Expat psychologist in Singapore

You find yourself in Singapore, facing stress at work and to cope with:

You have to cope with a lot of changes.

Even if you looked for this way of life which can be very enjoyable, you have to adjust yourself to all these changes and it requires adaptation, which means some adaptative stress.

If you want to assess your stress level, you can use the Holmes & Rahe assessment tools.

The more you will use energy to adjust yourself to new situations (even if they are pleasant and desired ones), the more you will feel a certain amount of stress.

I can help you to feel better as an expat in Singapore

I’m Franck Dibouës, Clinical psychologist since 2003 after being graduated of a Master in France.

I worked with patients with depression for years and trained in Paris in Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for continuing education.

CBT is the, scientifically proven, most effective psychotherapy to treat depression and anxiety.

With my 20 years experience, I will help you to cope better with your environment.

Steps of the consultation

At the first step, Franck will assess your condition and will, eventually make a diagnostic during clinical interview.

Sometime, stress condition triggers some disorders. We will check with clinical interviews and clinical assessment tools your stress level.

The assessment tool can be « MSP 25 », « Beck Depression Inventory », « GAD 7 » or any similar questionnaire.

According to the results of the assessment tools, we will focus on stress management intervention or on other types of psychotherapy (EMDR, cognitive psychotherapy…).

At the end of the consultation

First benefit of the process is to feel relief to talk about one difficult situation.
You will have a clearer idea about what you can do, in a psychological perspective.
To paraphrase a famous quote, you will gradually learn how to accept what you cannot change, you will find in yourself the courage and the strength to change the things you can change and will learn how to make the difference in between.

Where to consult us in Singapore ?

The clinic is located in Central Business District, 150 Cecil Street.

For convenience, the session can also be made remotely.

Some studies showed that psychotherapy is as efficient online as in face to face.

Consultation fee

250 SGD

You will receive an invoice to claim your health insurance.

To make an appointment

You can contact me by WhatsApp, we will set an appointment:

Or you can contact me via the form below:

Q & A

What are the most common stress factors encoutered by expats in Singapore ?

It is important to note that each expat is different and there are many factors which lead toward an excessive stress level.

Moreover, the common problems the expats face are culture differences, cost of living (the rental fees in Singapore which recently increases by sometime 40%), loneliness sometime (emotional isolation, especially for some women), learning a new language like Mandarin.

For expats in Singapore, one specific stress factor encountered is when one of the spouses gets a work permit while the other one is not allowed to work (the status of the one with Dependent Pass and the recent limitation for Letter of Consent for example).

It means the one who gets no job cannot do anything much, so a huge stress can occur and affect the quality of life of the whole family and, of course, the couple relationship.

The one who gets the DP can encounter some specific stress factors related to dependency when Western values promote independence since childhood.

At home, some regularly hear this complaint “I sacrificed my career at home while following you to Singapore”.

Some say the conditions of the one who don’t work in the couple who have followed his mate who is expatriate (often the wife but not always) can be compared with the conditions of females in the West before WWII (impossible to open a bank account without the husband permission, impossible to work, impossible to divorce except to have to leave Singapore for all the family…).

Another specific stress factor for expats in Singapore can be to adjust to a very “squared” society with some aspects very rigid for a foreigner raised in the West (aspects linked to morals, a certain form of rigidity sometimes encountered or certain explicit racist reactions which are severely censured in Western countries, to feel being a second-class citizen with more duties than rights while being highly skills and educated which therefore triggers a feeling of unfairness).

Singapore has a very strict criminal policy, what is efficient in terms of preventing the delinquency.

But for some foreigners who are honest and well educated, who, however, were raised in some countries where the criminal justice policy is more flexible (in Europe for example), it can be an extreme anxiogenic place where they constantly think if they can be in trouble with police or not…

Some anxious people can have terrible issues to adjust themselves with the idea of unintentionally being faulty in Singapore.

Why can it be stressful to be an expat in Singapore ?

Expatriation often encourages challenges to adjust to new environments. But this situation is very unnatural.

Most of our ancestors with whom we share the same DNA were born, lived, married, made families and died at the same place, sometime for generations and centuries.

The perpetual adjustment required by the expatriation is generally desired by them, and they rejected the routine while choosing to work abroad.

But even if we have a willingness to adjust to new environments, sometimes it can be too much and “trees don’t grow to the sky”.

It’s sometimes difficult to express these difficulties among expats because it’s not always appropriate to show vulnerability in some social groups which values the competition like among the expats.

Also, it’s sometimes impossible to share these problems with the family stayed in home land.

How could complain to the family or the relatives who stayed in the homeland when you live in a tropical country all year long, in a luxurious condo with swimming pool and gym room, a partner who makes good money, kids who go to the best schools, with some domestic workers at home and that they themselves live in more modest conditions?

How to cope better with my stress level ?

At this step working with Clinical Psychologist Franck Diboues could be useful because he is neutral, professional and know well these difficulties.

He won’t find the solutions for yourself but will help you to alleviate your stress while talking in a confidential environment and will help you to identify the resources you can activate in yourself, among your family and your social group.

He will professionally assess your psychological condition, help you with some specific Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy or Stress Management Program he mastery (EMDR, Trial Based Therapy…) if needed.