At times when you are finding yourself low on energy, not as happy, living in Berlin can become isolating and feel like you have no ground underneath your feet. Because of moving from one country to another, family or your relationship become your “home”, and it can be all the more difficult if you are no longer sure about your relationship, are considering separation or dealing with loss. At such times, counselling may help to support you to find your own strengths again, reconnect with the things that are important to you and find a new, more positive as well as more grounded way forward.
Challenges of international and intercultural relationships
Are you finding yourself no longer really talking with your partner, but at each other? Or have you stopped really speaking with each other at all? And even when you are trying to do or say something different, all the other person seems to hear are words of hurt. When it seems impossible to come out of some of these cycles that seem to have determined your relationship by yourself, it can help to speak to someone who does not take any sides, but helps the both of you, (or, in case of a family, all family members) to express some of the things you want to say in a safe environment, with the hope of getting out of these cycles and finding new, more positive ways forward, that are actually more in line with how you would like your relationship to be.
As an international or expat couple or family this stress of communication may at times be even harder. There is the stress of living in a country different from your country of origin where you may not speak the language fluently (with all the feelings of dependency that come from that), or have difficulty finding good friends outside of your relationship. If you have moved around a lot and your relationship and family have become your “home”, it hurts all the more to be arguing so much, to contemplate separation or to lose a family member. And if you both have a different cultural background you may also have quite different ways of communicating, which can make these situations even more difficult to navigate.
My approach
By reconnecting with what is important to you, your relationship, and as a family, I use my professional experience as a family & couples therapist as well as my personal experiences of what it is like to move countries a lot and live in an intercultural relationship to support you to work through the issues you are experiencing and help you improve your confidence, communication and your connection to each other.
Languages
I mainly work in English, but can include German, Dutch and Spanish in the session as well, depending on whatever languages you speak. Especially in the case of past traumatic or particularly stressful experiences, it can help to work through these issues in your mother tongue alongside the language you speak together as a couple and/or family. Please note my level of Spanish does unfortunately not allow me to conduct a full session in Spanish, but I could assist in translating some things to your partner or help you work through a traumatic experience in Spanish.
I enjoy working with people of all races, religions, sexual orientations, genders, ages, abilities, cultures, spirituality, and ethnicities.