— Ch. 1 · The Hague And The Sea —
Emmy van Deurzen.
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Emmy van Deurzen was born on the 13th of December 1951 in The Hague, Netherlands. Her family lived in a small flat near the North Sea at the south-west of the city. Her father directed the Antiques Auction House of the Notaries of The Hague. She grew up with an older sister named Ingrid who worked as a physiotherapist. Van Deurzen completed her classical education at the Dalton Lyceum between 1964 and 1970. She studied Greek, Latin, Dutch, English, French, German, history and algebra for her final exams. During these years she published poetry in the school newsletter. She sang soprano in the choir and performed songs of her own composition while playing guitar.
Psychiatric Hospitals Of France
Van Deurzen moved to France to study French and earned a Diplôme Supérieur d'Etudes Françaises at the University of Montpellier. She then pursued philosophy studies under the supervision of phenomenologist Michel Henry. Her masters dissertation focused on phenomenology and psychiatry regarding solitude and solipsism. After this she completed a second licence in psychology followed by a master's degree in clinical psychology at the University of Bordeaux. She did clinical research for her thesis with young women who had attempted suicide. Between 1971 and 1973 she did voluntary work at the Psychiatric Hospital of Montpellier Font D'Aurelle. She worked alongside her first husband Jean Pierre Fabre in children's and outpatient departments. They later lived and worked at the psychiatric hospital of Saint Alban from 1973 to 1975. This revolutionary hospital originated institutional psychotherapy and was made famous by Dr François Tosquelles and Frantz Fanon. Van Deurzen held a full-time post as psychologist in the social therapy department where she ran weekly large patient groups.The Move To London And Arbours
In 1977 van Deurzen and Fabre were invited to come work in London. They lived and worked in an Arbours Association therapeutic community while assisting at the Crisis Centre. They became involved with the Philadelphia Association and R.D. Laing. During this period van Deurzen began teaching existential therapy in the Arbours training programme. She started developing her own ideas during these years. She entered into a lifelong friendship with Hungarian psychiatrist Thomas Stephen Szasz. In 1978 they took a three-month work study trip to California. They spent time at the Esalen Institute as guests of Richard Price. There they received training in Gestalt therapy and body therapy. Van Deurzen met Gregory Bateson at Esalen and Hubert Lederer Dreyfus at Berkeley University. Together they met John Weir Perry to speak about madness. They also had meetings with members of the Palo Alto Mental Research Institute. They visited The Soteria model halfway house of Loren Richard Mosher in San Jose.