Welcome to Justin Cooper’s practice!
A warm welcome to my website. My name is Justin Cooper, I am a native-English speaking therapist, counsellor and teacher with a practice in west Amsterdam. My services include hypnotherapy, relationship therapy, mindfulness, counselling, men's work, systemic constellation and workshops focusing on healing the wounds in our male and female energy. I also teach on various professional courses at the Academy of Psychodynamics.
My personal vision
The way I work is both down to earth and practical and at the same time holistic and integrative. I strongly believe that every human being has a sort of self-healing ability, an inner source, with which we can restore the balance in ourselves and improve the quality of our lives. Just like learning to drive a car you can also learn to tap into your own inner resources.
Furthermore, I see my work as a 'wake-up call' which means helping you break through the layers of conditioned behaviour and fear so you can reconnect to what is really important to you and be true to yourself.
It's about following your heart with an open, expansive mind. This is where creativity and spirituality meet, where playfulness and curiosity are alive and fulfilment and purpose serve as an inner compass.
OWN, LOVE & HEAL it workshops
These workshops for women and men have different themes related to owning, loving and healing our male and female wounds. They are geared to releasing our amazing potential to live and embody grounded, empowered and heartfelt lives, where our male and female energy are in balance and serve one another. More info here.
Testimonials
I’m not sure if you will remember me, but I came to see you in September 2012 and I wanted to send you a quick email to say thank you. Thank you for your helping me to find myself again. Since seeing you, I gained the confidence to leave end my marriage. It’s been a bumpy and somewhat dark path at times, but a path that needed to be taken. I’m truly happy for the first time in a long time and I like who I’ve become. We managed to split amicably for the sake of the children and I think/hope they have come out of the situation unscathed. So thank you for your time, advice and for listening. I nearly didn’t turn up to our first appointment as I was scared about what it would be bring, but I am so glad I walked up those stairs and rang the bell – it was truly life changing.
My search for the right therapist and therapy was a difficult one as I was not really sure what I needed. So when I went for my first session with Justin I did have my doubts. Fortunately, Justin was able to naturally put me at ease, with and without words. I felt I could trust him and without that I don’t think I would have been able to really open up. It’ is quite amazing how much has changed in myself and my life in the space of a couple of months. Thank you so much!
I’m finally pursuing my dreams and have opened my own counseling practice! It took me quite a while but ultimately I thought that life’s too short to keep on postponing our dreams due to our insecurities and fears. Thank you so much for all your guidance!
You brought me in a very deep state of relaxation which is still working through my body one day later. You really tuned in to how I was feeling. It felt extremely healing to give so much attention to the stress and tension in my body and also to myself. Thank you!
Justin was the first person I confided in after years of private pain regarding my inability to feel comfortable with my sexuality, even in loving relationships. After struggling to be emotionally and physically able to have sexual intercourse, it remained an over-intense experience which often left me in tears. I felt unable to get in touch with my sexual desires, to express them or really enjoy my own sexuality. Hypnotherapy helped me to get to connect to this part of myself through which I started to build up a new solidarity with myself and put my own needs first. With this growing sense of self-worth and ability to articulate my needs, I started to learn to change or walk away from self-destructive situations and relationships. This was a healing and transformational process.
Your calming presence made me feel very much at ease. I didn’t expect to be able to open up in the way I did and even when I visited the pain inside I was surprised that I actually felt stronger as opposed to feeling weaker.
My attitude to life has changed. I am more positive, optimistic, happier and more relaxed. My relationship has improved considerably. I stay more calm in stressful situations and no longer run away from confrontational situations.
My experiences in the sessions with Justin were intense and have created a big shift within myself. Justin tunes into what you are feeling and experiencing in a very intuitive way, he doesn’t follow strict guidelines. He genuinely listens, which is a quality not every therapist has. Thank you!
The atmosphere is relaxed and you work at a pace that’s really good for me. I always feel understood and you help me go deeper into my thoughts and help me reach feelings I am unable to feel without guidance at this point. I am also learning skills that I can also use by myself. The sessions have made a huge difference to my life, I am no longer bogged down with irrational fears. You have helped me to breathe through the fear and connect with the feelings underneath. This has helped me get a grip and feel like I’m getting back the control over my life.
The sessions have had a huge impact on my life. I came to you struggling in the aftermath of a burnout feeling like my world had been turned upside down. I have been able to understand what was going on inside myself and how old behavioural patterns created the burnout. The work we did on my relationship with my parents has helped me find healthier and more effective ways of working, and most importantly, I have learned to take care of myself more. Thank you so much!
Men’s work group monthly sessions
To become a truly empowered man you need two things: Brotherhood to help you own and channel the positive power of your male energy and secondly, a true connection to your feelings and the holding capacity of your female energy. This is the essence of this men’s work group: The empowered and loving man. More info here.
My personal story
After graduating with a first class honours degree, I pursued a career in journalism and publishing and communications. Following several promotions I worked as Group Editor for a number of magazines until my lifestyle of deadlines, stress and a lot of travelling started to take its toll. With two slipped discs I would still drag myself to the office, I was really hard on myself and was scared to let people down and to come across as weak or needy. One day the straw that broke the camel’s back became reality for me.
A complicated operation was unavoidable and when I woke up from the anaesthetic, I had (temporary) paralysis in both legs. I fell into an acute depression and isolated myself from those I most needed. With a lot of soul-searching I was able to start dealing with my inner demons and get behind the steering wheel of my own life. An intensive period of rehabilitation followed in which I had to learn to walk again. This whole experience marked a major turning point in my life during which I became more interested in personal and spiritual development.
I have been working as a fully certified hypnotherapist since 2003 and find it both a privilege and a joy to be able to help guide people, both individually and as a couple, through challenging and difficult periods in their lives. I know what if feels like as I have had my own share of painful and difficult experiences.
I am also a fully certified mindfulness trainer and offer courses in mindfulness and self-compassion in both groups and on an individual basis in my own practice. This is not only something I love teaching it is also an integral part of my life. Furthermore, I also teach at the Dutch Academy for Psychodynamics and at the Advanced Institute for Therapeutic Studies.