Personal support
I know how easy it can be to convince yourself that you should be grateful. After all, you chose this life... or perhaps life simply unfolded in a way that brought you here. Either way, there may be much about your life that looks amazing from the outside: you may live in a beautiful place and built a life that others admire.
That can make it surprisingly difficult to acknowledge when parts of that same life feel challenging, because gratitude and struggle have always been able to sit side by side.
I've spoken to many women over the years who quietly question themselves for finding life difficult when, on paper, they have so much to be thankful for. Perhaps you've done the same. Perhaps you've told yourself you should be coping or that you should have figured things out by now.
The truth is that living abroad asks a lot of us. It asks us to adapt, compromise, rebuild, begin again, and often put other people's needs before our own.
Over time, it can become surprisingly easy to lose sight of ourselves amongst everything else life requires.
Over time
One of the hardest things about living abroad is that changes often happen so gradually that you barely notice them at first.
When you first arrive somewhere new, there's so much to focus on: learning how things work, finding your feet, building a life, creating routines, meeting people, and solving practical problems.
Then life settles down.
Years pass.
You become more comfortable. More capable. More experienced. The things that once felt difficult become second nature.
From the outside, that looks like success. And in many ways, it is. However, there can come a point when you realise that whilst you've spent years adapting to new places, circumstances and other people's needs, you haven't spent nearly as much time checking in with yourself.
Perhaps you no longer speak up quite as quickly as you once did. Perhaps financial decisions feel different now that your career has taken a back seat to your partner's. Perhaps you've become so used to accommodating everyone else that you've stopped noticing how often your own needs are the ones that get postponed.
None of this usually happens overnight. That's why it can be so difficult to spot whilst you're living it.
The changes are small. The adjustments make sense. The compromises seem reasonable. Until one day you realise how much of your energy has gone into adapting, and how little attention you've given to what you want next.
I Understand
I left Northern Ireland in 2002. Since then I've lived in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. This life has given me experiences I would never have had if I'd stayed where I grew up. It has introduced me to wonderful people, different cultures and ways of seeing the world.
And yet living abroad has never felt as simple as packing a suitcase and starting again somewhere new.
There have been times when I've questioned where home actually is. Times when I've watched life continue back in Northern Ireland without me. Times when I've felt caught between countries, belonging fully to neither one.
I've experienced what it's like to build a life in places where everything feels unfamiliar at first. I understand the practical realities that come with starting over, again and again, and the emotional realities that often remain invisible to everyone else.
Even now, after all these years, I'm still learning, I'm still adapting, I'm still growing into new versions of myself as life changes around me.
I don’t sit here having figured everything out. I sit here as someone who has walked similar roads and who continues to walk them.
That matters because some conversations feel different when you're speaking with someone who genuinely understands the landscape.
A different conversation
When you and I spend time together, the most important thing is the conversation itself. Having a space where you can speak openly, honestly and without feeling that you need to edit yourself can be surprisingly powerful.
What helps most is being listened to by someone who has enough distance from your situation to notice things that have become difficult for you to see and, at the same time, has experienced and lived through something similar. Sometimes a fresh perspective from someone who understands this life can help untangle things that have felt knotted for a long time.
There are also times when words alone don't seem to reach what's really going on beneath the surface.
In those moments, I may draw upon other approaches that feel appropriate for you and your situation. That might involve a visualisation, a guided meditation, some EFT tapping, intuitive insight, oracle cards, or another supportive practice that helps you see things from a different angle.
The tools themselves are never the focus.
You are.
Between sessions, I may also create, or guide you to, resources that continue supporting you in everyday life, whether that's a guided practice, a colour breathing exercise, a subliminal, or another resource designed around what you need.
Everything, however, begins with listening.
Everything begins with understanding where you are right now.
Small shifts
One thing I've learned through my own life is that meaningful change rarely arrives as a grand revelation. More often, it begins with simple noticing: noticing that you've been dismissing your own opinion, recognising that you've automatically been putting yourself at the bottom of the list, or realising that a thought you've repeated for years may no longer be true.
These things can take time. Sometimes you may leave one of our conversations with a clear sense of what has become visible. Other times, you may leave with a question you'd never considered before. And, often, it can take days or weeks before something settles into place.
There can be a lot of pressure in the world to have answers quickly. However, life doesn’t always work that way.
The things that matter most are often the things that unfold gradually. Confidence tends to return in small moments. Trust in yourself is often rebuilt one decision at a time. A stronger connection with yourself develops through paying attention to who you are now, rather than who you think you should be.
There's no rush. There's simply space to explore what's happening in your life and what you need from this next chapter.
Shall we talk?
As you've read this, if you've found yourself nodding along, perhaps a conversation would feel helpful.
There's no expectation that you arrive with a clear goal or a perfect explanation of what's going on. Many women don’t.
Sometimes all you know is that something feels different, or that a question keeps returning, or that you would like a space where your thoughts and feelings can be heard without judgement.
If that resonates with you, know that I'm here for you when the time is right for you. You are welcome here whenever you feel ready for the conversation.
PRACTICAL DETAILS
Personal Support sessions take place online and last 90 minutes.
The investment is £125 per session.
Because meaningful change rarely happens in a single conversation, I work with women over a period of time rather than on a one-off basis.
This allows us to build a relationship, explore what is happening beneath the surface, and create lasting shifts that wouldn't be possible in a single session.
Every woman and every situation is different. If we decide we are a good fit for one another, we can discuss what level of support feels right for you and your circumstances.
I'd like support
Having read this page, if you feel working together could be helpful, you can take the next step here. This will give me a better understanding of your situation and help us decide whether we're a good fit.
I have a question
If you're interested in Personal Support however would like to ask a question before taking the next step, you're welcome to get in touch. You can send me a message or request a short introductory call.