for
go away CLOSER
Whether you've come to Berlin with your partner or family - expat life is exciting AND can be quite challenging at the same time. Far away from home, from our support network, it can feel overwhelming to deal with life's incessant demands, especially when things get rough.
While one partner might find it difficult to fit in the new (work) environment, the other is likely to experience his/her own set of challenges around living abroad. Expat life is an adventure and often brings couples and families closer together, the downside is, however, that partners tend to rely heavily on each other to regulate difficult emotions. Over time, this can be emotionally draining - even more so if feelings of guilt or resentment about going abroad are involved or both partners differ vastly in their enthusiasm and ability to adapt to the new place.
It goes without saying that the relationship dynamics and struggles experienced by expat and binational couples have a lot in common with those of other couples, and yet these couples often face additional challenges (and blessings!) specific to their situation, including cultural identity, dependency & language issues.
For expat and binational couples it is, therefore, even more important to attune to their partner's needs, explore sensibilities and mutually understand and accept each other to ensure that both partners feel at home in the relationship - even far away from home.
Expats & binational couples
AND ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUPLES
EMOTION-FOCUSED COUPLES THERAPY
expats
FOR
i hear you - and i am here to help
We all experience strong emotions around LOVE and easily feel lost, fearful and in deep pain when something is off in our relationship. Whether we feel misunderstood, constantly fight or become increasingly estranged from our partner, we all tend to trade curiosity for criticism and let our frustration and fears have the better of us.
I can tell you with confidence that it is possible to build a bridge, make repairs and work toward resolution as a team. Relationships last primarily because we have learned to handle the hard times with love and care. They last because both partners are willing to wholeheartedly commit to the relationship and work on themselves rather than trying to change their partner.
I am here to help you get an expansive view of your relationship dynamics and guide you to the very core of it - always with the goal of resolving conflict and turning towards love in mind.
Why work with me?
I have years of experience of working with individuals and couples from across the globe, a passion that had already led me to study International Relations and work as a simultaneous interpreter in my first career.
I grew up in a binational household myself and studied and worked in various countries over the years. Having lived in India with my husband for 8 years, I know expat life and the many challenges it comes with first hand.
And so it also made sense to me to learn couples therapy directly from renowned South African / Canadian psychotherapist Prof. Dr. Leslie Greenberg, one of the originators of Emotion-Focused Therapy for individuals and couples. I have since deepened and widened my focus towards a truly integrative approach, continously learning from international experts - as well as from the clients I work with.
couple therapy can support you to
-
re-create the loving connection you once shared
-
feel seen and heard
-
get important needs met
-
align your life visions in a way that makes both partners happy
-
address even difficult topics mindfully
-
heal wounds, recover from betrayals, affairs and heartbreak
-
enhance emotional safety, intimacy and trust
-
make your relationship a priority again
-
feel lighter and more positive about your relationship
-
love and feel loved more deeply
ANd if it doesn't work out?
Sometimes change seems more frightening than giving up. Sometimes the cracks are beyond repair, the flame can no longer be revived...and sometimes our vision of the future no longer aligns with that of our partner.
Even though I will always support you with all my heart to grow back together as a couple, for some couples considering a separation might be the wisest solution to end insurmountable differences and open the path to a new, more fulfilling life and relationship.
If one, or both, partners decide to split up, I will support and guide you in the spirit of Katherine Woodward Thomas' "Conscious Uncoupling" process, so that you can get through this highly emotionally challenging time in the best possible way - even more so if you have CHILDREN.
You will learn how to interact with your ex-partner respectfully and find practical, mutual beneficial solutions, for your own sake and that of your children. I will help you emerge from the crisis as peaceful and strong as possible - and build a stable foundation for your future love life - as unthinkable as this may seem at the time.