After my talk, no one feels alone in their story anymore.
pic by Jill Cooiman
Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes,
It opens a door to hope, recognition, and real connection
showing that from our darkest moments, we can find new strength and soar.
Keynote Speaker
How to Become Stronger by Breaking Down and Rebuilding
What if resilience doesn’t mean you always have to be ‘strong,’ but that you dare to feel, let go, and rebuild? That’s the perspective I share with organizations, professionals, and individuals who want to understand resilience and trauma on a deeper, more relatable level. With my Phoenix Method—a unique approach I developed to help people who have experienced trauma—I show how setbacks can actually become a source of strength.
In today’s world, where burnout, stress, and trauma are increasingly common in healthcare and welfare, I believe this fresh view on resilience is essential. I don’t offer abstract theories but practical tools and insights that you can start using right away, whether you work in healthcare, government, or the welfare sector.
For wellness, mindset, and empowerment events:
I deliver keynotes that not only inspire but also help people recognize trauma and build resilience in a concrete way. Through my story and method, I provide recognition, motivation, and tools that truly make a difference in everyday life and work.
For healthcare professionals and government organizations:
Since 70% of clients experience early childhood trauma or complex stress, it’s crucial to look beyond just the diagnosis. Drawing on my personal experience and the Phoenix Method, I help you and your team recognize trauma, deepen understanding, and promote resilience—directly impacting the care and support you provide.
About me
I speak from experience: I have overcome sexual abuse, depression, and the heavy responsibility of caring for my father. My lectures combine personal openness with a down-to-earth, empathetic approach. Through the Phoenix Method, I guide my audience through the phases of transformation—from hitting rock bottom to finding new confidence and strength.
My honest and powerful way of speaking helps people feel seen and leaves them with renewed energy and perspective. If you want a keynote that touches hearts, inspires, and sets change in motion, I’d love to work with you.
Keynotes
The Phoenix Method
The Power of Resilience and Vulnerability
for Wellness, Mindset and Empowerment Events:
In a world where stress, change, and mental pressure are increasing, I believe that strengthening resilience is no longer a luxury but a necessity. What I want to show you is that true resilience isn’t about “staying strong” and “pushing through,” but about daring to feel, let go, and rebuild—just like the mythical phoenix.
With my unique Phoenix Method—based on my personal experience with trauma, depression, and loss—I offer an honest and practical model to help transform setbacks into growth and strength. I work to break the stigma around vulnerability and explain why it’s exactly vulnerability that leads to deeper resilience.
The five phases of the Phoenix Method:
The Ashes: When everything seems lost, how do you stay upright without losing yourself?
The Spark: How do you recognize the moment when change becomes possible, and dare to seize that opportunity?
The Fire: Letting go of old patterns—how do you deal with resistance and fear?
Spreading the Wings: Rediscover your strength and direction and take the first steps into a new reality.
The Healing Tears: Why processing and integrating emotions are essential for sustainable growth.
What will this keynote bring to your event?
Inspiring and relatable insights that help your audience develop resilience and better accept challenges.
Practical tools participants can immediately use to turn stress and setbacks into growth and strength.
A powerful mindset shift: vulnerability becomes a source of strength and personal growth, essential for lasting empowerment.
An energy boost for your event, with a message that stays with your audience and truly resonates.
For whom?
I designed this keynote especially for organizers of wellness, mindset, and empowerment events who want to strengthen and inspire their audience with a deep, practical, and relatable story about resilience.
In short:
My Phoenix Method shows that true resilience comes from daring to feel, let go, and rebuild after setbacks—like a phoenix rising from the ashes. I share practical phases to transform challenges into strength. This keynote inspires and equips your audience to see vulnerability as a real source of power..
The Phoenix Method
Understanding and Resilience from Experiential Knowledge
Healthcare Professionals & Support & Goverment Organizations:
Trauma is a daily reality in healthcare and social work. But how does someone truly experience living through trauma and resilience? As someone with lived experience, I openly share my personal story of depression, sexual abuse, and caregiving. I want to show that vulnerability is not weakness, but the key to healing and growth.
With the Phoenix Method, I guide professionals through the five phases of trauma and recovery—not as a clinical intervention, but as a human perspective to deepen your work with clients. My story and insights provide caregivers with concrete recognition, increased empathy, and a renewed understanding of what it takes to support genuine resilience.
The five phases of the Phoenix Method:
The Ashes: When everything seems lost, how do you stay upright without losing yourself?
The Spark: How do you recognize the moment when change becomes possible, and dare to seize that opportunity?
The Fire: Letting go of old patterns—how do you deal with resistance and fear?
Spreading the Wings: Rediscover your strength and direction and take the first steps into a new reality.
The Healing Tears: Why processing and integrating emotions are essential for sustainable growth.
What will this keynote bring to your team?
Deeper insight into how trauma is experienced and works through from a human and experiential perspective.
Increased empathy and connection with clients carrying trauma.
Inspiration to work in a trauma-sensitive way and be open to the power of vulnerability.
New perspectives on seeing resilience not just as “being strong,” but as a process of feeling, letting go, and rebuilding.
For whom?
I designed this keynote for healthcare professionals, caregivers, and government teams who work daily with people facing trauma and mental challenges. It helps enrich your role with more understanding, compassion, and practical insights based on real-life experience.
In short:
If you want to truly understand what trauma means for your clients and how resilience grows from vulnerability, then this keynote is exactly what you need. No theory—just real-life experience that touches and enriches.
My Mission
I am a motivational speaker specializing in trauma, resilience, and personal power. Drawing from your own experiences with sexual abuse, depression, and personal struggles, my mission is to help others reclaim their inner strength and resilience. Through my speaking, I aim to challenge the misconception that trauma makes people weak, and instead show that overcoming such experiences reveals great strength. My goal is to inspire audiences to seek connection with themselves and others, harness their personal power, and grow stronger, no matter their challenges, much like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Pic by Jill Cooiman
What I offer.
