Psychology and shamanism in the former Dinéault campsite

Trained by renowned practitioners, Myriam Beaugendre worked in Paris for fifteen years as a psychologist and psychotherapist, in hospitals and in private practice. It was in Paris that she met her husband of Dutch origin, Sebastiaan Metselaar, a former aerospace engineer. Tired of defending big contracts, he dropped everything because he could not give meaning to his life. And then came the Amazon adventure.

Initiated in shamanism

“I suffered from a serious heart disease that medicine could not treat, so I went to the Peruvian Amazon to be treated by a healer,” says Myriam Beaugendre, now cured. Initiated in turn to shamanism and the knowledge of plants, the Parisian psychologist was given land, in the middle of the Amazonian forest, 20 km from the first city (Iquitos) so that she in turn could treat. It was in 2010. An experience she recounts in her book “Taking care of the soul”, published by Éditions du Seuil, in 2017. The book gave rise to numerous press articles and Myriam Beaugendre notably was invited to the France 5 program “Le magazine de la santé”.

The ideal place

The couple thus shared their time for a long time between Peru and France, before settling in Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu (44), from where they began prospecting to find the ideal place for their project. . ” Ty Provost campsite met all our criteria: a peaceful place surrounded by nature, a 10 ha forest, close to the sea, a train station and accommodation to accommodate around thirty people”, lists Sebastiaan Metselaar. Added to this, the contact with the former owner, Jean-Yves Nicolas went “wonderfully well” and the family (they have two children attending school at Pierre-Douguet eco-school) quickly became part of the “endearing Dinéault lifestyle”.

In search of meaning

It is in this soothing environment, now called Talmadenn (heartbeat in Breton), that people who are going through crises, who feel the need to come face to face with themselves, are welcomed. With a network of therapists with whom Myriam Beaugendre has worked for a long time, candidates for plenitude come from all over France, but also from Belgium and Switzerland. “These are people from all professional backgrounds, in search of meaning to give to their lives, victims of burnout or people seeking to solve depression or addiction problems”, presents the psychologist. To help them, she draws inspiration, adapting it, from the teaching that was passed on to her in Peru.

A bridge between medicines

“For a week, people find themselves alone, cut off from the world, and go on a diet, combined with decoctions of local plants. I don’t work as an herbalist. These plants essentially have symbolic virtues: the strength of rooting for the oak, the opening of the heart for the rose, etc. », explains Myriam Beaugendre, for whom the basis of the diet is introspection. At the same time, she provides psychological support to discussion groups. “I am not in opposition to the doctors, because I work with them. If people have treatments, they pursue them. I intend to build a bridge between ancestral and modern medicine,” she defends.

Practice

Contact: tel. (06 68 46 27 90); email, myriambeaugendre.com

In summer, in the absence of a group, accommodation is available for rent.