Therapy for expat men Copenhagen
Help to feel at home in yourself, even far from home
I know what it is to start over in a new country, and I help you find your footing
- Last updated October 18, 2026
What I want men living far from home to know
In this short video, I explain what moving abroad tends to do to a man’s sense of himself, and how we work on it together in sessions.
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At a glance
Therapy for expat men Copenhagen helps men who have moved to Denmark and find that life here costs more, inside, than they expected. You see me alone, for 1-hour appointments with 50 minutes of therapy, in English or Danish, at my central Copenhagen practice or online.
I help you make sense of what the move has stirred up, from loneliness and lost status to tension at home, and build a life here that holds you. This page is the branch of my psychotherapy for men for men who have made a home here. If you came because of your partner’s job, therapy for men as trailing partners goes deeper into that. My expat psychotherapy page covers life abroad for everyone, while this one looks at what it does to men in particular.
Next steps: request a free discovery call, book your first session, read the client policy or get in touch.
Is this the right page for you?
This is for you if…
Therapy for expat men Copenhagen is for men from abroad who have built, or are trying to build, a life in Denmark. The job may be going well, yet you feel more alone, more on edge or less like yourself than you did back home. You want to talk to someone who understands both the move and the man making it.
- Your Danish colleagues are friendly at lunch, then cycle off at 4 to collect their children, and the evenings are long.
- You were someone back home, with a reputation and a network, and here you feel you are starting again from nothing.
- Your children now speak better Danish than you do, and at parents’ evenings you sometimes feel like a guest in your own family.
- You planned to stay 2 years, it has become 6, and you are no longer sure where home is or where you belong.
- Your father is getting older in another country, and every phone call leaves you with guilt you do not mention to anyone.
- The dark months hit you harder than you admit, and the whisky or the beer has become part of how you get through them.
- You keep meeting other internationals at events, but the friendships stay polite and never quite reach the point of real trust.
- You tell people back home that Denmark is great, and you would feel ungrateful saying how hard it actually is.
This is probably not for you if…
Life abroad touches many themes, and some have a page of their own. If one of these sounds closer to your situation, the link will serve you better.
- Being abroad is only one part of it, and you want a broader place to start as a man. → psychotherapy for men
- Your partner is willing to come too, and the relationship itself is what you want to work on. → couples therapy
- Having no close friends here is the main thing, more than the culture or the job. → therapy for lonely men
- You have felt low, numb or irritable for months, and it does not lift between visits home. → depression in men
- The move has put strain on your relationship, and you want to look at your own part in it. → therapy for men in relationships
- You are in your twenties, here to study or in a first job, and still finding your direction. → therapy for young men
- You moved here mainly for your partner’s career, and you are the one who gave up work or status. → therapy for men as trailing partners
- You are in immediate danger, or you are thinking about ending your life. Please call 112, or 1813 for urgent mental health help in the Capital Region.
You can also send me an email
Client reviews
The reviews shown here are shared by clients who have worked with me in therapy and chosen to reflect on their experience. They are collected via Google and displayed through an independent verification service, offering an open and transparent picture of how my work is experienced.
Mark’s view
“In more than two decades of sitting with people, I have noticed that men who move abroad rarely say they are struggling. They say they are busy. The move is framed as a success, so the loss inside it has nowhere to go. Underneath I hear ‘Does anyone here even know who I am?’ and, just as often, ‘I will handle it, I always do.’ Sometimes it is both in one breath: ‘I need people around me, and I do not trust anyone enough to let them in.’ My strong view is that the grief of leaving is real, even when the move was your own choice. Until a man lets himself feel what he left behind, he cannot fully arrive where he is.”
Mark Colclough, MA, psychotherapist and EFT couples therapist
Meet Mark, psychotherapist and EFT couples therapist
I am Mark Colclough, MA, a psychotherapist and EFT couples therapist specialising in expats and international couples. I work in English and Danish, from my practice in central Copenhagen and online.
Practising since 2004, I bring a bicultural perspective to work with individuals and couples across languages and cultural contexts. My work integrates depth-oriented psychotherapy with approaches such as integral psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, Jungian psychoanalysis, and object relations theory. I also have specialist training in attachment theory, narcissism, and borderline personality disorder.
