Hi, I'm Mariella
I help mamas thrive in parenting.
I know what it’s like to:
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Feel as though you can’t get a grip on parenting.
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Have a tense feeling in your stomach that just won’t go away.
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Look for the one person who “knows best” and will help you feel confident again.
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Be disappointed when the promised results of the latest parenting advice don’t materialize.
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Not feel like yourself anymore.
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I get it.
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Let me tell you my story.
Educated as a child therapist and applied psychologist I spent the majority of my career in the child care industry. So I thought I knew how to care of children. And to a certain degree I did. But when my own daughter Verenique was born (2014) it suddenly became a whole different ball game. I realized nobody can prepare you for this.
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Obviously I wanted to do parenting “right”. So my head went into overdrive mentally scanning all the models, phases and stages I had learned that make up healthy child development.
To be honest, this led me into a dark place. Theoretically knowing the “right” things to say and do made me so anxious and insecure that I started to question everything I did.
I knew all there was to know on the subject of “safety” and “hygiene” from my day-care management experience. But… this led me to sterilizing everything one time too many. And going through all of the possible hazards in her crib (which as you may gather, weren’t all that many) before I could even think of getting some sleep myself.
I was going overboard. I would look up things like “is it okay if my baby falls asleep in the playpen?”.
Mariella van Mackelenbergh
Mother Of Two, Child Therapist & Applied Psychologist
There Had To Be A Better Way.
Nothing made sense anymore. It was like the put-together-manager was gone for good and all that was left was this anxious, worried, emotional woman. Whereas all I wanted was to be the best mama for the little wonder I was now responsible for.
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All I longed for was peace. So that I could connect with my baby and do what felt “right” for us.
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Every Mama is meant to thrive at parenting. Struggling with mental health as a teenager and young adult, I started to see that I was repeating some very specific patterns.
It wasn’t what I was or wasn’t doing that mattered. That was clear. It was a matter of finding peace of mind; a Mama Monk Mindset.
So I went back to the drawing board and started to critically examine all that I had learned, and only kept whatever gave me peace of mind.
The result?
I went from believing I could and was failing at parenting to knowing I am the best Mama I can be. My energy, positive outlook on life and confidence came back.
Am I perfect? No. But I know now that I don’t have to be. I now have the parenting resources and foundation that allow me to find peace in the middle of the storm that’s called Life.
Which, as it turns out, is what “parenting” is.
I ended up creating my own model and approach to finding lasting peace in mama-hood. Since then it has transformed my life, and the lives of the mamas I work with.
Mama, you deserve the peace, joy and vitality of a calm and connected mama-hood experience. It’s the way it was meant to be. I created the Mama Monk School in 2019 in order to give mamas like you the structure, guidance and support I wish I’d been able to find when I was struggling.
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I am based in The Netherlands and can provide support in both Dutch and/or English.