🌿 About Me

Coaching Psychologist · Occupational Clinician · EMDR Therapist · Trainer · Human being

There are people who lead through force, and others who lead through clarity. I’ve always found my way in the second category — creating a space and asking the questions that bring people closer to themselves, while holding space for the real conversations to emerge.

“When we connect with our self and others, we open a brand-new world of possibilities.”
— Dana Moldoveanu Brandes

My name is Dana, and I created ProActive from the belief that true growth begins when we reconnect — with ourselves, with others, and with what truly matters.

In a world that constantly rewards speed and efficiency, I choose to slow down and listen — deeply, systemically, humanly. Because behind every challenge, every conflict, and every ambition, there is a person trying to make sense of change. I collaborate with individuals and organisations not to provide pre-packed answers, but to co-weave strategies rooted in meaning, authenticity, and sustainable wellbeing.

Like a weaver, I bring together the threads of lived experience, emotional signals, and professional aspiration — helping people reconnect with what has been frayed, and giving new structure to what is emerging. Whether it’s a career crossroad, burnout recovery, a leadership challenge, or the desire to reignite creativity, I hold the frame gently but steadily — steady, calm, non-intrusive — offering space for clarity, courage, and conscious transformation.

🧭 My Approach

My coaching and psychological style is humanistic, science-informed, intuitive yet structured. I draw from a diverse and integrated toolbox — Positive Psychology, EMDR, ACT, Transactional Analysis, Eco-psychology, and systemic communication models — and adapt these to honour the uniqueness of every person or team.

Clients often say they appreciate how I challenge with warmth, hold complexity with simplicity, and maintain a focus on mental health and meaning — even in performance-driven contexts.

I deeply value:

• Presence over productivity
• Meaning over metrics
• Wholeness over perfection

I accompany clients — whether private or corporate — through a wide range of experiences: from suffering to thriving, from burnout and conflict to creativity and self-leadership. I’m particularly dedicated to working with those who want to flourish consciously, not just function.

🌍 My Journey Through Transition

I was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania, during the final — and most difficult — years of the communist regime. We were a middle-class family and my parents, both with roots in small entrepreneurial families (before communism), offered my sister and me as much care and grounding as they could in a world shaped by fear, constraint, and control.

Then came the ’90s — and with them, the sudden collapse of systems, and the rise of ambiguity. As a teenager, I was thrown not just into personal adolescence but into a collective transition: from a planned economy to a free market, from silence to speech, from imposed identity to the unknown possibility of choice.

That early confrontation with change, instability, and reinvention became formative. It made me curious — about how people think, adapt, suffer, and grow. How we find meaning in disorientation. How we create coherence in complexity.

Throughout my university years, I worked, integrating experience with theory. A scholarship in Italy for a master’s in innovation opened up a new chapter — and eventually brought me to Luxembourg, where I now live and work.

🎓 From Business to Psychology: A Dual Mind

My professional journey began in economics and business development. I worked for nearly a decade in sales and then in innovation and EU consultancy, learning how systems function — and sometimes fail. I gained fluency in strategy, structure, and organisational life.

But something else was calling — something more human.

In 2010, I transitioned toward coaching and my journey in psychological began. I pursued a degree in Psychology, followed by advanced training in Applied Positive Psychology and Occupational Clinical Psychology. I sought not just tools, but depth, evidence, and presence.

Today, I bring both these worlds into my work: the clarity of economics and the empathy and sensitivity of psychological practice. I work with private clients, teams, and institutions — including a long-term collaboration with the European Commission, where I serve as an organisational psychologist one day per week.

🧶 My Philosophy

I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all methods or easy answers. I work best with people who are ready to move from survival to intentional flourishing — particularly in times of transition, uncertainty, or creative block.

My work integrates:

• Positive Psychology & Prevention
• Organisational Clinical Psychology
• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• EMDR Therapy
• Transactional Analysis
• Eco-psychology & Process Communication
• Creative and systemic thinking

Clients often describe my approach as one of gentle challenge, grounded empathy, and clear structure — where complexity is honoured, and clarity is co-created.

🌱 What Matters to Me

I care about creating human- and nature-friendly environments — in coaching, in organisations, in life. Spaces where people feel heard, seen, and supported to grow in a sustainable and aligned way. Spaces where we are part of nature and we are not only consume it or damaging it.

Nature is not just a backdrop in my life — it’s a teacher. I find grounding and energy in hiking, gardening, swimming & aikido. These aren’t just hobbies, but rituals of connection — to body, breath, rhythm, and the wider system we’re part of.

I believe wellbeing is not a luxury. It’s a quiet practice of returning — to what nourishes, grounds, and inspires.

Having lived through many transitions — personal, societal, professional — I remain passionate about working with those in the midst of theirs. Behind every change, there is a new story waiting to be woven with care, presence, and integrity.

“Knowing is not enough — we must apply.
Willing is not enough — we must do.”
— Goethe

This quote has been with me for years. It still captures how I live and work — with intention, action, and depth.

If this resonates with your journey, I look forward to crossing paths.

🎯 How I Work

I accompany clients — individuals, leaders, and teams — in areas such as:

• Personal and professional transition
• Burnout, bore-out, role conflict & stress prevention
• Creativity, innovation & optimal experiences
• Meaning-making, personal growth & emotional balance
• Leadership development, communication & team dynamics
• Inclusion, diversity & intercultural intelligence
• Trauma recovery & post-traumatic growth

In all my work, I remain committed to psychological safety, systemic clarity, and the unique human behind every role.

Formal Studies:

Post master university certificate in “Clinique du travail” (occupational clinic psychology) at University of Liege (Belgium)  2022-2023

MSc in Applied Positive Psychology with Distinction (Anglia Ruskin University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Cambridge, U.K.) 2016-2017

BSc (Hons) with Merit in Psychology (Open University, U.K.) 2011-2015

Master Innovation Management (University of Trieste, Economic Faculty, Italy) 2004-2005

BSc in Economics & Business law (Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania) 1998-2002

Affiliations:

• member of the British Psychological Society (MBPsS)
• member of EMDR Luxembourg asbl
• accredited member of European Mentoring & Coaching Council
• member of International Society for Coaching Psychology 
• Founding member and President of Positive Psychology Luxembourg asbl

 Contact me

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