Derek van Zoonen

My approach is simple in principle but radical in practice: I help you pay attention to yourself. If you found me through my essay on grief: I work with losses of every kind, including the ones no one else recognizes as losses. For inquiries, find me at [email protected].

How I work

I teach, I write, and I accompany people who want to look more closely at how they are living. Most of what matters to us is felt before it is understood, so when we work together, we slow down and pay attention: to the tightness in your chest, the change in your voice, the part of you that goes quiet or gets scared when a certain subject comes up. Hakomi—the mindfulness-based, body-centered therapy I trained in—gives that attention a method. Ron Kurtz, who developed it, called it "assisted self-study." We meet what we find with openness and curiosity rather than trying to fix it. If this is philosophy, it is philosophy in the old sense: not a theory about life, but a practice of attending to it. In my academic work I study the ancient tradition of thinking about eudaimonia, the flourishing life. I have come to see it as something like the Buddhism of the West: the most profound reflection on the good life our own tradition has produced, and a set of practices for actually living it. That is what I bring to our work together: a way of learning to see more clearly and kindly.

Who comes to me

Anyone who wants to look more closely at their life is welcome. Some arrive with a clear question, others with only a sense that something deserves attention. Often they are people who live mostly in their heads, people grieving what they lost or never had, or people back from a psychedelic journey who now face the laundry after the ecstasy. You don’t need a reason that fits a category. Curiosity is enough.

Current projects

These days I am most excited about The Pause, a retreat I built with my close friend Pete Deemer, for people too busy to face the questions they know they should ask themselves.And at RINO Amsterdam I will teach clinicians to think in slow motion, carefully and precisely, about the philosophy they already practice without knowing it.

Writing

My popular writing has appeared in Aeon, The Point, and Psyche and I review books for for Nexus Institute.

Background

I hold a PhD in philosophy (cum laude) from the University of Groningen, where my dissertation won the Wierenga-Rengerink Award for the university’s best dissertation of the year. During my doctoral studies, I have held visiting research positions at the University of Oslo, the University of Oxford, and Columbia University in New York. Right now, I research and teach at the University of Oslo, working at the intersection of ancient philosophy and positive psychology. I completed a four-year training as a Hakomi therapist and will join the teaching team as an assistant on the next international Hakomi training in Mallorca (2027–2031). In 2017 I trained with the Zendo Project, the psychedelic peer support service of MAPS, and have since supported people through difficult psychedelic experiences in festival emergency settings. I also help people prepare for and integrate their psychedelic experiences.

Get in touch

I am currently taking on new clients. Sessions last 60 minutes and take place in Oslo, in Amsterdam, or online, in English or Dutch. Besides 1:1 work, I am also available for workshops, retreats, and speaking engagements. To book a session or ask a question, write to [email protected].