Expat Therapy in The Hague - For Those Living Life Between Cultures
Moving to a new country can be exciting, enriching, and deeply disorienting, sometimes all at once. Whether you have just arrived or have been here for years, the challenges of expat life are real, layered, and often invisible to those around you. I understand this, not only as a psychologist, but as someone who has lived it.
My personal experience:
I Know This World From the Inside
I was born in Turkmenistan and built a career and a life there. Then, when my husband's work took us abroad, I made the decision that so many partners make, I followed. Over the years that followed, I lived in France, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and now the Netherlands. Six countries. Multiple languages. Countless new beginnings.
I know what it means to leave a career behind and rebuild your professional identity in a new country. I know the particular loneliness of arriving somewhere new where everyone else seems to already belong. I know how it feels to raise children across cultures, watching them navigate identities that don't fit neatly into any one box. I know the complexity of an intercultural relationship, and the invisible weight of being the one who always adapts.
I also know how hard it can be to find a therapist who truly understands this world, someone you don't have to spend half your session explaining your life to.
When you work with me, you won't need to do that.
What expat therapy can help with:
What Expat Therapy Can Help With
Expat and international life brings a unique set of psychological challenges that are often underestimated or minimised, even by the people experiencing them. Therapy can help with:
Relocation adjustment — settling into a new country, culture, and way of life
Identity and belonging — navigating questions of who you are when your context keeps changing
Loss of career and professional identity — rebuilding a sense of purpose and direction after leaving work behind to relocate
Loneliness and isolation — building connection in a new place, often without your usual support network
Intercultural relationships — the unique dynamics, tensions, and richness of partnerships across cultures
Parenting across cultures — raising children between languages, identities, and educational systems
Third culture kids — supporting young people who belong everywhere and nowhere at once
The trailing spouse experience — navigating a role that can feel invisible, undervalued, or uncertain
Repatriation — the often-surprising difficulty of returning "home" after years abroad
Anxiety, depression, and burnout — which expat life can both trigger and mask
Grief and loss — missing people, places, and versions of yourself left behind
Cultural adjustment and culture shock — including the later, quieter waves that often go unrecognised
Support for Russian-Speaking Expats
I offer therapy in Russian as well as English. For many Russian-speaking clients, being able to work in their first language, to access feelings and experiences in the words they grew up with, makes a profound difference to the depth and quality of the therapeutic work.
The Russian-speaking expat community in the Netherlands is significant, and the challenges facing Russian-speaking individuals and families living abroad are often particular and complex. Whether you are navigating questions of identity, belonging, cultural difference, or the political and personal complexities of being Russian-speaking in Europe today, this is a space where you can speak freely and be heard without judgment.
Who I Work With
I work with expats, internationals, and globally mobile individuals and families including:
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Newly arrived expats adjusting to life in the Netherlands
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Long-term expats who have been here for years but still feel something is not quite right
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Partners who relocated to support a spouse's career and are navigating their own adjustment
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Professionals in international organisations, embassies, and multinational companies
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Bicultural and multicultural individuals navigating complex identities
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Families raising children between cultures and languages
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People preparing for or returning from international assignments
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Anyone who has ever felt like they belong everywhere and nowhere at the same time
Practical Information
Sessions are available in person in Leidschenveen, The Hague (Den Haag), and online via Zoom for clients anywhere in the Netherlands and worldwide.
All sessions are up to 60 minutes.
Session fees: standard rate - €80 (in person and/or online), reduced rate - €70 (online only)
A free 15-minute initial consultation is available to all new clients.
Sessions available in English and Russian.
Expat life is an extraordinary thing, full of adventure, growth, and possibility. It is also, at times, genuinely hard. If you are finding it hard right now, or simply sense that something could feel better than it does, I would be glad to hear from you.
You have already been brave enough to build a life in a new place. Reaching out is just one more step.