Couples Counseling |Madrid |Expats

Couples Therapist in Madrid

in Madrid for Expats

There’s a kind of distance that can grow between two people without either of them fully noticing when it began. It doesn’t always look like constant fighting. More often, it shows up in smaller ways, conversations that don’t quite land, a sense of talking past each other, the feeling that something important isn’t being reached.

By the time many couples come to therapy, they’ve usually already tried to sort things out on their own. They’ve had the same conversations in different forms. They’ve read, reflected, made efforts. And still, something feels stuck.

How It Works

Slowing things down is essential, not as a technique, but as a condition for awareness.

What usually happens in a fraction of a second can start to be noticed. A reaction, a tightening, a familiar assumption about what the other person means or is about to do. Once that becomes visible, there is at least the possibility of something different.

At the same time, the work is not only in the immediate moment.

Each person brings a history of relationships that shapes how they experience closeness, conflict, dependency, distance. These histories are not abstract. They organise perception in the present. What feels like “this is just how my partner is” is often inseparable from how something earlier is being re encountered.

From a psychoanalytic perspective, the couple is not just two individuals, but a system of expectations, fears, and recognitions that operate partly outside of awareness.

So the work moves on two levels at once.

What is happening here, now, between you.And what is being carried into this moment, often without either of you fully knowing it.

Couples counseling in Madrid offers a space to look at all of that. The surface-level disagreements, yes—but also the patterns underneath. The misunderstandings that repeat themselves. The emotional habits that once protected you, but now gt in the way.

couple counseling, Madrid, expats

Couples Therapy

Who I Am

I’m Persephone, a couples therapist (Psychologist, MSc, Gestalt Therapist) based in Madrid (moved from The Netherlands, originally Greek- Romanian), working in English (and sometimes Greek or Romanian) with people who want to understand what’s happening in their relationship. I work with individuals and couples, and I teach Gestalt therapy, in the Dutch Institute of Gestalt Therapy. I´ve had a full time private since 2017.

Many of the people I see are thoughtful and self aware. They’ve already spent time trying to communicate better or make sense of things. And yet, insight on its own hasn’t shifted the dynamic in the way they hoped.

That’s often because relationship patterns don’t just live in what we think. They live in how we relate, moment to moment.

In practice, that means I’m less focused on offering techniques or communication strategies, and more interested in helping you notice what’s actually happening between you as it unfolds.

I don’t think couples need to be “in crisis” to benefit from therapy.

You can come in because:

- You’re having the same fight again and again

- You’re struggling to really hear each other

- You feel disconnected, even though you care

- Or because you want a space to check in, to feel more together again

As a therapist working with expats in Madrid, I also know that relocation brings a specific kind of pressure. You may be missing your language, your people, your rhythm. That kind of loss doesn’t always get talked about, but it does show up in relationships.

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What This Work Is About

It’s a place where the relationship itself becomes visible.

Most of the time, people talk about their relationship as if it exists somewhere outside the room. They describe what happens at home, what was said, what wasn’t said. But the dynamic they are describing tends to appear again, very quickly, in the session itself.

The way one person interrupts, or withdraws.The way the other pursues, or goes quiet at a certain moment.The shift in tone that neither of you fully registers, but both of you react to.

In a Gestalt sense, this is the work. Staying close to what is unfolding as it happens, rather than moving too quickly into explanation or interpretation.

I don’t see couples therapy as a process of fixing one person or deciding who’s right.

It’s more about creating the conditions where something becomes clearer. About stepping out of patterns that feel automatic, and having the possibility of responding differently.

For some couples, this leads to a renewed sense of connection. For others, it brings a different kind of clarity about where they are and what they want.

But the focus stays the same, helping you see more of what’s actually happening, and what each of you is bringing into it.

Couple counseling isn’t about fixing one partner or figuring out who’s to blame.

It’s a space where we slow things down. Where I help you both speak, and listen, in a way that makes actual contact possible.

Sometimes it’s emotional. Sometimes it’s awkward.

Reach out for an appointment

Services Offered: what do I actually do?

• English Speaking Psychologist: Though I also trained as a psychologist, I work from the stand point of a gestalt therapist. In Spain the law asks for foreign professionals to complete a homologation trajectory (it's a work in progress pending in my inbox). I work in English/ Greek/ Romanian with internationals, couples and individuals. I studied in Dutch, but I don't use it in my work.

• Anxiety: I often work with younger generations that struggle with anxiety and/ or panic attacks, or professionals that are going through a burn out process.

• Depression: I meet with patients that are in a depressive landscape.

• Trauma: My biggest interest at the moment lies in working with people that have suffered through sexual trauma. At a later point in my career, I noticed that I have a capacity to carry such processes, and I truly enjoy the work itself, because it is gentle, trustworthy and actual. If you are struggling or have struggled in the past, please, do reach out. We don't have to rush to go into depths as soon as we meet. This work is very much about small moments, gentle relationship.

• Online Therapy: I work online with my patients that live in The Netherlands, and with old patients that have moved to different countries. I am surprised to notice that it is very much possible to work online, though I do miss offering my patients a cup of coffee and chatting about my plants. Online therapy is focused and at times more demanding for the therapist, but I have all faith in that it functions. My own therapist is also in a different country.

• Individual Counseling: I work with adults from 19 years old onwards. Usually individual therapy is weekly or biweekly, and lasts one hour.

• Couples Therapy: Not all therapists enjoy working with couples, but a few years ago I discovered I actually really enjoy it. It is a rewarding way to work, seeing movement happening in the here and now. I find couples work challenging and creative.

FAQs

1. Is therapy confidential? Yes, confidentiality is paramount in therapy. Your sessions are private and secure.

1. How long does therapy take to see results?Oof, tough question. Define results. The duration varies depending on individual circumstances. With dedication and commitment, positive changes can occur gradually.

1. Is therapy suitable for everyone?Therapy is beneficial for anyone seeking support and personal growth. An unpopular opinion however: some people will just not find it to their taste. I don't think we should pressure everyone to see a therapist. It's like when people insist that ypi watch that one movie that changed their life; maybe its not the right time, or maybe its just not your kind of thing. "Support is that which enables", and that's not the same thing for everyone.

1.  Can I switch therapists if I'm not satisfied?Absolutely. Your comfort and satisfaction are paramount. If you feel a different approach or therapist would better suit your needs, you're free to explore other options. Usually you will know if you click with your therapist from the first session. My advice is to leave it as soon as it feels off. You should leave that first session feeling touched, connected, challenged, inspired. Now later on, things change, and if you and your therapist are in good process together, you will often feel uncomfortable, or even annoyed at them. Then you actually can try staying, pushing through and bringing it up with them.

1. How can I book a session?You can whatsapp me at +34 613 104 681 or

   email me at info@expatsintherapy.es or

   through the contact form on my website www.expatsintherapy.es.