better understanding of conflict. The goal is subsequently to give it a new meaning through the process of adaptive compromise, helping to avoid recurring patterns, expressed through psychological symptoms. The emphasis is then placed on the present experience, the « here and now » and goals of self-development and self-fulfillment.

The EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

Desensitization and reprogramming through eye movements was invented in 1987 by Francine Shapiro, PhD (U.S.A), the EMDR is a psycho-neurobiological therapy based on sensory stimulus. Recommended by the World Health Organization since 2013, it helps patients process traumatic events by connecting the rational and emotional parts of the brain.

Humanitarian work -
Social Diversity

Icon

Alongside the work I do in my practice, I do consultancies with international organizations such as Doctors without Borders (MSF), Doctors of the World (MDM), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (CICR). My job includes two components.

1

The support of the Belgian expatriate humanitarian staff. That assignment involves : a briefing (before their mission), field support (during their mission), a debriefing (once they are back from their mission).

2

Field interventions in the event of critical incidents as well as the assessment and set up of mental health programs. For instance, in 2019, I established a psychological support program in Iraq for the Yezidi staff who suffered from the genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State (ISIS). In addition to that, I reviewed a psychosocial program for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Uganda, for the families of those who went missing during the Lord Resistance Army conflict in the 1990’s.

3

Alongside those tasks, I conduct support therapies for asylum seekers, guiding them through their procedures with the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons.

In partnership with :

News & Articles

Icon

Please find here my news and my publications