Expat & Cultural Burnout Therapy for Expats & Digital Nomads

Living abroad can exhaust you in ways that are hard to explain, even when the move was intentional, exciting, or long desired.
Many expats and digital nomads experience a form of burnout that isn’t just about work stress. It’s the cumulative strain of constant adaptation: navigating language, culture, systems, and identity without the familiar supports that once made life feel stable and automatic.
Expat and cultural burnout doesn’t mean you made the wrong decision;
it means your nervous system has been working overtime.

Does this sound familiar?

You feel chronically tired, emotionally flat, or more irritable than you used to be
Simple tasks feel disproportionately draining or overwhelming
You question whether living abroad was a mistake, even if nothing is “wrong” on paper
You feel disconnected from yourself, your motivation, or your sense of direction
You miss familiarity, ease, or the version of yourself you were before the move
You feel pressure to make the move work and guilt for struggling
Rest doesn’t feel restorative, and stress is harder to regulate than before

Many of my clients describe feeling like they’re constantly “on,” linguistically, emotionally, or socially translating themselves, without enough space to recover.
If this resonates, you’re not broken. You’re likely burned out from prolonged adjustment.

You don’t have to navigate this alone. If this feels familiar, you’re warmly invited to book a free consultation to see if working together feels right.

What Is Expat & Cultural Burnout?

Expat burnout develops when long-term relocation stress continues without enough safety, predictability, or emotional grounding.
Unlike traditional burnout, this isn’t only about workload. It’s about the loss of autopilot.
When you live abroad, your nervous system is constantly scanning. You might notice:

Unfamiliar language and social cues
New rules, systems, and expectations
Reduced support networks
Shifts in identity, belonging, and autonomy

Over time, this sustained effort can erode your sense of agency and make everyday stress feel personal, threatening, or overwhelming.
Burnout, in this context, is not a failure of resilience. Rather, it’s a signal that your system needs more stability, rest, and regulation.

Why Burnout Can Feel More Intense Abroad

Relocation often carries emotional and symbolic weight: freedom, love, reinvention, opportunity. When reality feels harder than expected, stress can quickly turn into self-doubt.Instead of “this is hard,” the internal story becomes:

“I shouldn’t be struggling.”
“Other people are handling this better.”
“If this feels bad, I made the wrong choice.”

This added pressure increases nervous system threat and deepens burnout. What might have been manageable stress becomes chronic exhaustion, anxiety, or withdrawal.

How I Can Help

Therapy for expat and cultural burnout is not about pushing through, forcing gratitude, or trying to “make the most of it.”
It’s about restoring safety, agency, and internal stability, so living abroad becomes sustainable again.
My approach is trauma-informed, nervous-system focused, and grounded in evidence-based therapy. We move at a pace that respects your capacity, rather than adding to the pressure you’re already carrying.
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Here’s how we’ll work together:

Calming the nervous system and reducing emotional overload
Restoring a sense of choice, control, and predictability in daily life
Making space for grief, ambivalence, and complexity around living abroad
Changing how you relate to stress, uncertainty, and identity shifts

Often, small and stabilising changes create meaningful relief.

How I Can Help

Nervous System Regulation & Burnout Recovery
‍We’ll explore how stress is showing up in your body and work with grounding, rest, and predictability to support regulation, without self-judgment or pressure to “cope better.”
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
‍This work helps you step out of constant evaluation (for example, “Was this move a mistake?”) and reconnect with values, meaning, and flexibility, even when life abroad feels uncertain or unresolved.
Cognitive & Identity-Based Work
‍We’ll examine beliefs around success, failure, belonging, and self-worth that often intensify during expat life and contribute to burnout.
Stability & Agency Building
Together, we’ll identify practical ways to reintroduce familiarity, choice, and emotional safety into your daily routines so your system can begin to settle.

This work isn’t about fixing you.
It’s about helping your nervous system recover so you can relate to life abroad with more steadiness, clarity, and self-trust.

How It Works

Free Consultation
We’ll meet for ~15 minutes so you can share what’s hardest and ask questions.
There is no pressure to commit; this is a space to ask questions and see whether working together feels right for you.

In-take & Mapping
In our first full session, we’ll explore how burnout has developed in your life abroad and identify the areas where your system needs more support.

Ongoing Therapy
We’ll meet weekly (or as agreed) to work with regulation, stress patterns, identity shifts, and recovery. Sessions are collaborative and paced.

Integration & Maintenance
As stability returns, we focus on maintaining balance, recognising early signs of burnout, and supporting long-term sustainability abroad.

Starting therapy can feel like a big step, especially if past support hasn’t always felt safe. My goal is to make this process clear, collaborative, and paced in a way that respects your nervous system.

