A blog about the good expat life

When I first moved abroad, I thought I was prepared. I had the language. I had the professional identity. I knew how to build a life. What I had not anticipated was the quiet, relational impact of living between cultures. The way that your sense of self shifts depending on where you are. The way belonging becomes layered and, at times, fragile. The way your nervous system has to work harder when everything familiar is no longer around you. Having lived as an expat in three di

Living abroad can look exciting from the outside: new places, new languages, new people, new possibilities. And it truly can be all of that. But having lived abroad myself for many years, I also know how quietly heavy expat life can feel. One of the things that surprised me most was loneliness that didn’t always look like loneliness. I could be busy, productive, surrounded by people – and still feel deeply unseen. Not because anyone was unkind, but because connection often ta

Expat life can be testing on any marriage, and studies show that nearly 70% of all failed international assignments are due to “marital breakdown”. Breaking up a marriage is always an emotional challenge, and the reasons may vary from having grown apart or having different life goals to infidelity, violence, and/or verbal abuse, disagreements over children, lack of intimacy, as well as not being able to support each other through life’s curve balls. The list is as long as you

Five Tips to Create more Closeness and Emotional Connection with your Partner.   Whether we choose to marry or not, we all enter romantic...

Navigating the Difficult Terrain of Betrayal and Recovery Infidelity is a challenging topic, often evoking deep emotional responses and...

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about...

Many, if not most, couples experience disagreements, conflicts, and crises at some stage of their relationship. These can break trust,...

... unfortunately, isn't always the adventure that you had hoped it to be. This blogpost will explore why and what to do to prevent...

In my practice, I see lots of couples. Couples who love each other, hurt each other, keep fighting for the relationship, keep having the...

As a couple's therapist working with couples of all ages and genders, across many cultures, religions, and nationalities, I recognise...

Couples meeting each other with criticism, defensiveness, contempt, stone walling as well as lack of positive emotional connection face...

Co-dependency in an expat relationship is not necessarily the same as an unhealthy co-dependent relationship. And perhaps it shouldn't...

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about...

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about...

One of the biggest challenges of the expat adventure and most vital to successful outcome of the expatriation contract is the wellbeing...

With the Danish government having introduced a national lockdown, many couples and families begin to feel the strain of having swopped...

Couples expat life challenges therapy counselling