English-speaking counseling in Lucerne for adults who live, study or work in the city and around the lake. Online first, with in-person sessions in Lucerne on request.
Book Free 20-Min Intro Session
Living in Lucerne as an international
Lucerne is known around the world for its lake, the Chapel Bridge and the mountains behind it. Tourism and hospitality shape the city. Hotels, restaurants, boats and mountain railways employ people from many countries, and the hotel management schools of the region bring in students from even further away. Others arrive for the university and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, for the music life around the KKL concert hall, or for international companies nearby, such as the elevator maker Schindler in Ebikon.
Compared with Zurich, Geneva or Basel, the English-speaking community is small. Daily life happens in Swiss German. People are friendly, and their circles were often formed long ago. It is quite possible to live inside a postcard and still have nobody to call on a Tuesday evening.
Reasons people in Lucerne get in touch
- Isolation, and the sense that everyone else already has their people
- Irregular hours: split shifts, weekends, a hectic high season and then quiet months
- Homesickness, and guilt about family far away
- Uncertainty when a contract or a permit is tied to the season
- Stress that sits in the body: tension, shallow sleep, no off switch
- A relationship under strain because one of you is always working when the other is free
You can read more on these pages: Counseling for expats in Switzerland and Body-oriented counseling. My main page, English-speaking counselor in Switzerland, shows everything I offer.
How we can meet
Unless you ask for something else, we meet by video on a secure platform. That suits people whose rota changes, because your appointment does not have to fall on the same day and hour every week. All you need is a device with a camera and a door you can close.
Some people open up more easily in the same room. In that case, an in-person session in Lucerne can be arranged on request. We settle the details one to one.
Each session is 50 minutes long and costs CHF 120. The introduction call is free and lasts 20 minutes. Please expect to pay yourself, since basic health insurance in Switzerland normally does not reimburse counseling. Choose English, Ukrainian or Russian, whichever is closest to you.
Counseling and psychotherapy are not the same
The two jobs are different, and in Switzerland the difference is taken seriously. A psychotherapist is licensed to treat mental disorders. A psychosocial counselor, which is what I am, supports people through stress, loss, change and hard decisions. I have an MSc in Psychology, and the SGfB (Swiss Association for Counselling) holds my registration. I give no diagnoses and no prescriptions. Should your situation call for a doctor or a psychotherapist, I will say that plainly. This article sets out where the line runs: Counseling vs. psychotherapy in Switzerland.
“The homework assignments can be used daily for self-regulation. I felt there was light at the end of the tunnel.”
D.P., Data Analyst
Further reading
- When your support network in Switzerland feels too small
- Loneliness, belonging and asking for support
- Homesickness: living between two homes
- Why days off do not always feel restful
Common questions from Lucerne
Is an in-person session in Lucerne possible?
Yes, when you ask for it. Video is my standard format. If meeting in person matters to you, let me know during the free call and we will work out a place and a time.
I work shifts in a hotel and my schedule changes every week. How would that work?
We book around your rota. There is no rule that you must come weekly at a fixed hour. You can book one appointment at a time, as soon as your plan for the following week is out. In the busiest weeks of the season we can leave more space between sessions and meet more often when things calm down.
There are so few English speakers here and I feel cut off. Can counseling help with that?
Counseling does not replace friends, and I will not pretend it does. What it gives you is one regular hour in which you can speak freely in your own words. From there we look at what makes contact hard for you in Lucerne, what kind of connection you actually miss, and which small steps toward other people are realistic for you now.