For support with life between cultures, explore expat psychotherapy or expat couples therapy. My practice is supported by ongoing training and supervision. To read more about my background, training, and approach, visit About me.
The importance of supervision
Good therapy begins with good supervision
I regularly meet with experienced senior psychotherapists in Denmark and abroad to reflect on my work, challenge my thinking, and continue developing my skills. This ongoing process supports the quality of my individual and couples therapy, helping me offer thoughtful, ethical, and effective care.
My focus is simple: excellence, integrity, and impact.
Connect with me:
If you want me to call you ASAP, or if you want to book me, use the buttons below.
You are welcome to get in touch. We can clarify what’s the right therapy for you.
You can also send me an email
A typical situation
Arjun is 41 and came from Bangalore 3 years ago for a senior role in pharma. His wife has found her feet faster than he has, and their 2 children answer him in Danish. At work he is respected and polite, and nobody really knows him. His father has been in and out of hospital in India. Arjun spends Saturdays on long rides alone and tells his brother on video calls that life here is excellent.
I would start with what Arjun left, not with what he has achieved, because the loss is the part nobody has asked about. In our first session he would probably notice how much of himself he has packed away to look grateful. That gives us somewhere honest to begin.
I have presented this clinical example as a compound of 22 years of clinical practice.
This is when you need therapy for expat men with me
You have done everything right to settle here, and something in you still has not arrived.
There is no right time to start, and you do not need a crisis, a diagnosis or a clear explanation to come and see me. If life here takes more effort than it should, if you feel cut off from who you were, or if things at home have grown tense since the move, that is enough. In 22 years of practice, and from my own life in 9 countries, I have learned to recognise when adjusting has turned into a pattern that needs care.
In sessions, I help you sort out what belongs to the move, what you brought with you and what needs to change. I will tell you clearly what I see. These 6 questions can help you decide whether it is time.
Has ordinary life here started to feel like hard work?
If it has, take it seriously. Small things cost more abroad: the post you cannot read, the rules nobody explains, the small talk that never becomes a conversation. Each one is minor. Together they wear you down, and you start to avoid the very things that would help you settle. My article on living in Denmark as a foreigner describes that weight.
I would look at how long you have felt this way and whether it rises in winter or around visits home. That helps us tell normal adjustment from something heavier. If you see yourself here, book a session with me and we will start there.
Do you want to belong here and also keep your old self intact?
Most expat men want both, and the 2 wishes can feel like disloyalty in either direction. If you adapt, you fear losing who you were. If you hold on, you stay an outsider. You may feel more foreign on visits home than in Copenhagen, and not fully at home in either place.
I do not ask you to choose between the man you were and the man you are becoming. Each side holds something worth keeping. I help you hear what each one needs, so you can belong here on your own terms and stay connected to where you come from.
Do you read every silence from colleagues or Danes as a sign you do not fit?
Many men abroad do. A colleague who does not invite you along, a neighbour who nods and walks on, a meeting where everyone switches to Danish: each can feel like quiet rejection. You go over it on the way home and try harder to be agreeable, then feel smaller for it.
Wanting to be accepted in a new place is completely human, and I will not shame it. I help you notice when the alarm is about Danish reserve and when it touches an older fear of not being wanted. Then we work on asking for contact directly, rather than waiting to be chosen.
Do you long for real friends here, and then keep everyone at arm’s length?
This is a common knot for men far from home. You miss the friends you grew up with and want someone here who really knows you. Yet when a colleague suggests a beer or a neighbour opens up, you find a reason to be busy. Closeness feels necessary and risky at once.
I help you slow the pattern down and find the moment when wanting contact turns into keeping your guard up. Often it is a fear of starting over, or of being seen as needy in a new place. I respect that caution, and I will also hold you to taking the small risks friendship needs.
Do you retreat into work when home or family asks more than you can give?
For many expat men, work is the one place that still makes sense. So when your partner is unhappy, the children are struggling or a call from home brings bad news, you stay late, travel more or answer emails at dinner. It feels like providing. The cost is that your family slowly adapts without you.
