About Me
Neuroscientific Psychologist and Montessori specialist
Fusing mental health and Education
About me
Neuroscientific Psychologist and Montessori specialist
Neuroscientific Psychologist and Montessori specialist
Fusing mental health and Education
Background Eva van Donkelaar
My name is Eva van Donkelaar. Born in Spain, but raised in the Netherlands, my journey led me to Maastricht in 1998 where I studied a bachelors in Biological Psychology, a masters in Neuropsychology and a PhD in Neuroscience. Throughout the years, my focus gradually diverted towards clinical psychology and child (neuro)development which made me specialize as an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) therapist and a Montessori educator. So now I am a half- Spanish-half Dutch neuroscientific psychologist with a passion for neurodevelopment and educational neuroscience.

Work Experience
For more then 15 years, I delved into academia, serving as a researcher and teacher at esteemed institutions such as Maastricht University, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and Universidad de Cádiz in Spain. In my journey towards clinical psychology, I have worked as a psychologist and ACT therapist at different mental healthcare institutions and in different functions focusing mainly on helping people increasing their psychological flexibility to be able to deal with the difficulties and complexity of life. I started my own practice in 2019, which made me able to combine my dynamic family life with my passion and enjoy professionally. At the end of 2023, I decided to include my other passion for which I had been studying for almost 10 years, which is neurodevelopment and related Montessori education.
My practice
As a certified Montessori educator, I love to combine psychology with education. I offer both neurodevelopmental and mental health promotion trainings for parents and adolescents and ‘back to basic’ process-based psychotherapy sessions through ACT for more psychological flexibility and Peace in the brain. My work feels like a real Pact between Neuro and ACT and independence-focused education: NeuroPact Montessori.



