For many people living with a phobia, fear shapes daily decisions, limits opportunities and quietly dictates routines. At Kindt Clinics London, Vivian is helping change that.
As Registered Manager and Psychologist, Vivian leads the UK’s first clinic offering the Memrec method – an innovative treatment developed from more than 25 years of research into fear memory and memory reconsolidation. Located in the heart of the Harley Street Health District, Kindt Clinics is bringing a pioneering, evidence-based approach to patients seeking freedom from debilitating phobias.
“I wish more people understood that phobias are actually quite debilitating. Even though there’s an element that makes them funny, it doesn’t mean it’s funny to live with one… just because you don’t encounter fear every day doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a huge impact on your quality of life.”
Vivian’s journey began in research. Having completed a Research Master’s in Clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam, she joined the University’s internationally recognised Emotional Memory Lab under Professor Merel Kindt. There, she investigated how fear memories are formed, stored and, how they can be changed.
Working alongside Professor Kindt, Vivian witnessed the evolution of the Memrec method from academic discovery into clinical application. Today, she continues to bridge those two worlds, combining patient care with ongoing research, training and international expansion to ensure new scientific discoveries reach the people who need them most.
“It’s very rare to be able to do the scientist-practitioner model — to work from research, use evidence-based data and treatments we developed, and apply it to clinical practice. One foot in academia, the other in clinical practice… at the turn of the century we learned we could do this with memory in animals. Merel’s research escalated that into lab-based experiments with humans, and eventually developed it into a treatment we utilize today at Kindt Clinics.”
That journey ultimately led Kindt Clinics from Amsterdam to London.
For Vivian, establishing the clinic within the Harley Street Health District was a natural progression, due to it’s concentration of world-leading clinicians, specialist providers, researchers and healthcare innovators. This creates an environment where collaboration happens organically and new ideas can be tested and adopted more rapidly.
Since 2018, Kindt Clinics has treated more than 3,500 patients, reporting significant fear reduction in 95% of cases. The clinic’s work has attracted international attention, including through Channel 4’s documentary The Fear Clinic, and continues to challenge traditional assumptions about what effective treatment for phobias can look like.
For Vivian, success is also measured by the moments that follow treatment: patients boarding a plane for the first time in years, attending an MRI scan without panic, or simply walking through life no longer constrained by fear.
“At the moment our success rate is 83%, which is pretty high for psychological interventions. That’s full remission of fear — meaning that someone, through the use of questionnaires, their own report, and the clinician, all agree that there is no longer a phobia.”
Looking ahead, Vivian believes the greatest opportunities lie in strengthening the connection between research and frontline healthcare. The faster evidence can move from the laboratory into clinical practice, the sooner patients can benefit from new discoveries.
When asked to describe the District, she chose three words:
“Beauty, innovation, and interconnectedness”
Explore previous People of Harley Street Health District episodes, including Dr Lauren Flynn, Head of Medical Operations at Tandem Health, and Miss Samantha Tross, Consultant Hip and Knee Orthopaedic Surgeon, Fortius Clinic.