Needing space after a hard day is fine, and I will not tell you otherwise. I help you see what the retreat protects you from, often helplessness, and find ways to stay present at home. You learn to say ‘I need an hour, then I am with you’, and to keep that promise.
Has the move made you unsure who you are when work is taken away?
Abroad, work often becomes your whole identity, because the other anchors are gone: old friends, family, a language you are funny in. Sam Keen, in “Fire in the Belly”, describes how a man’s identity gets tied to work and achievement, and how a fuller manhood needs room for feeling, friendship and wonder. Far from home, that tie can get very tight.
I help you look at which parts of you come from your culture, your family and your career, and which you would keep anywhere. I will challenge you when you shrink yourself to fit in, but I will not tell you who to become. The aim is a sense of yourself that survives a change of job or country.
If you recognise your own life here, request a free call to see whether I am the right fit, or book a session and begin.
You can also send me an email
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What therapy for expat men with me will help you do
Understanding what the move has done to you matters, and so does changing how you live, connect and decide here.
Therapy with me will help you understand what is happening inside you since the move, see the patterns that keep you stuck and make changes your family and colleagues will notice. Knowing why you feel lost here is useful. It only helps when it changes how you spend your evenings and who you let in.
I take an active role. I will tell you what I see, suggest things to try and challenge explanations that keep you stuck. I was born in London, moved to Denmark at 12 and have lived and worked in 9 countries, so I know this ground from the inside. Since 2010 I have also been a student of men’s work, with Eli Buren, a dear friend and mentor, as a central influence, and it has added to and deepened my training as a psychotherapist. These 6 questions describe what we work towards.
How will I help you see what the move is really stirring up?
I help you separate the move from what it has uncovered. The irritability, the drinking and the long hours are real, but they are often signs of something underneath: grief for a former life, lost status, worry for parents far away, or an old feeling of not belonging that Denmark has simply woken up.
I will give you my honest assessment of what needs attention first, and I will question stories like ‘I just need to try harder to fit in’. Once you are ready, book a session with me and we will begin to map it.
How can you notice the withdrawal before it closes in?
You can learn to see the first signs. Withdrawal abroad often starts quietly: skipping the team lunch, leaving Danish class, calling home less, a second drink alone on a weeknight. Each step looks sensible on its own. Spotted early, the pattern is easier to turn.
In sessions, I help you trace your own early signals and what each one is avoiding. Then we agree on a concrete counter-move, and you try it in the week ahead. Noticing is only half of it. Practising something different is what changes your life here.
How can you steady yourself when homesickness or irritation takes over?
Steadying yourself does not mean pretending you are fine or being endlessly grateful. It means staying present enough to understand what is rising and choose what you do. Homesickness can be grief. Irritation with Danes can be exhaustion. Both deserve attention rather than a lid.
I help you notice the build-up earlier and find ways of settling that suit you, whether that is movement, a call home at the right time or naming the feeling to your partner. If the low months are dragging you down, my article on expat depression may help. Small daily practice matters more than any one session.
How can you say what you need in a culture whose rules you are still learning?
It starts with knowing what you feel and need, which is harder when you are also translating culture and language. Many men abroad go quiet to avoid seeming rude, or become blunter than they mean to. At home, the strain of the move can turn into silence or sharp words.
I help you find words that are honest, specific and fitting, at work and at home. I will challenge you when you swallow what matters, and when you expect your partner to read you. We rehearse real conversations, sometimes in both your languages, until you can speak plainly here.
How do you decide whether to stay, move on or go home?
Decisions get clearer when you separate fear, guilt, pride and other people’s expectations from what you actually want. Many expat men stay out of inertia, or plan a return to escape discomfort rather than to move towards something.
I help you weigh your real options, including what each would mean for your partner and children. I will give you my view and name it when you are avoiding the question, but the decision stays with you and your family.
What does a life that holds you in Denmark look like?
It means change outside the therapy room: friendships here that go beyond the polite stage, a rhythm that helps you through winter, an honest relationship with your partner about the move, and ways to stay close to family abroad. My article on making friends in Denmark has some practical starting points.
I help you sort what should change from what is worth keeping. Your accent, your humour and your way of doing things are not problems to fix. A group of other men can help too, and therapy and men’s groups describes how that sits beside therapy.
