​Dr. Laurence ​van Hanswijck de Jonge, MSc, PhD
Child Clinical Psychology & Neuropsychology-Cayman Islands

​I am a Dutch national originally born in Switzerland.  I hold my PhD in Psychology from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland where I investigated subconscious processes of addiction.  I also have my Msc in Developmental Neuropsychology from the University of Maastricht, Netherlands where I had the luck of being one of the first to join a new branch of psychology called “biopsychology”. This branch focuses on the development of the whole person, both biologically and psychologically.



During my Master's degree, I spent time partly at the Pennsylvania State University, specializing in neuropsychology and partly at the University of North Carolina working with youths with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and severe conduct disorder.  It is also during my Masters degree that I had the honor to work with Dr. Marti Korkman, the developer of the NEPSY (A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment) in order to standardize this outstanding child neuropsychological assessment for the Dutch population.  Further to my studies, I worked in a Child Eating Disorder Clinic in London under Prof. Glenn Waller during which time I worked on a collaborative project with Dr. Nicolas Stettler and Prof. shiriki kumanyika at the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN).



With an offer from the public hospital in George Town, Grand Cayman Island, I worked for three years as Medical Research Director.  A family move took me to  Geneva where I took a post at the Child Development Unit of the University Hospital Geneva, Switzerland. My focus there was on the assessment of temperament in infants and neuropsychological functions in young children, specifically those who were exposed to birth complications, primarily pre-term birth. A lot of my work throughout the years was grounded in research (see "publications"). I spent 5 more years in private practice, treating children, running assessments, parental coaching, workshops whilst integrating and collaborating with many of the international schools. A family move brought us back to the Cayman Islands in January 2019 where I am currently working at KidsAbility as their Clinical Psychologist, specializing in neuropsychology, carrying on the work I did in Switzerland.



Much of my youth was spent attending international schools in different countries, this love for traveling stayed with me as I grew.  I am deeply familiar with the tides of the ex-pat lifestyle for adults and children (also coined “third culture kids”). Through the different encounters I had in different areas of my work, on different levels and specifically in different cultures, it became clear that it wasn't enough to focus on the disease model, it is not enough to say “what goes wrong”. It is important to reverse the thinking process to “what goes right”, building on our emotional capital. Through the understanding of the great scientifically proven benefits of Positive Psychology, not only for children and individuals but also for institutions and businesses I co-founded with Sandy Perrin "Positive Psychology Consulting" Switzerland.    

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Finally, my greatest and most proud life work are my two beautiful boys. The oldest is a clever, vibrant and energetic 11 years old and my youngest is a bouncy, comical and giggly 8 years old.  They are my driving forces and inspiration.