As the festive season approaches, it can be a tough time for many people, especially expats who don’t have the benefit of family nearby to draw upon for support.
Even those with a vast network of family and friends can feel lonely at Christmas as everyone seems far too busy with their own festive preparations to concern themselves with other people’s worries.
At times like this, it can be helpful to call upon the services of a professional therapist, trained to help clients manage the wide range of daily issues that can prove particularly challenging, not just at Christmas, but on other occasions throughout the year as well.
One English-speaking therapist, who was recently recommended to us, and has a special interest in relationship issues in the home, family and at work, is Lindsey Anderson. Having been married, divorced, a working mum, a stay-at-home mum, self-employed and re-located several times herself, Lindsey knows how difficult it is to juggle the roles of parent, partner, professional, wage earner and non-earner.
Lindsey told knowitall.ch, “I know how difficult it is to be your true-self when you’re juggling so many different roles and conflicting emotions. sometimes it just gets too much and you need someone to help you untangle yourself."
After completing her MSc in Organisational Behaviour and Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling, Lindsey set up her own practice from home in Switzerland in 2013, with the aim of providing an English-speaking therapy service to people living in the Vaud area.
Having lived and worked previously in South Africa, Kenya, Italy and then Switzerland, she particularly wants to provide a professional emotional support service to people living away from home, family and friends.
Asked what makes her service different to other counselling practices in the region, Lindsey told us, “From my combined training in person-centred and solution-focused therapy, I’m basically an empathetic and practical counsellor who can really listen and understand but at the same time can use tools and techniques to help in a practical way.
“We’re all so used to being a certain way in the multiple life roles we play, it's important to hear your own voice - unedited - in a place where you feel safe and with someone with whom you feel un-judged, so you can connect to yourself and begin to feel relief. Understanding how you communicate your needs, respond to conflict, view intimacy and express yourself can help you feel better, and lead to change and a way forward."
I also touch on how the client is sensing and experiencing the feelings and thoughts in their body. Although not formally trained in this, I believe that mind and body are interconnected and that it’s important to acknowledge these sensations so that the client can work with their whole self.”
Lindsey helps clients deal with a wide range of issues, but her main areas of support include:
- Break-ups, separation and divorce
- Relationship and communication difficulties
- Change and transition
- Loss, grief and bereavement
- Relational trauma
- Work stress, abuse of power and burn-out
- Anxiety and depression
Lindsey’s clients are typically English-speaking men, women or young adults facing difficulties and needing a safe, confidential and professional person to talk to, helping them through the difficulties and to move forward.
To give you an idea of how Lindsey relates to her clients, one person sent this recommendation to us recently, “As an expat living alone in Switzerland for the past 6 years and having faced three of the toughest years of my life, Lindsey Anderson Counselling offered me a place of peace, honesty and openness. In a time of panic, despair and helplessness, her compassion, patience, analysis and guidance helped me understand my situation, engage with my emotions and start my recovery process. Since seeing Lindsey, I feel a huge difference emotionally, physically and mentally, regaining my self-worth and integrity. I am not 'out of the woods' yet but draw comfort in seeing the progress I have made.
“Lindsey helped me work through a series of very difficult questions I was facing in my personal and professional life. Her approach is deeply empathetic and educational, and our sessions were a safe place for me to express myself and begin the complicated work of looking for solutions and ways to move forward. I heartily recommend Lindsey's warm, insightful, and non-judgmental approach.”
Lindsey Anderson Counselling
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