You can also send me an email
What happens when you begin therapy for expat men with me
You do not need to explain your whole migration story or have the right words. We begin with how life is for you here, now.
When you begin, I listen, help you name what is hardest and give the work a clear focus early. You do not need a diagnosis or a tidy account. Many men start with ‘Everything is fine, really’, and we take it from there.
Therapy for expat men is a focused kind of psychotherapy: individual work on your inner world and how you relate to others. If the move has mainly strained your relationship and your partner will come too, couples therapy offers long-term relational development and healing. When you expect a longer piece of work, therapy discounts and bundles bring real savings and a plan agreed in advance.
What happens in our first session?
I ask why you came to Denmark, what made you book now, what is hardest at the moment and what you have already tried. We touch on work, family here and abroad, friends and how you spend your evenings. There is no need to cover it all at once.
At the end, I share my first understanding and propose a direction. You decide whether it feels useful. If you would like to speak before booking, request a free 30-minute call.
When is individual therapy the right choice for an expat man?
Individual work is right when the focus is you: how you are coping, who you are here, your history and the way you relate to people at work and at home. Your relationships can be explored fully without anyone else attending.
In individual sessions, I give you direction and continuity from week to week. To see how I work with every adult, Psychotherapy Copenhagen describes my individual practice as a whole.
When is couples therapy the better choice after a move?
Couples therapy is the better choice when the relationship itself needs sustained work: the move has left one of you resentful, the arguments repeat, trust has been damaged or you have drifted into separate lives under one roof.
In couples work, I help you both see the cycle between you, take responsibility for your part and find steadier ways of being together in a new country. Couples therapy Copenhagen is long-term relational development and healing.
How often should you come?
The right pace depends on how heavy things feel, how much you travel and how much continuity the work needs. Expat life is often busy and irregular, so we plan around it.
I usually recommend weekly or fortnightly sessions at first, with online sessions when you are away. I will tell you if we are meeting too rarely for anything to build, or when it is time to space things out.
When does a bundle make sense for you?
A bundle makes sense when you know you want a run of sessions and would rather not renegotiate with yourself after each one. With travel and long days, a pre-agreed plan protects the time.
With a bundle you pay less per session and know the plan in advance. I will help you judge whether one fits the work ahead. See the options on therapy discounts and bundles.
How will we know when this work is complete?
The work has done its job when you feel more yourself in Denmark, have people here you can be honest with and no longer need work or a drink to hold it together. Homesickness may still visit, but it no longer runs your days.
I review progress openly and do not encourage dependency. We can space sessions out, pause or stop. If a new move, a return home or a loss brings you back later, the earlier work has not failed.
How it works with me
- Get in touch with a free 30-minute call, or book a first appointment directly. A line about where you come from and why you are here is helpful.
- Each appointment is one hour with 50 minutes of therapy, one to one, in English or Danish, at Møntergade 4 in central Copenhagen or online. I am available from 08:00 to 21:00 Copenhagen time, 7 days a week, subject to availability, which helps around work and calls home.
- We usually start weekly or every second week, and switch to online when you travel. Between sessions, you try out what we agree on in daily life here.
- Every few sessions, we review what has changed. Then we decide together whether to keep going, shift the focus, meet less often or stop.
- If you expect a longer stretch, a therapy bundle brings the cost down by 10 per cent and fixes a plan from the start. The bundles are listed just below.
Save with a prepaid session bundle
How the bundle works
- Current bundle savings are shown on the Pricing page.
- Your bundle is valid for 180 days from the date of purchase.
- The bundle can only be used for the type of session stated on your invoice.
- If you request a refund, sessions already used are recalculated at the standard single-session price.
- The administration fee applied to a bundle refund is shown on the Pricing page.
- VAT follows the type of therapy included in the bundle: VAT-exempt sessions remain VAT exempt, while VAT-liable sessions include applicable VAT.
Compare with nearby options
Not sure this is your starting point? Here is how it compares with the pages closest to it.
| Option | Choose it when | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy for expat men (this page) | You moved to Denmark and life here weighs on you more than you expected. | Weekly 1-hour sessions at first |
| Therapy for men as trailing partners | You came for your partner’s job and gave up your own role. | 1-hour sessions, often weekly |
| Therapy for lonely men | Having nobody close is the main thing you want to change. | A steady course of sessions |
| Psychotherapy for men | Several themes are weighing on you, and being abroad is only one. | At a pace you choose |
Frequently asked questions
What is therapy for expat men with you?
Therapy for expat men with me is individual psychotherapy for men who have moved to Denmark and are struggling with what the move has done to them: loneliness, lost status, strain at home, worry for family abroad or a shaken sense of identity. You can come to my practice in central Copenhagen or meet me online, in English or Danish.
I work in depth with the whole person, including the culture and family you come from, and I stay practical. Having moved countries myself, I know how much a man can hide behind a successful relocation.
When should I come, rather than give it more time?
Come when the strain has lasted more than a few months, when it follows you through summer as well as winter, or when your partner or children are feeling it too. Your own sense that you are not doing well here is reason enough.
From 22 years of practice, I look at whether things are slowly easing or slowly hardening. If you are more withdrawn or more irritable now than in your first year, it deserves attention.
Can therapy help when the problem is the country I live in?
Yes, though not by changing Denmark. Therapy can change how you meet it: what you let in, what you push back on and how much of yourself you bring. I cannot promise how quickly, but I can promise honest, focused work.
In my clinical experience, the country is rarely the whole story. Moving abroad tends to wake up older themes, such as a fear of not belonging or a habit of coping alone. When those are addressed, Denmark often becomes easier to live with.
My wife thinks I need help, but I am fine. Should I still come?
Come once and see. Many expat men are pointed my way by a partner who sees the strain before they do. You can arrive sceptical, and the work can still become your own.
I will ask what she sees and what you see. If it turns out the strain lives mainly between you, therapy for men in relationships or couples work may suit you better, and I will say so honestly.
Why do I either act like everything is great, or go completely silent?
Both are ways of protecting yourself in a place where you feel exposed. The cheerful front keeps worry away from family back home and from colleagues here. The silence takes over when you are too tired to keep it up. Neither is a flaw in you. They are habits that once kept you safe.
I help you notice when you switch between them and what each one costs. Then we practise something steadier: telling a few people the truth, and asking for support before you are running on empty.
What will we talk about in the first session?
We start with your life here now: work, home, friendships, how you sleep and how you unwind. I ask what brought you to Denmark and what you left behind. By the end, you will have my first impressions and a suggested focus for our work.
You do not have to prepare or find perfect English or Danish. Mixing the 2 is fine. Book your first session when you feel ready, or start with a free discovery call.
How many sessions will I need?
I recommend a first stretch of a few months, weekly or every second week, rather than a single conversation. That is usually enough to understand what the move has stirred up and start to change how you live with it. Older themes take longer.
Based on 22 years of practice, I prefer a clear first stretch with an honest review. We look at what has changed, and you decide with me whether to continue, space things out or finish.
Can we work online when I travel or visit family abroad?
Yes. Online sessions last just as long and work well for men who travel or spend time with family abroad. I still recommend starting in person if you can, because meeting in the same room helps us build trust quickly.
Either way, we can work in English or Danish. If you are unsure which suits you, we can work it out on a free call.
What does therapy for expat men with you cost?
You book 1-hour appointments with 50 minutes of therapy, and the current fee is listed on my prices page. I invoice you, and you pay by bank transfer.
A bundle of sessions saves you 10 per cent and gives the work a planned frame. You can compare bundles on therapy discounts and bundles. Paying on the same day from a Danish bank account saves you 3 per cent more.
How do I book a session with you?
Book online, or ask for a free 30-minute call if a conversation first feels better.
If no time suits you, or things feel acute, contact me directly. I hold room for acute cases, usually a time within days. Choose your time, and we will begin.
You can also send me an email
My approach and values
My mission
My mission is to help individuals, couples and families rediscover connection, communicate with understanding, and build a stronger, more loving relationship that can thrive through any challenge.
My vision
My vision is to create a world where every person in my therapy room feels supported, connected, and empowered to grow, and to step one step closer to your Self.
Explore other services I offer
Individual psychotherapy
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