Dr. Katinka van der Merwe is an internationally respected pioneer in the treatment of neurologic dysfunction and chronic pain. She is best known for developing a groundbreaking approach to healing the nervous system that has brought lasting relief to patients from over 50 countries—many of whom had been told there was no hope.
Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr. Katinka followed in the footsteps of her father, a well-known chiropractor, and moved to the United States at age 20 to pursue her degree from Parker College of Chiropractic. For years, she practiced within the boundaries of traditional care—until she encountered her first CRPS patient. That encounter became the turning point in her career and marked the beginning of her mission to redefine what’s possible in healing.
As she searched for answers to help that first patient, she began uncovering the root of many complex chronic conditions: a malfunctioning nervous system stuck in survival mode. Long before it became a mainstream topic, Dr. Katinka was researching the role of the vagus nerve in neurological illness, trauma response, and chronic pain. She understood early on that this powerful nerve acts as a communication superhighway between the brain and body—and that supporting it could unlock profound healing potential.
Her philosophy was born from the belief that the body can only heal when the nervous system feels safe enough to shift out of fight-or-flight. This led to the development of her Neurologic Rehabilitation Program, a non-invasive, multi-modal system that gently retrains the brain and nervous system to restore balance and function.
In 2012, she opened The Spero Clinic in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Since then, her team has helped hundreds of patients with severe neurologic conditions like CRPS, POTS, fibromyalgia, EDS, and long COVID reach levels of recovery once thought impossible. Dr. Katinka believes healing is not just physical—it’s emotional, relational, and deeply personal. Her clinic is built on a foundation of radical empathy and relentless hope.
She is the author of Taming the Beast: A Guide to Conquering Fibromyalgia and Putting Out the Fire: New Hope for CRPS, and a featured voice in Wakeup: Miracles of Healing from Around the World. Her most recent book, A Paradigm Shift in Treating EDS/POTS, won the 2024 International Book Award for Health & Alternative Medicine.
Dr. Katinka is currently collaborating on a clinical study with a major U.S. university to further validate her method.
As a speaker, writer, and healer, she continues to challenge the medical status quo and inspire a global movement toward true, whole-person healing.
