“Every perfect traveller always creates the country where he travels.”
— Nikos Kazantzakis
I'm Epameinondas (Nondas) Leimonis, a psychologist with an MSc in Clinical Psychology (cum laude), licensed in Greece and registered in the Netherlands with the Dutch Institute of Psychologists (NIP) and the Kwaliteitsregister Jeugd (SKJ), the Dutch quality register for professionals working with children, young people and families. Here's a bit more about the path that led me here.
I grew up in Greece, in a family that moved frequently, which meant learning early on how to adapt: new towns, new schools, new versions of what "normal" looked like. At the time, it simply felt like life. It was only later, during my clinical training as a psychologist and my personal therapeutic journey, that I began to notice how much that early experience of change had shaped both who I am and the work I'm drawn to.
My professional path since then has taken me through a number of different contexts. I trained within a psychiatric care setting, where I encountered the full range of what mental health difficulties can look like, and later stayed on as a volunteer, continuing to support hospitalised patients through some of their most difficult moments.
I then served in the Hellenic Army, both as a soldier and as a psychologist within the Medical Corps, attached to the Army's Psychosocial Care Team. My duties included the clinical evaluation of new recruits, alongside providing ongoing psychological support to military personnel across several Army Corps units. This was an experience that gave me a close, practical understanding of stress, responsibility, and how people hold themselves together under real pressure.
After moving to The Netherlands, my internship at Leiden University let me provide psychological support to international clients, giving me direct insight into the emotional realities of building a life in a new country. I also spent substantial time in international education, supporting children with additional needs as a Special Education Assistant and later as a Learning Support Assistant. Watching expat families navigate life abroad from that vantage point, again and again, is part of what eventually led me to focus my own practice on exactly that kind of transition.
Methexis Psychology grew out of these different chapters: a genuine interest in how people cope with change, and a belief that psychological support should feel like a shared process, not something delivered from a distance.
My Story
Working Together
· Understand ·
Together, we explore the patterns, feelings, or behaviours that show up — where they come from and how they still shape you today.
· Reconnect ·
Working side by side, we identify and reconnect with the core needs and emotions underneath.
· Grow ·
You build new, healthier ways of responding and relating, not by becoming someone else, but by strengthening who you already are.
My Approach
My work is grounded primarily in Schema Therapy. This is an integrative, evidence-based modality that looks at the patterns we develop early in life, often as ways of coping or protecting ourselves, and how those same patterns can go on to shape our relationships, our self-image, and our reactions long after the original circumstances have changed. Alongside this foundation, I draw on techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) when a more practical, structured approach is useful, solution-focused methods when the goal is to move forward on something specific, and mindfulness-based practices to help build a sense of groundedness.
I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all model. Every person I work with brings a different story, a different pace, and different goals, so sessions are shaped around what's genuinely useful for you, within a person-centred and trauma-informed framework that prioritises safety, choice, and your own sense of readiness.
These same principles guide how I work with adolescents and children too, though the way that looks in practice is adapted to suit each person's age and developmental stage. With younger clients, this may include play, creative expression, or age-appropriate conversation, since children often process and communicate differently than adults, and these approaches can offer a natural, engaging way to explore big feelings at a pace that feels safe. Parents are also frequently involved as an essential part of this work, helping to bridge what happens in sessions with everyday life.
This is also where the idea behind Methexis comes back into practice, not just in name. Therapy, as I see it, works best as something we build together: I bring structure, training, and an outside perspective; you bring your story and your own expertise on your life. Real change tends to happen in that shared space, rather than in either direction alone.
Qualifications & Registrations
NIP-Registered Psychologist (Psycholoog NIP®) — Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen — Reg. number 254143
SKJ-Registered Psychologist (Master-psycholoog SKJ) — Kwaliteitsregister Jeugd — Reg. number 160054515
Licensed Psychologist in Greece — General Directorate of Public Health and Social Welfare — Reg. number ΠΔΕ/ΔΔΥΚΜΠΕΑΙΤ/145710/2343
Full Member of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST) — ID number 99386386
MSc in Clinical Psychology (cum laude) — Leiden University, The Netherlands
BSc in Psychology — University of Crete, Greece
Certificate of Specialised Training in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology — National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Schema Therapy Training (ISST Approved) — Dutch Institute for Schema Therapy, The Netherlands
I practise in accordance with the ethical code of the Dutch Institute of Psychologists (NIP), and my work with children and young people is also subject to the quality standards and disciplinary rules of the Stichting Kwaliteitsregister Jeugd (SKJ).
Further Professional Training
Working with Parts in Therapy: Schema Therapy for Detached Protector and Vulnerable Child Modes — Dr Christof Loose (ISST Advanced Certified Trainer and Supervisor), Psychotherapy Courses / ISC Training
Using the ACT Kidflex Model with Children and Adolescents — Dr Tamar Black (author of ACT for Treating Children)
Assessing Children and Adolescents: Effective Screening and Identification — Dr Jane Wotherspoon and Dr David Hegarty, NovoPsych
Assessment of ADHD in Adults: Differential Diagnosis, Psychometrics and Screening — Dr Tom Mole and Dr Iona Walker, NovoPsych
Research Activity
Leimonis, E., & Koutra, K. (2022). Social media use and mental health in young adults of Greece: A cross-sectional study. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 4(2), Article e4621. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.4621
Leimonis, E. (2022). Parental bonding and depressive symptoms in students: The mediating role of loneliness [Unpublished master's thesis]. Leiden University.
Leimonis, E., & Koutra, K. (2019, May). Association of social media with self-esteem and depressive symptomatology in young adulthood [Poster presentation]. 17th Panhellenic Psychological Research Conference, Alexandroupoli, Greece.
