Hans van Veen

My name is Hans van Veen, and I help individuals, couples, friends, and organizations communicate and self-connect with greater authenticity, compassion, and understanding. My work is rooted in my own lived experience. I grew up with the weight of intergenerational trauma — my stepfather was directly shaped by the Second World War — and early on I became deeply curious about what heals us, what connects us, and what allows us to grow.

I studied philosophy not to accumulate knowledge, but to learn how to think clearly enough to eventually move beyond thought. After university I spent several years working with plant medicines in a safe, responsible setting. Those ceremonies opened my inner world and gave me a profound sense of direction. To ground myself more deeply, I completed a three-year Iyengar Yoga teacher training, which reconnected me with parts of my childhood that had been obscured by anxiety and depression.

My path eventually led me to Nonviolent Communication, where I am now a certification candidate. Since 2020 I have taken countless courses, facilitated many myself, and witnessed again and again how transformative this work can be — especially when combined with my Aletheia coaching practice. Deeply inspired as I already was by Michael Taft’s non-dual meditations and Rupert Spira’s phenomenological approach to nonduality, I immediatley fell in love with Aletheia coaching, as it weaves together non-duality, psychology, empathic presence, and deep self-inquiry. Both my clients’ feedback and my own experience with the method have shown me just how powerful this work can be.

I also share my teachings on Insight Timer, and I host a podcast where I interview people who inspire me. Alongside my coaching and teaching work, I’ve built a meaningful career in the medicinal, food supplement, and FMCG sectors — roles in which my empathic skills and NVC perspective have always found a place.

In recent years I’ve come to see that I am, in a way, stepping into the footsteps of my father, who was one of the first hypnotherapists in the Netherlands in the 1980s. While Aletheia coaching is very different from hypnosis, the essence is similar: guiding people inward with attunement, presence, and skilled empathy. Realizing this has been healing for me, especially given the challenges in my early family life.

Having navigated and integrated much of my own trauma, I now feel grounded, clear, and deeply committed to supporting others. My work is an ongoing blend of understanding, embodiment, and heartfelt intention — a path I am grateful to walk.