Dr. Valerie A.G. Ventureyra

Clinical Psychologist & CBT/EMDR Psychotherapist

Dr. Valerie A. G. Ventureyra, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and Cognitive-Behavioural & EMDR Psychotherapist with an established private practice in Paris, France and online, worldwide. Originally from English-speaking Canada, she completed her Bachelor’s degree at McGill University in Montreal, and then moved to France, in pursuit of European lifestyle. Dr. Ventureyra pursued her studies in Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, earning her Master’s degree in Lyon, conducting research on PTSD. She then moved to Paris to pursue her PhD at l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psycholinguistics and her Clinical Psychologist degree and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) specialization at the University of Paris 5. She has also trained in EMDR (in France and Belgium), in Schema Therapy, Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She works in English, French and Spanish, languages in which she has native proficiency.

As an expat herself, and coming from a multicultural and multilingual background, with strong ties to Europe, North and South America, Dr. Ventureyra has always been curious and interested in cultural identity and expat adaptation issues, in which she is specialized, having worked since the beginning of her clinical practice in Paris with expats coming from all over the world, and now with expats based in other countries, as well. Another area of her expertise is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), an area in which she has much clinical experience both in PTSD after one-time traumatic events (accidents, terrorist attacks, sexual assault, sudden death of a loved one…) and in complex trauma (often early-onset prolonged situations of physical, sexual, psychological abuse, and toxic relationships occurring throughout life). She has also participated in several crisis interventions, notably after the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. Dr. Ventureyra also works regularly with other anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety, phobias, social phobia, OCD, panic attacks), with mood disorders (depression), burn-out, workplace and relationship issues. In her clinical practice, she often accompanies clients in search of a career move, in the midst of a life transition, an existential crisis and those expressing a desire for greater and deeper meaning in life.

Beyond her clinical practice, Dr. Ventureyra has also worked in psychology journalism for the French magazine Sciences Humaines & Cercle Psy, as a pedagogical consultant for the French CBT association (AFTCC), has been a lecturer for a Master’s program at the University of Paris 10, has given lectures at English-speaking universities in Paris (AUP and ULIP) and at international conferences (most recently on the subject of expat adaptation at the European CBT Association’s (EABCT) conference in Belgrade, Serbia held in September 2024). Dr. Ventureyra has co-authored and published several scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters on PTSD, cognitive and experimental psychology, psycholinguistics and manipulation.