Andrew Kaufman
Psychosocial Counsellor
I'm Andrew, a therapist in The Hague. I work with expats and trailing spouses rebuilding a life in a new country, men who are ready to talk but never quite got there, and people managing burnout or a chronic illness that
I specialise in:
About me
Hi, I'm Andrew. I started The Schmidts Institute to offer mental health counseling here in The Hague.
I've been doing this work for over 16 years. I started as a licensed social worker in the US, working with people living with cancer and HIV, sitting with them and their families through some of the hardest things a person goes through. That work taught me more about what people actually need than anything I read in a textbook.
I'm not here to rush through things or hand you a framework to follow. I'll hold space for the hard stuff and I won't flinch when things get difficult. I'm not coming to this from the outside either. I've faced a lot of what my clients bring to a session, and I think that comes through in how I work.
Here's something I actually believe. Therapy should be something you look forward to. I want you to get to the end of your week and think oh good, I have therapy today, not check your calendar and feel your stomach drop. Some sessions will be hard and some conversations will sit with you for days. That's real and I won't pretend otherwise. But the space itself should feel good to walk into. We'll get to what matters, we'll do the work, and we'll find a way to make the process worth showing up for, not just the outcome.
You'll be working directly with me. No one else.
I'm an expat too, so I understand what it's like to build a life in a country that isn't yours, in a language that isn't always your own, without your people close by. That's part of why I built this practice. I meet with clients online or in person through Walk and Talk sessions in and around The Hague. If any of this resonates, feel free to reach out.
I speak:
Location:
Media Gallery
Approach
I believe meaningful change starts with genuine connection. That means showing up as a real person, not someone sitting across from you taking notes.
I don't follow a rigid framework. I pay attention to what's actually in front of me and adjust from there. If you're burned out, that usually isn't about caring too little. It's what happens when you've cared too much for too long, so we look at what's actually driving it, not just the symptoms. If you're managing a chronic illness, I understand firsthand how tangled the physical and emotional can get, and how much mental load that carries on its own. And if this is your first time talking to anyone about any of it, that's fine. You don't need a reason serious enough to justify being here. Feeling depleted is enough.
My style is warm, conversational, and collaborative. I'll challenge you when it's useful, sit with you when things are hard, and probably make you laugh when the moment's right. Some sessions leave you deep in thought. Others end with you wondering how you ended up laughing about something you swore you'd never be able to talk about.
We meet either as individual counseling, sitting down together, or as a Walk and Talk session, where we meet near your office or neighborhood and talk while we walk instead of sitting in a room. Movement tends to loosen things up. People often say things on a walk they wouldn't say across a desk.
You don't need to have it figured out before you reach out. That's what I'm here for.
Experience
THE SCHMIDTS INSTITUTE, The Hague, The Netherlands (2026)
Founder & Counselor
NAMI CHICAGO (NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS), Chicago, USA (2019-2025)
Director of Recovery Services (2022-2025); Recovery Coordinator (2020-2022); Recovery Manager (2019-2020)
UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL MECHANISM FOR CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS, The Hague, The Netherlands (2018-2019)
External Relations Outreach Worker
ADVOCATE ILLINOIS MASONIC MEDICAL CENTER, Chicago, USA (2014-2017)
Medical Social Worker, Inpatient Psychiatric Unit
GLORIA ENGLISH SCHOOL, Taoyuan, Taiwan (2011-2014)
English-As-Second Language (ESL) Teacher
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO HOSPITALS, Chicago, USA (2010-2011)
Medical Social Worker, Oncology Unit
Education
University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work / Masters
AUG 2007 - MAY 2009, Texas, USA.
Clinical social work focus, with a final project in South Africa, specializing in trauma response and treatment for HIV patients.
University of Arizona / Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Business Administration
AUG 2002 - DEC 2006, Arizona, USA
Clinical psychology focus, specializing in clinical counseling and economics.
Services
Intro Call
Individual Session
Individual Session
Insurances
