Nana Schlaekfe-Ong

For the international community, finding a counsellor who truly understands your experiences, not just your circumstances can make all the difference. I specialise in working with expats, individuals and families navigating the emotional and psychological complexity of living between cultures; the identity shifts, the invisible grief of leaving, the exhaustion of constantly rebuilding, and the longing to feel like yourself again. I hold a Master of Counselling from Monash University, Australia, and am registered with the Nederlandse Federatie Gezondheidszorg (NFG), practising within a regulated Dutch professional framework with a formal code of ethics and complaints procedure. My work focuses on the deeply human experience of transition, not just the practical upheaval, but what happens underneath it. The loss of identity that comes with leaving a life behind. The strain on relationships when everyone is adjusting at different speeds. The particular isolation of being a supporting partner who has to rebuild life from ground zero. Originally from Malaysia and with a diverse mindset shaped by living in 8 different countries over the last 26 years, I provide a unique intersection of therapeutic insights and well lived experiences of an expat. I offer sessions online and in-person in Amsterdam, in English, Malay and Cantonese, with conversational Mandarin and Thai.