Focused on young people up to age 30 and their parents: depression and aftercare following rehab, through a one-on-one program and the Ibiza program.
New chances for young lives
Many young people under 30 get stuck in depression, or try to pick their life back up after a hospital stay or treatment. Too often, only the symptoms get attention: “something is wrong with this child.” Stichting Vrienden van HeartConnection looks deeper. We guide young people and their parents to the root of what’s really going on, through a personal one-on-one program and an intensive, tailor-made multi-day program on Ibiza.
Your donation makes it possible for young people who cannot afford this themselves to still take part in this program.
My own story
When I was twelve, my own depression began. For years, I carried that feeling with me, until at some point it became so overwhelming that I no longer wanted to live. When my father took his own life when I was fifteen, I experienced firsthand how much pain that leaves behind. Precisely because of that, I am still alive: his death became my reason to keep living. For thirty years, I searched for a way out, and I found it. It was the hardest path of my life, but also the most beautiful: I now live the life I did not even dare to dream of as a child.
Drawing on that personal experience, and on more than thirty years of working with thousands of people, I consciously focus my Foundation on young people who feel stuck: young people struggling with depression, and young people who have just come out of a clinic or treatment program and need to find their way back into life.
Marjolein van der Meulen
Founder, Friends of HeartConnection Foundation
Who this is for
Two groups are central:
- Young people (up to age 30) struggling with depressive symptoms: low mood, hopelessness, feeling disconnected from themselves.
- Young people who have just left treatment or a clinic (for addiction, an eating disorder, mental health issues) and need aftercare to avoid relapse.
We never work with the young person alone. Parents are part of it: they know the family history, the events around the pregnancy and birth, and the patterns that often repeat across generations, without anyone realizing it.
Our approach
We work from the HeartConnection method: we map out a young person’s Life Blueprint (pregnancy, birth and first year of life), their family tree, and their personal timeline. This reveals where behavior, feelings and symptoms actually come from, with no blame, no judgment, only understanding. Through Connect – Merge – Release (VVL), the young person also learns to feel and release this in their own body.
One-on-one program with Marjolein
Personal sessions, at the pace of the young person and their family. For anyone who first needs a safe, individual space.
Ibiza with Marjolein
An intensive, tailor-made multi-day program built around the young person’s own question. Away from their familiar surroundings, young people meet themselves, discover their own talents, often born precisely out of what they’ve been through, and turn them into a concrete next step: a job, an education, an internship or a journey.
Both forms can be combined into one program tailored to what this young person and this family need.
Parents are part of it
A young person is part of a family. What grandparents and parents were unable to process often resurfaces in the younger generation. That’s why we deliberately involve parents in the program, not to place blame, but to understand the story together. This gives parents something to hold on to, and gives the young person room to find their own way, sometimes precisely by taking a step back for a while, as several parents in our stories have experienced.
What parents and young people say
Emma (18) found her footing again
I’d love to let you know that Emma has completely found her footing. It’s such a joy now to see how well she’s doing… She adores her boyfriend, and he adores her. A happy child, and she discovered it entirely on her own! I still often think back to your words: “Sometimes someone needs to be taken out of their familiar environment in order to heal.” I am so proud of her, and so deeply grateful to you for all your insights. – Emma’s mother
Marjolein’s work is deep and powerful
My 16yr old son had chronic depression and it was very difficult to reach him emotionally. Marjolein skillfully was able to show him the roots of his buried emotions and guide him out of his solitary darkness. She is a joy to work with! – Kirsten Kallman
Alex (16)
Alex has been depressed since he was twelve; suicidality runs in his family. During the sessions, he discovers the connection between his own story and his family’s. “This is so interesting, now I can think differently,” he says. When his mother came to pick him up, she opened the door and said: “What happened here? I dropped off my baby and I’m getting back a grown man.” Alex celebrated his 17th birthday in style and now leads an active, social life.
Elise and Saar (14)
Elise came to me in a panic: her daughter Saar no longer wanted to live. We didn’t start with Saar, but with Elise herself, with her own life story and her Life Blueprint. Through Connect – Merge – Release, she reconnected with her body instead of with fear. Saar changed along with her, without Elise having to fix her: she started enjoying school again, made a friend, and is now doing an internship. “And it all starts with: what does this do to me?” – Elise, Saar’s mother
Donate
Every contribution helps us give more young people and their parents access to a one-on-one program or the Ibiza program, when they cannot afford it themselves. With your donation, we can:
- (Partially) cover the cost of programs for young people without the financial means
- Free up more places on the Ibiza program
- Include parents in their child’s program at no extra cost
A 1-to-1 program consists of 6 sessions spread over 3 to 6 months. The total cost is €1,369. This amount includes:
- €1,250 for the guidance program
- €50 for the intake and assessment of the application
- €69 for the book the young person receives at the start
Sometimes more time is needed. A longer program consists of approximately 12 sessions spread over about one year. The total cost is €2,619, including the intake and the book.
An Ibiza week costs €10,000. This intensive week is not only for the young person, but also involves the parents and is fully tailored to the young person’s situation, needs, and personal process.
We ask both the young person and the parents to be actively involved and willing to work with the program and the insights gained along the way.
With your donation, you can contribute to:
- €25 — a contribution towards a 1-to-1 program
- €50 — the intake and assessment of an application
- €69 — the book a young person receives at the start
- €137 — approximately 1/10 of a complete 1-to-1 program
- €1,369 — a complete 1-to-1 program of 6 sessions, including intake and book
- €2,619 — a longer 1-to-1 program of approximately 12 sessions, including intake and book
- €200 — 1/50 of an Ibiza week
Thank you for your donation. Together, we give young people who feel stuck a new beginning.
Contact
Do you recognize your child, or yourself, in this story? Or do you want to do more for young people who feel stuck? Get in touch for a one-on-one conversation, sign up for the Ibiza program, or donate to Stichting Vrienden van HeartConnection.
Thank you for being part of this journey!
Friends of HeartConnection Foundation
Chamber of Commerce (KvK) No. 85672017
Account name: Stichting Vrienden van HeartConnection
IBAN: NL92 RABO 0198 1118 78
Bank: Rabobank
BIC: RABONL2U