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Everything I have written about life abroad, grouped by subject. Open a heading, or search.

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If you read one thing Half of You Didn't Get on the Plane A big part of you never lived inside you. It lived in your streets and your people.
I Moved Abroad and I'm Miserable I Just Moved Abroad and I'm Panicking Culture Shock Isn't the Problem I Made a Mistake Moving Here Everyone Says Give It a Year. It's Been a Year. I Don't Belong Here But I Don't Belong There Either I Have Friends Here But I Still Feel Alone
You Left Home. Now What? Nobody Here Knows the Real Me The Person You Are in Your Own Language Adult Third Culture Kids: What Therapy Gets Wrong Why You Can't Decide Whether to Stay or Go Thinking About Moving Back Home Why You Keep Repeating the Same Patterns
I Moved Abroad for My Partner and I've Lost Myself My Relationship Is Falling Apart After Moving Abroad I Resent My Partner for Bringing Me Here I'm Jealous of My Partner's Life Here
The Loneliness of Competence You're Not Failing. You're Disappearing. The In-Between: On Being a Postdoc
Grieving From the Wrong Country Why Living Abroad Is So Tiring
How to Choose a Therapist When You Live Abroad Expat Mental Healthcare: A 34-Country Reference The GGZ Waiting List: Getting Therapy in English Sooner Therapy in English in Germany Without Insurance
Therapy for trailing spouses Couples therapy after moving abroad Therapy for academics & postdocs abroad
I'm an expat, but I'm not here for an expat-related issue.Start from the main page

Not sure which one is yours? That is a normal place to start. Say a few sentences and I will read them myself.

In short Expat therapy is online therapy in English for people living abroad. Often the move did not cause what is now surfacing. It removed the structures that had been holding it in place. Sessions are weekly, in English, across time zones. For expats, third culture kids, trailing spouses, and internationals. For identity, isolation, or relationship strain after a move.

Therapy for expats is online therapy in English for people living abroad. I am Aaron Platt, a US-trained therapist based in Copenhagen. I work with expats, internationals and dual-culture households in more than 30 countries. Individuals and couples, over secure video, in weekly 60-minute sessions. I have lived this from the inside. I live abroad myself and I am raising children between cultures. You will not spend session time explaining what it is like.

Who this is for

People who moved and found that the move did not cause the problem. It removed what was hiding it. You are functional. Life looks stable on paper. And something has shifted underneath: a loneliness that does not lift in company, a flatness in a life that should feel full, a marriage that started arguing about the country and is really arguing about something older. Some clients are two years in and the adjustment is harder than expected. Some are a decade in and something with no link to the country has caught up with them. Some moved for a partner and cannot find themselves in the new place. Some move every year or two and want a therapist who moves with them.

What I do

The work is psychodynamic and pattern-focused. I do not run intake checklists and I do not assign homework. I pay attention to what happens in the session, the moments when something shifts or goes flat, and the pattern that keeps showing up underneath the problem. Most people already know their story. What is missing is someone watching in real time who can name what you cannot see from inside it. Being an expat is the context, not the diagnosis. The patterns you brought with you, the ones that grew in response to the move, and the ones the move exposed are the work.

Why English matters

Therapy works through language. It works through the exact words you reach for and the nuances a therapist catches. In a second language people speak more carefully, more managed. What gets lost is often what therapy needs. Working in your first language gives you your full range back. I have written a longer essay on why the move reveals more than it causes, and on what the research says about expat mental health. If English is the language you want the work in, start with the English-speaking therapist page.

Not sure yet? That's what the free call is for.

Request a free 15-min call

How it works

The first step is a free 15-minute call. We talk about what is going on and whether the way I work fits what you need. There is no obligation to continue. From there, sessions are weekly and run 60 minutes by secure video, at a time that works in your time zone. If you move again, you keep your therapist. Couples join from one screen or two.

What it costs

The work is private-pay, payable in any currency by card or bank transfer. No insurer is billed. Nothing enters a local health record. The fee is discussed on the free call, and the practical terms are on the fees page. I work outside every national scheme. No public system covers the sessions. I can provide receipts for your records. For how therapy is paid for where you live, I keep country guides with 2026 figures: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, plus a 34-country reference.

Next step

If something here has hit home, the free call is the way to find out whether this fits. It is a conversation, not a sales pitch. Not available to clients based in the United States.

Frequently asked questions

Why should I see a therapist in English instead of in the local language?

Therapy works through the nuances of language: the specific words you use and the subtleties a therapist picks up on. Working in a second language often flattens emotional texture, which limits the depth of the work. Therapy in your first language lets you access the full range of your experience.

What if I move to another country during therapy?

You keep your therapist. Because sessions are online, your therapy doesn't depend on where you live. Many of my clients have relocated during our work together without interruption.

Do you work across different time zones?

Yes. I work with clients across every time zone and scheduling is flexible. We'll find a time that works for your location.

Do you work with trailing spouses and partners who moved for someone else?

Yes, often. The trailing-spouse experience is a specific kind of disorientation. Your partner has a job and a built-in reason to be in this country, and you have the country itself and whatever you can make of it. A 2018 review of the research found that the one who came along has the harder time of the two. It calls that evidence limited. The work often involves separating what belongs to you from what the move has piled onto you. See trailing spouse.

What happens in the first session?

Before we book anything, there is a free 15-minute call. The first full session is mostly you talking and me listening for the shape of the thing: what brought you here and what you keep returning to. You do not need to arrive with it organized. A few sentences is enough to start.