Healing with Help
Counseling
Get to Know Me
Hello! My name is Julie De Freitas and I am a Brazilian American therapist based in the EU. I was raised by Brazilian immigrant parents in south Florida, U.S.A. where I was constantly surrounded by multiple cultures, races and languages. At a young age I gained an awareness and appreciation for multiculturalism. Being multicultural myself I understand the complexities of belonging and having multiple identities.
Moving to the Netherlands as an adult and becoming an immigrant and a minority in a new country, I understand that sometimes society takes our differences and tries to weaponize and diminish them. But I believe that there is strength and power in diversity. As I myself face multiple minority status, I too have felt small and felt the challenging effects. That's why helping women, people of color, multicultural individuals and minorities to empower themselves is so important to me. Finding our meanings of ourselves gives us confidence to grow and evolve into our full potential. This is an ongoing process and I aim to guide you on this journey with compassion and also the autonomy that you know your self best.
I gained my bachelors of science education at the University of Central Florida in psychology with a focus on clinical psychology. At UCF is where my passion of cross cultural psychology and the psychology of women began.
I obtained my Masters of Arts degree in psychology with emphasis in counseling psychology at Webster University Leiden in the Netherlands. Being an American school in the Netherlands, my cohort alone was made up from colleagues from 13 different countries. These colleagues brought international perspectives and ideas to the table which continued to expand and challenge my own way of thinking .
At Webster, I focused on topics and women's issues, the experience of people of color and performed research of the experiences of those in intercultural relationships. Here is where I truly became a therapist by gaining real world experience with clients and hands on supervision. I had clients from 10 countries spanning across 3 continents and was able obtain 750 university sponsored hours and over 280 hours direct client hours. During this time, I was faced challenges in my professional, personal, and clinical identities that have made flexible and confident in my capabilities as a therapist.
As of October 2024, I have been a member of Nederlands Institute van Psychologen (NIP) (NIP #: 246539) which is the largest professional association of psychologists in the Netherlands. The 3 core values of NIP include pride, committed and competent, all values that I am dedicated to follow as a member. To find out more about my NIP Psychologist credentialing visit PSYNIP.NL
My approach is deeply shaped by my background in international psychology, community mental health, and a lived understanding of minority experiences and intersectionality. These dimensions have always informed my work, and they will directly shape the collaborative, culturally responsive space we build together in our sessions. In practice, I integrate evidence-based frameworks to offer practical, tailored support, drawing from formal training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, and Family Systems. I see growth as continuous, which drives my ongoing commitment to learning new therapeutic modalities, refining my craft, and staying current with evolving psychological knowledge.
Hear testimonials from other therapists in the field and my past colleagues: