Mental Health for International Students
Navigating emotional challenges related to migration, culture shock, and loneliness
​
This workshop is designed to help international students make sense of the emotional landscape that comes with living in the Netherlands. Many find themselves navigating cultural differences (like Dutch directness or egalitarian social norms), gray winters, a sense of isolation, and the pressures of an unfamiliar academic system. These experiences often lead to confusion, loneliness, and even identity strain.
​
Through a combination of reflective writing, small group sharing, and creative mapping, participants are invited to process these challenges in a supportive and non-judgmental space. The workshop emphasizes storytelling and self-discovery, guiding participants to write letters to themselves and reflect on what has helped them cope. By bringing attention to strategies of resilience and personal meaning, we collectively explore how to build a sense of belonging — not just in institutions, but in everyday life. A special focus is given to the emotional and symbolic aspects of attachment: what places, habits, or people in the Netherlands speak to our personal histories? What connects us beyond surface integration?
Topics:
-
Emotional impacts of living in the Netherlands: direct communication style, gray winters, bike-centric culture, flat hierarchies
-
Culture shock and disorientation
-
Loneliness, overstimulation, and the paradox of constant “freedom”
-
Academic pressure in a different educational system
-
Coping with homesickness, bureaucracy, and identity strain
​
Methodology:
-
"My Dutch Chapter” Writing Workshop (Reflective & Narrative-Based)
-
Warm-Up: Freewriting about “What surprised me the most when I arrived”
-
Prompted Reflection: What feels most different here? What has been hardest emotionally? Where did I find unexpected support or joy?
-
Sharing in Small Groups: Volunteers share their texts in trios, focusing on listening without judgment
-
Collective “Letter to Myself”: Notes to a past or future self arriving in NL
-
Mini-Tool Exchange: Sharing mental/emotional habits — compiled into handout or visual
-
Group Mapping of Coping Strategies: Wall activity with categories like bureaucracy, social life, academic stress, etc.
Qualifications : Multilingual therapists with migration experience and training in intercultural and trauma-informed psychology. Experienced in working with international students in the Dutch context.
Schedule a Free Initial Consultation
The first consultation is to get to know your organization, understand your needs and assess how we could assist you. In this conversation, the frequency, investment and other issues will be decided.
