When Loss Becomes a Teacher -The Life Work of Leoniek van der Maarel
Leoniek van der Maarel is one of Europe’s leading grief and bereavement psychology voices. Based in the Netherlands, she has dedicated more than 25 years to breaking the silence around loss and helping individuals, families, and professionals navigate its impact. Through her Grief Training Centre (Academie voor Verlies), she trains therapists, coaches, and practitioners who often feel unprepared when confronted with grief in their work, giving them the confidence and tools to support clients with empathy and depth.
Her influence extends into pioneering methodologies. She co-founded the SCHIPaanpak, a widely used approach that reframes divorce not as conflict but as grief—a perspective that has transformed how separating couples navigate breakups. She has authored several books, including Kinderen in Spagaat, a widely read guide for parents and professionals on the effects of separation on children.
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What Is the Concept of a “Kairos Moment”?
Alfonso (AL) Gonzalez is an ISSA Master Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach, and Co-Founder of the Kairos Wellness Experience. Known for his multidimensional approach to wellness, AL helps individuals cultivate physical vitality, emotional resilience, and inner peace through integrative practices rooted in both science and lived experience. A lifelong competitive athlete and wellness educator, AL has facilitated over 400 classes and workshops across the United States. His work has reached diverse audiences at institutions such as Texas A&M, UCONN, Cornell University, SUNY Morrisville, Ithaca College, and Colgate University, where he delivers powerful programming on personal transformation, change management, and meditation.
Over the past six years, AL has developed Practice Mellow, a breath-centered methodology grounded in the five dimensions of wellness: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. At its core, Practice Mellow teaches that while pain is often inevitable, suffering is optional and that breath is the bridge to transformation across all aspects of well-being. AL Gonzalez’s wellness journey is far from linear. Rooted in the grit of competitive athletics and the discipline of bodybuilding, his personal transformation began when he realized that fitness alone couldn't answer life's deeper questions or heal its most persistent wounds. That insight led him to co-found the Kairos Wellness Experience, a program that bridges science, spirit, and breath in a way few others do. Let’s dive into this conversation with AL to explore the deeper philosophies and methods behind Kairos Wellness.