Therapy for Relationship Difficulties
Therapist for expats and internationals
Relationships are where we feel the most alive, and where our oldest patterns show up the loudest. Maybe the same conflict keeps repeating, closeness feels suffocating or unreachable, or you keep choosing people who can’t meet you. Whatever form it takes, struggling in your relationships doesn’t mean you’re broken. It usually means something in you is asking to be understood.
At Bloomwave, I offer individual therapy to explore how you connect: with partners, family, friends, and yourself. All relationship structures are welcome, including poly and ENM relationships. Book a first session to get to know each other. It’s free of charge, with no waiting list or referral required.
Location
🏠 Leiden
💻 Online
Languages
🇬🇧 English
🇪🇪 Estonian
Useful Info
⏱️ No waiting list
🧍Adults 18+
Who is this therapy for?
This is individual therapy about your relationships, whether you are single, partnered, or in multiple relationships. My practice is LGBTQIA+ affirmative and poly/ENM-friendly, and for many expats and internationals, distance from home adds its own strain on connection.
You might recognize yourself in some of the experiences below:
- The same argument or dynamic repeating across relationships
- Fear of abandonment, or of losing yourself in a partner
- Difficulty trusting, opening up, or letting people close
- Jealousy or insecurity, including within poly/ENM relationships
- Struggling to set boundaries with partners, family, or friends
- Loneliness, or difficulty building connections in a new country
Relationship struggles are also closely tied to how you see yourself, and can feed (signs of) anxiety or depression.
How therapy can help with relationship difficulties
The patterns that play out in your relationships were learned somewhere, and what was learned can be examined and changed. Our work together is tailored entirely to your own experiences, patterns, and needs. Working individually means we can look honestly at your side of the dynamic: what you long for, what you fear, and what you keep doing to protect yourself.
Together we’ll map out how you attach, communicate, and handle conflict, and where those styles come from. From there, I can help you practice new ways of relating: expressing needs directly, holding boundaries without guilt, and letting closeness feel safer.
Some of my approaches to relationship difficulties
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT helps you notice the interpretations that fuel conflict, like mind-reading a partner’s silence or treating a disagreement as proof of rejection. Together, we work on communication habits and responses that calm things down instead of digging them in.
Schema
Therapy
Schema Therapy is particularly powerful for relationship patterns, since our earliest bonds shape how we love as adults. By understanding your triggers and the needs underneath them, repeating dynamics can finally start to change.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT helps you stay connected to your values in relationships: the partner, friend, or family member you want to be. You learn to make room for jealousy, fear, or hurt without letting them dictate your next move.
Hi, I’m Laura!
Laura Ruusalu (She/Her)
As a licensed therapist and an expat myself, I know how much harder relationships can get when you are far from home and your support system. I’m originally from Estonia and grew up moving between Finland and Norway before finally settling in the Netherlands.
Now I offer therapy in English and Estonian, in Leiden and online. I mainly work with expats, international students, and LGBTQIA+ individuals, in all relationship structures, who want their connections to feel less like a struggle and more like a home. My approach is evidence-based and focused on creating a safe space where nothing about how you love needs explaining or defending.
What you can expect when working with me
Free 30-minute session
Your journey begins with a free 30-minute online contact session, where we’ll explore how I can best support you.
Sliding scale pricing
I offer a sliding scale to keep therapy accessible, with rates based on your financial situation. €80 – €140 / hour
Personalised treatment
I use an integrative approach tailored to your individual needs and desires, always in collaboration.
Client testimonials
“Laura is amazing, as someone who intellectualises their feelings and experiences, finding a good psychologist is sometimes very difficult. However, Laura was heaven sent and has really helped me actually feel my feelings and process my traumas while also working on my triggers and coping mechanisms. Cannot recommend her enough. Thank you, Laura!”
– TK
“I had a very good experience with Laura. She is professional but also makes you feel very comfortable and made me realise things about myself that I still think about/use to this day (which is the first time this has happened for me in therapy). To me, this shows that Laura really listens to her clients.”
– ND
“Having tried various therapists in the past, I came in with feeling a little uneasy and curious to see how Laura from Bloomwave would address my issues and working together through therapy. I am a 22 year old female and I am extremely satisfied with my experience. In the past i often felt like I was not able to be fully understood. But with Laura I felt not only understood but also pulled out of my perceptions to think more critically and understand myself even better. Very professional and very good with helping one find comfort in the session environment. I hope to continue working with her for many sessions to come for my foreseeable future.”
– IW
Why choose Bloomwave practice?
- Personalised, integrative approach
- Accessible rates based on your financial situation
- No waiting list, no referral needed
- Safe space, LGBTQIA+ affirmative
Ready to take the next step?
If your relationships keep leaving you hurt, anxious, or lonely, therapy is a solid place to start changing that. I offer a free 30-minute online consultation so we can chat about what’s been going on and see if working together feels like the right next step for you. There’s no pressure and no obligation. The contact session gives us a chance to see if my approach matches what you need.