Jonas Zieger | Psychologist in Girona

I’m Jonas Zieger, a licensed General Health Psychologist, and I offer psychological therapy and counselling for adults and couples in English and German, both in person in Girona and online.

Moving to another country can be an exciting and deeply rewarding experience. But living abroad can also bring challenges that are difficult to explain to people who have never experienced them themselves.

You may have built a new life in Spain, created a home, developed a career and met new people; and yet something inside you may still feel unsettled.

Perhaps you are dealing with anxiety, persistent stress, low mood, loneliness, relationship difficulties or a sense that you have lost some of the stability and connection you once had.

Sometimes there is no single obvious reason.

You simply notice that you are not feeling like yourself anymore.

Therapy for expats in Girona: when living abroad becomes emotionally difficult

Living in another country changes much more than your address.

It can affect your routines, relationships, identity, sense of belonging and the way you understand yourself.

You may be navigating a different culture, a different language, new social expectations or a completely different pace of life. At the same time, the people who previously provided your emotional support may now be hundreds or thousands of kilometres away.

For some people, these changes remain manageable. For others, they gradually become overwhelming.

You may recognise yourself in thoughts such as:

• “I should be happy here, so why don’t I feel happy?”
• “I have everything I wanted, but something doesn’t feel right.”
• “I don’t really feel at home anywhere anymore.”
• “I can’t switch my mind off.”
• “I feel lonely even though I meet people.”
• “My relationship has changed since we moved abroad.”
• “I keep thinking about what I should have done differently.”
• “I don’t know whether this is anxiety, stress or something deeper.”

These experiences are more common than they may appear.

Therapy can provide a place where you do not have to adapt, perform or explain yourself. A place where you can speak openly about what is happening and begin to understand it from a deeper perspective.

Therapy in English and German

Being able to express yourself in the language in which you feel most comfortable can make a significant difference in psychological therapy.

Emotions, memories, relationships and personal experiences are not always easy to translate literally from one language into another.

For this reason, I offer sessions in english and german, as well as Spanish and Catalan, creating a space where international patients can communicate naturally and comfortably.

You do not need to have perfect English or Spanish.

You do not need to know the psychological terminology.

And you do not need to arrive knowing exactly what is wrong.

We can start from wherever you are.

What can we work on?

I accompany adults and couples experiencing a wide range of psychological and emotional difficulties, including:

• Anxiety and chronic stress: When your mind does not seem to switch off, you constantly anticipate problems, overthink situations or feel that you are always under pressure. Anxiety can also appear physically through tension, difficulty sleeping, palpitations, digestive discomfort, restlessness or a persistent feeling that something is wrong.
• Depression and persistent low mood: Sometimes sadness is temporary and connected to a specific situation. At other times, low mood, exhaustion, lack of motivation or loss of interest persist and begin to affect everyday life. Therapy can help you understand what is happening and gradually recover a sense of connection, energy and meaning.
• Life changes and relocation: Moving abroad, changing countries, starting a new job, ending a relationship, becoming a parent or going through a major personal transition can challenge the way we understand ourselves and our future. These transitions can create a feeling of being between two lives. Therapy can offer a space to process the change and develop a clearer sense of where you are going next.
• Relationships and couples: Relationships can become particularly complex when two people are adapting to life abroad together. Different expectations, communication styles, family backgrounds, cultural influences, financial pressures or changes in lifestyle can create tension within a relationship. I offer psychological support for couples who are experiencing recurring conflicts, emotional distance, communication difficulties, insecurity, changes in the relationship or uncertainty about how to move forward.
• Grief and loss: Loss is not limited to bereavement. Moving away from your country can also involve losing familiar places, friendships, routines, family proximity or a previous way of life. Therapy can help you process these changes instead of simply trying to push them aside.
• Personal growth and self-understanding: You do not necessarily need to be experiencing a psychological disorder to benefit from therapy. Sometimes you simply feel that something in your life is not working anymore. You may want to understand yourself better, break repetitive patterns, improve your relationships, make an important decision or live with greater coherence and awareness. Therapy can become a space for this kind of deeper personal work.

When you live abroad, your relationship with yourself can change too

One of the things I find particularly important when working with international patients is understanding the person behind the symptoms.

Anxiety is not simply anxiety.

Low mood is not simply low mood.

A relationship conflict is not simply an argument.

There is usually a larger context: your history, your relationships, your expectations, your fears, your values and the experiences that have shaped you.

My approach to psychotherapy therefore focuses not only on reducing symptoms, but also on understanding why you are experiencing them and what they may be telling you about your current life.

We can explore the patterns that keep repeating, the emotions that are difficult to process and the ways in which you have learned to respond to difficult situations.

The aim is not simply to make you feel better for a few days.

It is to help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself and find new ways of responding to what life brings.

My approach to psychotherapy:

I understand psychotherapy as a collaborative process. There is no single therapeutic formula that works for everyone. Each person arrives with a different history, personality, circumstances and set of needs. Our work will therefore be adapted to you. Together, we can explore:

• what is happening in your life now;
• what may be contributing to your current difficulties;
• patterns that repeatedly appear in your relationships or decisions;
• the connection between thoughts, emotions and behaviour;
• how you respond to stress and uncertainty;
• experiences from your past that may still influence your present;
• and the changes you would genuinely like to make.

My work draws particularly on integrative psychotherapy and psychological approaches focused on emotional understanding, relationships, self-awareness and personal development.

I combine reflection and deeper psychological exploration with practical tools that can help you apply what we work on to your everyday life.

A space where you can speak openly

1. Finding a psychologist when you live abroad can sometimes feel surprisingly difficult.
2. You may have searched online and found therapists who only work in Spanish or Catalan.
3. You may have tried speaking to someone in your native country through online therapy but felt that something was missing because they did not know your current reality. Or perhaps you simply want to speak with someone who understands that your life is now divided between different languages, cultures and places.

Therapy does not require you to choose between these parts of yourself.

You can bring all of them into the room.

Your experiences of living abroad, your relationships, your work, your family, your cultural background, your doubts and your hopes all form part of your story.

And all of them can have a place in therapy.

Therapy for international patients in Girona

I offer psychological sessions for international residents and expats living in Girona and the surrounding area, both face-to-face and online.

Sessions are available in:

English · German · Spanish · Catalan

Whether you have recently moved to Girona or have been living in Catalonia for years, you can start therapy without needing to have everything figured out beforehand.

You can simply begin with what is happening right now.

Areas of psychological support

• Anxiety and stress
• Persistent low mood and depression
• Panic attacks and physical symptoms of anxiety
• Overthinking and rumination
• Sleep difficulties related to stress or anxiety
• Emotional regulation
• Life transitions and major changes
• Moving abroad and adjustment difficulties
• Loneliness and difficulties creating meaningful connections
• Self-esteem and personal development
• Grief and loss
• Relationship difficulties
• Couples therapy
• Communication and recurring relationship conflicts
• Emotional dependency and attachment
• Identity and personal direction
• Digital habits and excessive smartphone use

For English- and German-speaking expats in Girona

If you are looking for a psychologist in Girona who can work with you in English or German, you are welcome to get in touch.

You do not need to wait until things become unbearable.

Sometimes the most useful moment to start therapy is when you first notice that something has changed — when you realise that the way you are living, thinking, feeling or relating to others is no longer working as it used to.

Therapy can be a place to stop, understand what is happening and begin moving forward with greater clarity.