Professional Counseling in English Lisbon & Mafra · Portugal
Professional Counseling in English Lisbon & Mafra · Portugal
Expat Counseling
You can love the life you chose — and still find parts of it harder than you imagined.
Moving abroad can be exciting, liberating and deeply rewarding. It can also change much more than your home address. Relationships shift. Familiar roles and routines disappear. Your sense of identity and belonging can change.
You may miss people you love — or sense that they have complicated feelings about your leaving. New friendships and a sense of community can take time. And sometimes a new environment brings old issues or familiar patterns into sharper focus.
What Can Change When You Move Abroad?
Some challenges appear quickly. Others emerge only after the excitement of the initial move has settled down.
Couples Adjusting Differently
Missing Family & Friends
Building New Friendships
Guilt or Regret
Changing Roles: Work & Retirement
Changing Roles: Work & Retirement
Navigating Cultural Differences
Deciding Whether to Stay or Leave
Old Issues in a New Place
We've Made the Move, Too
As Americans who have made Portugal our home, we understand some of the unexpected challenges of building a life in another country.
Our experience won't be the same as yours, but some of the realities of living far from home don't require explanation.
Living abroad also doesn't have to be the subject of your counseling. You may want help with a relationship, anxiety, grief, family problems or something else entirely.
Two Experienced Perspectives
Steven and Arlette each work independently with expats.
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Steven brings expertise in psychophysiology, biofeedback and Gottman-informed approaches that led to his development of Interpersonal Biofeedback. Arlette brings a creative and integrative perspective informed by art and expressive therapies, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) and structured approaches to infidelity recovery.
A complimentary consultation
A complimentary consultation gives you an opportunity to share a little about what's going on, get your questions answered and get a feel for whether the fit is right.