Ilze van der Merwe-Alberts

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Ilze van der Merwe-Alberts: Your Family Expert, building powerful families and leaders 

(Specialising in Human Behaviour, Families and Children.)

Ilze van der Merwe-Alberts deeply believes in the genius and brilliance that is present in every person and she is passionate in assisting the discovery and empowerment of that genius and brilliance for people of all ages.

Ilze is the founder of Bella Vida Centre in Bryanston, Johannesburg. She is a registered Educational Psychologist with the South African Health Professions Council, and has been in private practice since 1990. She specialises in the following areas of human behaviour: child psychology, play therapy with children, parental guidance, Filial therapy, family therapy, adult psychology, couples therapy, trauma counselling, parenting courses, sexual therapy and education, life skill seminars for adults. She is a popular speaker and author and has contributed in significant ways to the empowerment of families and individuals; young and old in South Africa.   Ilze has a special gift in working with children, families and adults and she has specialised international training as a Play Therapist and as a Certified Demartini Method® facilitator. Ilze has assisted many children and adults through a process of transformation and empowerment. She is known as "the woman who knows children", and is often quoted in the media. She is the mother of a daughter and son, who she says are her best teachers.

Bella Vida Centre is the expression of her life vision and mission to have a healing and teaching centre where a team of dedicated therapists combine their passion, knowledge and energy to bring massive shifts in the world.

 Ilze has developed and she presents many talks and workshops, namely:

• "Powerful Parent Powerful Child"  (parenting course)
•  Parent-Teenager Relationship Training
• "How and when to tell kids about the Birds and Bees"
•  How to help children cope with divorce
•  Leadership for Teens
•  How to prepare your child for school
•  Empowerment workshops
•  How to handle bullying
•  How to master retrenchment
•  Life Mastery Series for corporations
•  ABC of powerful living talk
•  Filial Play Therapy training
•  How to build a successful practice (seminar for health professionals)
•  Powerful families; unlock potential and raise the leaders of tomorrow.

 Ilze's specific specialisations:

•  Play Therapy (children aged 0 - 12 years)
•  Family Therapy
•  Demartini Method® as a certified Demartini facilitator
•  Teenagers and young adults
•  Filial Play Therapy (Powerful Parent Powerful Child)
•  Chronically ill children
•  Grief and loss
•  Parental guidance and parenting workshops
•  Workshops and talks
•  Dr. John Demartini's Master Planning for Life
•  Demartini Method for Groups
•  Guidance and facilitation to parents and teachers
•  Sandplay Therapy
•  Corporate Workshops such as Demartini Method for Groups, Dr. John Demartini's® Master Planning for Life, Life Mastery series and Powerful Techniques for Life.
•  Empowerment workshops for adults

Achievements

• Founder and director of Bella Vida Centre in Bryanston, Johannesburg
• Has been a member of the "Board of Experts" for Unilever as a Child Psychologist, to promote the importance of play for both children and parents in South Africa.
• Judge of "Toy of the Year" in South Africa.
• Regular guest speaker on various television broadcasts and radio stations:  SABC "3-Talk" with Noeleen. Great Expectations, SAFM, Metro FM and many more
• Quoted in various magazines and newspapers: Living and Loving, Your Family, Femina, Baby & Toddler, Smile Club, True Love, Sarie, Oxygen, Women and Home, Cosmopolitan, Psychologies,  Pappas and Mammas, Destiny The Star, Pretoria News, The Times, Sunday Times, Business Day and many more
• Co- Author with Nicky Bush of "Easy Answers to Awkward Questions?"and"MaklikeAntwoorde op MoeilikeVrae"  books on sexual education for children. She is also the author of a parenting series, addressing challenges parents face in parenting their children.
• Presenter at nursery schools and primary schools (nationally) and conferences: "How and when to tell your kids about the birds and the bees"
• Popular speaker at corporations and business meetings on topics regarding parenting, self-empowerment and powerful families. Examples of appearances: Investec, Silica, Oracle, Crawford College, St Stitians, Nedbank, SA Taxi Association and many more
• Nominated as one of South Africa's most influential Woman in Business and Government in 2008.
• Expert Psychologist under “Ask Ilze” for Living and Loving
• Certified Demartini Facilitator
• Know as one of South Africa’s leading family therapists.
• Keynote speaker at ISASA annual conference in 2011
• Featured in Business Day’s Health News: Ilze was interviewed for her contribution in body-mind
• Contributed to "Intiem" supplement: "Die bytjies, blommetjies en my kind" December 2011
• "The Irreverent Mother's Handbook" by Sam Cowen and Lee Van Loggerenberg: Ilze was responsible for the information on sexual education for toddlers.
• "Embracing Retrenchment. A practical guide for the retrenched individual" by Leon and Wanda Winterboer. Ilze was responsible for the information on "Your relationship with your children"
• "Expat Living" by Barbara Bruehwiler. Ilze was responsible for the information on "Accompanying Children"

Attended and facilitated in some of the following Demartini seminars:

1. Breakthrough Experience;
2. Master Planning for Life
3. Prophecy I: Become the prophet of your own destiny
4. Prophecy II: How to decode your body’s messages
5. Emperyeance I; Ancient to modern sciences, religions and philosophies of the world, the greatest story ever told;
6. Empyreance: Investigationinto the history of humanity;
7. Demartini Training program
8. Demartini on Business Success
9. Demartini on Financial Success
10. Young Adult’s Inspired Destiny
11. Inspired Lifestyle and Leadership, on the ship,  “The World”.

www.drdemartini.com