Book a Free Consultation

What Clients Often Notice

With consistent work, many clients report:

Feeling calmer and less emotionally reactive
Reduced exhaustion and mental overload
Greater clarity about whether challenges are adjustment-related or something else
More self-compassion and less self-blame
A renewed sense of agency and direction abroad
Feeling more at home in their body — even if life remains complex

Frequently Asked Questions About Self-Compassion & Inner-Healing

Isn’t self-compassion just being “soft” on myself?

Not at all. Self-compassion isn’t about lowering standards, it’s about changing how you relate to yourself while you grow. Most people find they accomplish more, not less, once they stop motivating themselves with shame. It’s learning to stay kind even when you fall short, so growth feels steady, not punishing.

What if self-compassion feels fake or uncomfortable?

That’s actually very normal. If you’ve spent years being self-critical, gentleness can feel unnatural, even threatening. In therapy, we work on helping that kindness feel earned, not indulgent. It’s not about positive thinking; it’s about building trust with yourself again.

Can therapy help me forgive myself or quiet guilt?

Yes. Forgiveness isn’t about excusing what happened; it’s about releasing the constant replay of guilt and regret. Many clients realize their harsh inner voice once kept them safe or successful, but it’s now holding them back. We’ll explore how to hold accountability and self-understanding at the same time, without collapsing into shame.

How does self-compassion actually help healing?

Healing isn’t about perfection, it’s about relationship. When you start meeting your pain with curiosity instead of judgment, you create space for real change. That’s the foundation of inner-healing: not “fixing” yourself, but befriending yourself again.

If you’d like to learn more about my background and approach, you can read more about me here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to common questions aboutstarting online therapy, sessions, and what to expect.

How do I get started?

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I am currently accepting new clients. Complete the contact form (link below). You can share what you're struggling with and what you're hoping to get out of therapy, or keep it brief if you're unsure of how to describe things right now.
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We’ll then schedule a free 15-minute consultation, where we can talk about what’s been feeling difficult and see whether working together feels like a good fit. There’s no obligation, it’s simply a chance to ask questions and get a sense of next steps.

Online contact form here.

What is your fee?

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My fee is 100 euros for one 50-minute session.
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We can begin with a free 15-minute consultation, so you can ask questions and see whether working together feels like a good fit before committing.

Do you offer sliding scale sessions?

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Yes, I offer a limited number of reduced-rate sessions for clients experiencing financial constraints.

If cost is a concern, feel free to mention this when you reach out and we can see whether availability allows.

What is your cancellation policy?

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Due to the very limited nature of appointments, you will be charged the full fee for cancellations with less than a 48-hour notice. I reserve your therapy time just for you, and last-minute cancellations do not allow me enough time to schedule someone else in that slot.

This policy allows me to manage my schedule fairly and ensures availability is respected.

Is there anything outside of your scope?

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Yes. Being clear about the scope of my work is a key part of ethical care.

I work with individual adults (18+), supporting concerns such as anxiety, trauma, grief, emotional regulation, burnout, relationship challenges, and life transitions, including the emotional impact of expat and digital nomad life.

There are certain areas, however, that fall outside my scope of practice. If any of the following apply, I will help you explore more appropriate care options or refer you to a trusted specialist:
• Active suicidal or homicidal thoughts, with a current plan or intent
• Ongoing self-harm behaviours (e.g., cutting, burning)
• Significant substance use or addiction requiring medical or inpatient support
• Psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations or delusions)
• Psychological or diagnostic testing needs. Note: I am partnered with Mind Clinic in Budapest (www.mind.hu). This clinic offers robust psychological and diagnostic testing remotely via video.
• Full DBT programs requiring group skills training or 24/7 phone coaching

While I integrate DBT principles into my work, I do not offer a full DBT program. If that level of support is needed, I’ll help you connect with a program that provides it.
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My goal is always to ensure you receive care that truly fits your needs, whether that’s with me or with another qualified professional.

Do you offer in-person sessions?

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My practice is fully online, and I offer therapy via a secure Zoom link.

Working online allows me to support expats and digital nomads wherever they're based, while also giving clients the flexibility to fit therapy into their lives without commuting or navigating local healthcare systems.

Online research is well-research and effective, and for many people - especially those living abroad, it can feel more accessible and consistent than in-person sessions. I write more about this in my article "How to Pick a Therapist" if you'd like to explore this further. You can find the article HERE

Is your practice LGBTQ+ friendly?

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Yes. My practice is fully LGBTQ+ affirming and inclusive. I welcome clients of all gender identities, sexual orientations and relationship structures, and I am committed to providing a space where you can show-up exactly as you are - without judgement or assumption.