Expathy: Online therapy for expats in their native language
Expathy is an online mental health platform that matches expats and internationals with licensed psychologists who speak their native language and share their cultural background. Matching takes about 30 seconds, all sessions take place online by secure video, and every psychologist has lived abroad themselves.
Alongside therapy for individuals, Expathy works with employers, international schools and universities to support the mental health of international employees, staff and students.
What is Expathy?
Expathy is an online therapy platform built specifically for people living abroad. Instead of scrolling through long lists of therapists, users answer a few questions and are matched with a psychologist who speaks their native language, understands their culture and has personal experience of relocating to another country.
Founded by expats for expats, Expathy offers online therapy for expats in more than 35 native languages, including English. Expathy psychologists help with the challenges of life abroad, including culture shock, homesickness, loneliness, expat anxiety, depression and burnout, as well as managing stress while building a life in a new country. Support is available for individuals, couples and families, including partners in long-distance relationships.
Why does therapy in your native language matter for expats?
Therapy in your native language matters because people express emotions, memories and family experiences most accurately in the language they lived them in. Research supports this: a review of 76 studies found that mental health interventions delivered in clients' native language were twice as effective as those delivered in English.
For expats in the Netherlands, this gap is very real. In the Expat Insider 2026 survey by InterNations, the Netherlands ranked 21st worldwide and scored well for working life, but internationals named healthcare and making friends among their biggest frustrations. When support is hard to find, being able to speak to a psychologist without translating yourself makes it far easier to start.
How does Expathy work?
Expathy works in three simple steps through its app or website. Users share their language, background and what they need help with, receive matched psychologists within about 30 seconds, book a session at a time that suits them and meet online. There is no referral letter needed and no waiting list to join.
- Answer a few questions about your native language, cultural background and the challenge you are facing.
- Get matched in about 30 seconds with licensed psychologists who have lived abroad themselves.
- Book a session at a time that works for your schedule and time zone.
Looking for a therapist who speaks your language? Expathy matches expats in the Netherlands with licensed psychologists from their own culture in about 30 seconds
How does Expathy support employers, international schools and universities?
Expathy helps organisations with international people through these services: wellbeing webinars, mental health speakers for corporate events, mental health workshops and therapy packages for international employees, international schools and universities.
Each option is delivered online, adapted to the challenges of relocation and fully confidential, which makes it a practical addition or alternative to a generic employee assistance programme (EAP).
|
Service |
What it includes |
Best for |
|---|---|---|
|
Wellbeing webinars and talks |
Expert-led sessions on culture shock, burnout, loneliness and belonging; Expathy psychologists also speak at company and campus events |
Onboarding, wellbeing weeks, international student welcome programmes |
|
Mental health workshops |
Interactive sessions for up to 20 participants, never recorded, with an anonymised summary of themes for HR |
Teams facing relocation, growth or organisational change |
|
Therapy packages |
One-to-one therapy in each person's native language, accessed with a company code and priced by headcount |
Companies, schools and NGOs with a large international population |
Expathy's mental health support for international employees is confidential by design: organisations receive aggregate reporting only, never the content of individual sessions. The case for this kind of support is strong. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, costing nearly US$1 trillion in lost productivity.
For HR and People teams: Expathy designs webinars, workshops and therapy packages around the needs of international employees, staff and students in the Netherlands.
Who is Expathy for?
Expathy is for anyone whose life involves living, working or studying outside their home country, and for the organisations responsible for them. Because all sessions are online, the platform supports internationals.
- Expats and internationals looking for an expat therapist or online therapy in their own language
- Partners and families of relocated employees adjusting to life in the Netherlands
- International students dealing with homesickness, isolation or study pressure
- HR, People and wellbeing teams looking for mental health support for international employees
- International schools, universities and NGOs supporting international staff and students
Frequently asked questions
What is Expathy?
Expathy is an online mental health platform that matches expats and internationals with licensed psychologists who share their native language and cultural background, in about 30 seconds. It also provides wellbeing webinars, workshops and therapy packages to employers, international schools, universities and NGOs.
Can I find an English-speaking therapist in the Netherlands through Expathy?
Yes. Expathy offers online therapy in English and in more than 35 other native languages. You are matched with a licensed psychologist based on your language and cultural background, and every Expathy psychologist has personal experience of living abroad.
Can my employer offer Expathy as an employee benefit?
Yes. Employers can offer Expathy through wellbeing webinars, mental health workshops or therapy packages for international employees. With a therapy package, employees access sessions using a company code, and the organisation pays per headcount rather than per session.
Will my employer know what I discuss in therapy?
No. Your sessions are confidential between you and your psychologist. Organisations that work with Expathy receive aggregate reporting only, and workshop summaries contain anonymised themes rather than anything that could identify a participant.