The Phoenix as a Symbol of Resilience
I use the phoenix as a powerful metaphor for transformation: rising from the ashes, facing pain, and finding strength through vulnerability. This imagery helps audiences see their own potential to turn adversity into personal power, making the journey of resilience tangible and inspiring.
A Holistic Approach to Resilience
For me, resilience isn’t just about "powering through" or simply surviving difficult times. True resilience is deeply connected to vulnerability, healing, and reconnecting with who you are at your core. I believe we need to move beyond the traditional ideas of resilience, which often focus only on enduring hardship, and instead, embrace the emotional journey of healing as a powerful part of the process.
Turning Trauma into Personal Power
A common misconception is that trauma makes people weak. I see it differently. I believe trauma survivors possess extraordinary strength. My message challenges that outdated narrative, showing how trauma can be a source of empowerment rather than something that holds you back. It’s about flipping the script—seeing adversity as the fire that forges our inner power.
A Blend of Personal Experience and Research
What makes my approach unique is the combination of my personal story with insights gathered from interviewing other trauma survivors. This mix of deeply personal experience and research-based knowledge allows me to connect with people on multiple levels—making the message both relatable and grounded in real-world evidence.
Practical Empowerment, Not Just Inspiration
My focus isn’t just on inspiring others—I’m about offering real, practical ways to grow and empower yourself. I provide strategies that help you embrace both your strength and vulnerability, and guide you on how to transform even the toughest challenges into sources of personal power.
Creating Connection and Belonging
I believe healing goes beyond survival—it’s about building a sense of connection and belonging. Trauma often comes with feelings of shame and isolation, and my goal is to help people move past that. I focus on fostering a sense of community where survivors feel seen, heard, and understood, because resilience thrives when we feel connected, not alone.
Disclaimer
I am not a medical or scientific professional. I speak from lived experience—as a community leader—giving voice to the unheard and bringing trauma into the light. If you need professional help, please consult a qualified specialist.
As a speaker about trauma I didn't want to just speak from, my own experiences, but I wanted to speak for people that have faced trauma, but don have the stage I have.
Community Storyteller
As a speaker on trauma, I didn't want to speak solely from my own experiences, but rather, I wanted to speak for those who have faced trauma but don't have the platform I have. So, I started talking to many trauma survivors to hear their stories. Through these conversations, I began to notice recurring themes that many of them shared, regardless of their backgrounds. This sparked a deeper curiosity in me to explore these trauma experiences further.
So here’s my question:
What are the commonalities within the experiences of people who have endured trauma?
Initial Exploration
The research will be qualitative, gathering data by identifying common themes through interviews. These interviews will take place either in person or via video calls, and the study will be conducted internationally, collecting diverse perspectives from trauma survivors around the world. To see if there was a foundation for this research, I interviewed 10 people as part of an initial investigation. Here are some of the findings from these conversations.
Multiple Traumas
Almost everyone I spoke with had experienced multiple traumas. For example, early childhood trauma that continues to affect them in adulthood.
Outside of Society
All the people I interviewed explained that, in one way or another, they felt alone, misunderstood, or socially isolated.
Let Down by Healthcare
Almost everyone mentioned a lack of response or insufficient care when they reached out to healthcare services. This ranged from misdiagnoses to problems being ignored or no response to the warning signs they had raised.
Proud of How Far They've Come
Each person shared that they were proud of where they are today. Some expressed this with more confidence than others, but the sense of pride was universal.
Disclaimer
It’s important to clarify that this is not a scientific study. These are not empirical findings, but rather a collection of themes and insights gathered from personal stories shared with me. The goal is to understand the experiences of trauma survivors, not to present definitive research.
Testimonials
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Lyron Martina – Director Minster International Netherlands
Iris has been hired by me for the last few years as a motivational speaker at my elections. The way she speaks is very gentle and that everyone can persuade everyone through her way and tone of speech.
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Marit Maij – Chair UNWomen
Iris participated in a panel on gender based violence and supporters for survivors. She is an engaging and inspiring speaker. Something I remember most form Iris her speech is that she spoke form the hearth.
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Joyce Otten- Welfare fontys University
I got to know Iris as a driven and friendly person who likes to support others in special circumstances. She would like to use her knowledge and experience to discuss difficult topics. In that role, Iris provided a workshop for students and that was very much appreciated.
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![Laura Vermeulen - Zo Trots als een Vrouw]()
New List Item
As a table guest, Iris shared her experiences in an intimate setting with around ten women. Her story was powerful and authentic, sparking meaningful conversation. After the event, we received many positive responses about the inspiring table talks and the themes shared. We’d love to welcome Iris back next year. Thank you for your valuable contribution!ion goes here
Speaking Reel
Workshops
Workshop: Mental well-being and company culture
This interactive workshop, led by a mother-daughter team—a coach with personal experience and a psychiatric nurse with over 40 years of expertise—is tailored for schools, healthcare organizations, and government or other entities. Participants engage in discussions to evaluate their company culture's support for employees' mental well-being and openness about mental health issues. Through active participation, attendees explore strategies to optimize the existing culture, fostering a safer environment for individuals to share their challenges and seek support.
Workshop: Mental well-being and company culture
This interactive workshop, led by a mother-daughter team—a coach with personal experience and a psychiatric nurse with over 40 years of expertise—is tailored for schools, healthcare organizations, and government or other entities. Participants engage in discussions to evaluate their company culture's support for employees' mental well-being and openness about mental health issues. Through active participation, attendees explore strategies to optimize the existing culture, fostering a safer environment for individuals to share their challenges and seek support.
