Leni de Mik, PhD

Dr. Leni de Mik’s remarkable journey spans continents, traditions, and profound human experiences. Her childhood was shaped by the harsh realities of war—bombing raids, famine, and her father’s courageous involvement in the Dutch Resistance. These early experiences instilled in her a deep understanding of moral choice and standing for human dignity.

At eight years old, Leni emigrated with her family to Canada, beginning a lifelong exploration of displacement, belonging, and resilience. Her educational path led her to Calvin College in Michigan and the University of Ohio, igniting her critical thinking and validating her existential questions. She earned her PhD at the University of Minnesota.

Before dedicating over four decades to clinical psychology, Dr. de Mik walked many paths—teaching in Appalachia, administering a baccalaureate-degree-granting Experimental College at the University of Minnesota, creating a program for gifted children in poor families, and engaging actively in antiwar and civil rights movements. Her professional journey reveals a consistent thread of service, compassion, and social justice.

After studying with pioneering psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (also a WW2 survivor), Leni wrote a master’s thesis on care of the terminally ill (1977) and became a founding member of the first coalition for terminal care. Together with a committee at the Center for Spirituality and Healing, she wrote a course for end-of-life care for the medical school at the University of Minnesota, and helped establish the first hospice program in Minneapolis.

Dr. de Mik’s global perspective has been shaped by living in four countries and holding citizenship in three. In the 1960s, she lived in Munich, Germany, where she taught GIs at a military base. Along the way, she purchased and lived in a small stone home in an artists’ colony in Dardanelles, Turkey. Leni is a long-time scuba diver and has hitchhiked alone on two of the world’s most dangerous roads in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountains.

Her spiritual journey has been equally expansive. Raised in the Christian Calvinist tradition, she later received instruction in both Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. Leni attended the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center regularly for years beginning in the late 1970s and served on its Board of Directors. In 2000, she was among the first certified to teach Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB), a secular program for managing destructive emotions; the program emerged from dialogues between the Dalai Lama and renowned scientists at the Mind and Life Institute.

Through her extensive clinical practice, Dr. de Mik has developed profound insight into trauma, resilience, and the complexities of the human psyche. She has lectured on surviving adversity, led therapy groups for individuals with PTSD, volunteered in disaster relief efforts, and extended hospitality to refugees. Dr. de Mik was honored with the Linden Hills Treasure Award in 2024 for her ongoing community service in her Twin Cities neighborhood.

Now retired and living in Minneapolis, Leni remains faithful to her teachings—converting her garage to a neighborhood-gathering place, hosting Sunday potlucks, offering wellness classes at community centers, teaching meditation at a local church, and occasionally appearing in local media. Her book, How Shall I Stand Between River and Land?, draws from this rich tapestry of experience to explore the power of the heart, the importance of self-awareness, and the necessity of cultivating courage and compassion in an increasingly divided world.

At 84, Leni de Mik continues her lifelong quest to understand the intricacies of the human heart and to encourage a more compassionate and interconnected way of being. As she reflects, “Perhaps that’s why I’ve spent most of my life exploring the sense of belonging, purpose, and connectedness.”