Karina was born in 1952 in Amsterdam, Holland. During her years in college and university she worked as a volunteer social assistant, helping Spanish immigrants and political refugees from South America with all sorts of problems one can face in a new and strange country where people speak an impossible language. People came to her not only because she knew how to give practical assistance, but also because of her empathic qualities and the fact that she is a good listener. After her graduation she found work as a translator.

At 38, after divorcing her Spanish husband, she took both her children and her computer, and moved to Spain, becoming an immigrant herself. She continues working for Dutch companies, translating mostly English fiction into Dutch, and lives with her son and daughter in a small village on the island of Mallorca, enjoying the quiet countryside, the Mediterranean life and the beautiful and very special light. Being a very sensitive person, living in rural Spain agrees with her.

Many years later she found out that her elevated sensitivity is not as unusual as she always thought. Discovering the work of Elaine Aron, Ph. D., on highly sensitive people, is one of the best things that ever happened to her. Suddenly many ‘flaws’ are understood and she feels liberated. When, through her partner, she finds out about coaching, she realized she has stumbled upon a very valuable tool. After going through a coaching process herself, she knew that this is the kind of work she had been looking for all her life, and set about to get the necessary training and certification with the American Coach Training Alliance. As an HSP, a highly sensitive person and a natural listener, she is able to help other HSPs who feel overwhelmed by a basically non-sensitive world, and to give them the necessary support in exploring their inner strength. As a coach she shows the HSP that there is a lot more to life than just surviving, and that a highly developed sensitivity is not a burden but a gift.