About Us
Svea van der Hoorn
Svea has evolved a multi-faceted portfolio-style career. Her work experience includes school and university-based education, professional psychology, qualitative research, and leadership and senior management. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Cape Town and has post-graduate qualifications from UCT, UNISA (Univerity of South Africa) and US (University of Stellenbosch). She holds a doctorate in systems thinking and adult learning, and is a registered psychologist with practice rights in South Africa, Australia and the UK. The consistent thread across the apparent diversity of her activities is an interest in change, development and improvement, and a curiosity about and respect for how people and organisations deal with complexity, diversity, and turbulence.
I first met the Solution-focused Brief Approach (SFBA) in 1987 through the work of Steve de Shazer. My training in family therapy had introduced me to MRI's strategic family therapy approach, and the work of Milton Erickson. I was excited by the potential to use stories, metaphors and imagination in my work as a psychologist, educator, and researcher. At the same time, I began to integrate my interest in creative writing with my formal professional work. Both my Masters and Doctoral dissertations involved developing my understanding of systems thinking and its implications for adult learning, communication, and facilitating change.
I did my formal first training in the Solution-focused Brief Approach at the Brief Therapy Practice (now BRIEF) in London in the early 1990s, and have continued to attend further training and conferences in the UK and Europe. In 2002, I participated in a 16-week course offered by Insoo Kim Berg via the University of Milwaukee. In 2007-9 I completed the trainers track in Brief Coaching, an accredited training programme with Peter Szabo of the Switzerland-based SolutionSurfers.
Around 1990, I started offering training in Solution-focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) as part of post-graduate professional training programmes attended by psychologists and teachers. This developed into workshops and short courses offered to people in the education, health, welfare, NGO and community-based sectors.
My work as a visiting senior faculty member to the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town (GSB-UCT) provided opportunities to explore applications of the Solution-focused Brief Approach in the business sector. As a Solution-focused Brief coach, I work with individuals, teams and organizations.
Working as a researcher provided opportunities to experiment with applying a Solution-focused Brief Approach to project management, facilitating collaborative teams, and producing high quality, rigorous written reports and presentations against tight deadlines.
As a therapist, I work with children, adolescents and adults, as individuals, couples, groups, and families.
I have been privileged to work in a wide variety of multi-lingual and multi-cultural contexts, often in circumstances of significant hardship and suffering. I notice with humility, the creativity and fortitude that people and organisations often bring to coping as best they can with difficult situations.
Besides working in South Africa, I have worked in the UK, Australia, Singapore and Europe. Please contact me to discuss how we can be of service to you and those you work with in enabling change and improvement.
Contact details:
Dr Svea van der Hoorn (D.Ed; MEd Ed Psych; HDE PG Primary)
Tel: 021 686 9112 or 072 533 9626 (South Africa)
Tel: +61 410 649 490 (International and Australia)
Email:
Skype: sveavanderhoorn
Belinda Gottschalk (Druker)
Besides being a solution-focused brief practitioner, Belinda is also a registered Educational Psychologist and qualified teacher, who trained at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. As of 2010, Belinda will be based in Sydney, Australia.
“During my post-graduate training in psychology, I was introduced to SFBT and found these ideas very appealing. I have worked as a school psychologist, which involved me in groupwork, classroom teaching, individual counselling of pupils and parents, psycho-educational assessments, staff development and consultation with colleagues and parents. I found the Solution-focused Brief Approach especially useful in my work with adolescents, due to its non-prescriptive and 'no-nonsense' focus, as well as its emphasis on health promotion and establishing effective functioning. In 1998 I spent six months living and working in London, UK. During this time I was fortunate to attend further training at the Brief Therapy Practice (now BRIEF). Since 2002, I ran a psychology practice in Cape Town working with children, adolescents and adults offering a variety of services. I also lectured at the South African College of Applied Psychology(SACAP)
I am passionate about the Solution-focused Brief Approach, and am committed to developing these ideas and skills in various contexts. I have seen the impact it has made in the lives of clients and trainees. In South Africa, where long-term contact with clients is a luxury few can afford, the Solution-focused Brief Approach offers a pragmatic and respectful way to work with people who would like to or need to create change in their lives. It is also an approach that acknowledges the power that all of us wield in each others’ lives, and encourages us to co-create affirming and health-promoting conversations and interactions."
Contact details:
Belinda Druker (MEd Ed Psych; HDE PG Secondary)
Tel: +61 420 461 944 (International and Australia)
E-mail: