Therapy for Expats

Navigating life in a new place on Earth.

Hello, I’m Max West, a Senior Accredited Psychotherapist and Counsellor with the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy).

I grew up in the US, and emigrated to the UK after attending Yale University.  Because of this life experience, I am aware of the adjustments that are required of people when they arrive in a new culture, geography and place. 

I am happy to work with expats/immigrants from around the world who wish to explore their experience of leaving a country of origin and its culture/language, and adjusting to life in the UK or another country.  I practice in London - a very multi-cultural city - and I have worked with expats from the US, Canada, France, Hungary, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Finland, Portugal and Ireland, both in person and online.

Some expats may experience issues particular to their immigration, such as:

  • adjusting to a new language, new customs and social norms;

  • making friends; ‘fitting in’ in a workplace, neighbourhood or other communal environment;

  • applying for work permits, residency, nationality;

  • navigating systems and services such as the Health Service, Home Office or benefits systems;

  • sending children to school in a new educational system and culture;

  • subtle or blatant experiences of racism or xenophobia.

In addition, I am aware that simply being in a new place can bring feelings of isolation, loneliness and ‘homesickness’, even when the move is chosen.  It may be that the issues expats want to talk about do not have to do with being away from their homeland; nonetheless, they may wish to see an expat therapist in order to find some familiarity or resonance:

  • An expat may want to find a therapist who is a native English speaker like them, because they now live in a country where English is not the native tongue; 

  • An expat may want to find a therapist from North America, because they grew up there and find comfort in a shared way of speaking English and some shared cultural norms;

  • An expat may want to find an expat therapist, because they want to know that at least some part of their lived experience of moving countries resonates with the therapist.

I offer online and in-person sessions, and have adaptability to work with clients in different timezones.  You may wish to explore the rest of my website to see the types of issues I work with.  Therapy is normally offered between the hours of 08:00-17:00 BST. I welcome you to get in touch to see if working together could be helpful to you.