Expat Counseling

Are You An Expat Looking For Therapy In Your Native Language?

Are you a French expat living in America looking for a French-speaking psychologist? Or conversely, are you an Anglophile living in France who would prefer to find an English-speaking therapist who understands the expat experience? As an expat, do you feel isolated being immersed in a different culture and think you may benefit from counseling?

When you live abroad it can be difficult making the transition into a new culture. Not only do you have to master another language, but you need to navigate a whole new way of life for yourself and perhaps your family. The challenges of apartment hunting, navigating school enrollment, or setting up the utilities are made exceptionally daunting as an expat when you have to complete them in a different language and within a foreign culture.

Living as an expatriate might have drawbacks that you didn’t anticipate before you relocated. Perhaps you didn’t expect integrating into a different culture to be so difficult and so you feel isolated and alienated from the world around you. This lack of connection may be causing you mental distress, including anxiety and depression.

You May Be A Settled Expat Who Needs Support 

If you have been an expat for some time, you have likely adjusted to the culture. Nevertheless, you may be experiencing the symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, or going through a divorce. You might like the idea of seeking therapy but want to speak with someone in your mother tongue whose cultural sensibilities are in line with your own.

Luckily, expat counseling for French and English-speaking people is available to you. As a therapist who has spent equal parts of my life in America and France, I am fluent in the language and norms of both cultures. Being able to express yourself in your native tongue can make therapy far more beneficial.

Expat Counseling Provides The Support You Need In Your Own Language

I am a therapist uniquely qualified to treat the expat communities in both France and the United States. Because of my bicultural lifestyle, I am intimately familiar with how to convey meaning in each language and understand the importance of true expression when it comes to therapy.

Living in both countries has given me insight into the sensibilities of both cultures while also understanding the expat experience of those currently in the midst of the transition process. I can speak to what it’s like to be a foreigner in both places. As an expat, finding therapy in your native language will make it more rewarding. What you need to express comes from the heart and is best spoken in your mother tongue. 

What To Expect In Sessions

Our sessions together will be geared to tackle anything that may be troubling you. Perhaps feelings of isolation, overwhelm, or regret related to your expat experience have been causing distress. Or maybe you’re fully acclimated to your environment but struggle with anxiety, depression, or your relationship. We will begin by taking a look back at what has led you here and then endeavor to identify what patterns have repeated throughout your life.

In ongoing sessions, we will explore the interplay between the physical symptoms you may be experiencing and your thoughts and beliefs. Once you understand how your beliefs affect you physically, I will show you how you can process and reframe those beliefs so that they no longer influence you negatively. 

The Modalities I Use

Your experience as an outsider may be exacerbating your anxiety, making it harder for you to cope with its symptoms. You may believe that you are unable to break into the culture and that you are unwelcome in your environment. In therapy, you will get a chance to examine these thoughts and come to understand how much you believe and identify with them. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be a beneficial way to help you reframe thought patterns that will promote behavior change. CBT offers strategies to remain in the present moment. You may be used to distracting yourself whenever you encounter discomfort, never allowing yourself to connect with what’s going on when distressful emotions arise. CBT encourages you to check in with what you are feeling, become aware of negative thoughts and beliefs, and make room for a new mindset that is free from fear. I will also show you relaxation methods—such as breathing and meditation—to help subdue unwelcome reactions.

No matter if you are French or English speaking, expat counseling can be the difference between an unsatisfying therapy experience and a meaningful one where transformation and growth can take place.