The Importance of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for Expats in Government Service: Strengthening the Self and Family Stability

Living and working abroad as an expatriate government official can be quite challenging. While such roles often come with prestige and professional growth, they also bring stressors that can affect an individual's mental health and the well-being of their family. Psychodynamic psychotherapy for expats can be a vital tool for maintaining emotional stability and fostering family harmony, offering a meaningful approach to managing the complexities of life.

Why choose Psychodynamic Psychotherapy?

Psychodynamic psychotherapy goes a step further and delves into the unconscious processes that shape thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, emphasizing on how experiences and internal conflicts might influence present dynamics, making it uniquely suited to address the deep-rooted psychological challenges often faced by expatriates.

Some key areas that I suggest working on are:

1. The stability of the Self

Working as an expatriate government official often requires integrating complex personal and professional identities. To reach a level of integration of identities one needs to explore inner conflicts and to build the 'strength of ego'.

2. The family cohesion

A tailored therapeutic support design for expatriate families might include the strengthening of communication, by uncovering the emotional patters and reducing the conflicts. Creating a safe space in therapy for these to be resurfaced and processed by the dynamic duo of therapist-client is vital, and acts as a compass for out-of-therapy interactions.

3: The added value for government officials

Government officials are often expected to maintain composure and professionalism under significant stress. Mental health support for government officials abroad should help the person navigate to their emotional triggers and possible unconscious biases, based on their relational patterns, something that improves the ability and skill of diplomacy and professional related skills, preventing possible burnout.

To conlcude, the importance of maintaining a cohesive sense of self while integrating various identities of the person is a key process for those affected by travels and frequent changes of their environment. It is not quite often to discuss this topic, since expat government officials are typically persons that are expected to act in a given manner. Usually, the expectations held by authority institutions are quite high, which poses specific threats to balancing a work-life aspect.  

By fostering a deeper understanding of the self and nurturing family stability, this therapeutic approach empowers expatriates to thrive personally and professionally. As the foundation of emotional resilience, investing in mental health support is essential for government officials and their loved ones.

Nikolaos Karampinas

Clinical Psychologist - MD University of Bergamo