What does it actually look like to build a location independent career across countries as a therapist and coach? In this interview, our co-founder Melissa Parks shares her personal and professional journey, from moving abroad before graduate school to building an online therapy practice, navigating shifts in professional identity across countries, and eventually transitioning into coaching after returning to the United States.
Her story highlights many of the challenges that internationally mobile therapists face, from licensing issues and bureaucracy to burnout, identity questions, and the search for a sustainable way of working that supports both us and our clients.
You can watch the full conversation below or keep reading for some of the key themes from Melissa’s journey.
What drove Melissa to become a location independent therapist
From early on, Melissa always knew she wanted to combine her work as a mental health professional with international living. After growing up in Washington, USA, she planned to spend some time abroad before graduate school. Her thinking was that she needed to see the world and “get it out of her system” before settling into a more traditional career path.
But life had other plans for Melissa. She fell in love in Spain and decided to stay, even completing graduate school there. That came with both advantages and challenges. Training in Spain was significantly less expensive than it would have been in the US, which was a real bonus at the time. However, qualifying as a psychologist abroad did create personal complications for Melissa that would continue to shape her career for years to come.
While living in Spain, Melissa began working with expats in person and gradually became interested in online work. When she moved to the Netherlands a few years later, she committed fully to working online and realised how much freedom and flexibility it offered. And she hasn’t looked back since!
The Early Days of Online Therapy
Melissa started seriously considering switching to working exclusively online with clients in 2017. But back then, online therapy was still widely viewed with scepticism and very few therapists seemed to be offering it. Melissa received quite a lot of pushback from other mental health professionals who questioned whether online therapy was “real therapy” and could be done safely and ethically. So even though she had occasionally worked online with clients when they were travelling, or when they lived in remote locations without access to an English-speaking therapist, Melissa struggled to imagine building an entire career around an online practice.
A mindset shift was necessary before Melissa could feel confident about doing this work. Like many therapists, Melissa had internalised the idea that clients’ needs should always come first and that wanting flexibility or freedom for herself somehow made her less committed as a therapist. Over time, she realised those beliefs were not sustainable.
Living and working internationally forced her to think differently about what it means to build a location independent career that supports not only clients, but also herself as the therapist.
The Reality of Moving Countries as a Therapist
Working as a therapist across borders is rarely straightforward. This was something Melissa quickly discovered as she navigated her international moves, and she knows she’s not alone in this.
It turns out that registering a business and getting qualifications recognised in a new country is not an easy process. For Melissa, it meant going through the long and complicated “homologación” process in Spain: getting her degree recognised, meeting licensing requirements and navigating bureaucracy and mountains of paperwork. Yes, even though she had received her master’s degree, and later her PhD, from a university in Spain, this wasn’t enough. She needed to have her undergraduate degree in psychology recognised in order to become registered as a therapist.
Later, after moving to the Netherlands, Melissa faced another lengthy registration process to work as a psychologist there as well. If you’re considering getting your qualifications recognised in a new country, Melissa’s advice is to think very carefully before going down that path! Make sure you know exactly what it involves and how long it will take before you opt for this route. In most cases, it isn’t worth it unless you plan to permanently relocate to that country and have a deep desire to work offline.
With each international move, Melissa’s momentum took a hit as she re-established herself professionally. And each new country raised identity questions: how can you continue doing the work you love when your title or qualifications are not recognised simply because of your location? When you have spent years training and building experience, Melissa found that losing access to your professional title can feel emotional and deeply personal. This kind of identity disruption is common among expats and internationally mobile professionals, especially when moving between systems that define qualifications differently.
Finding a New Way Forward: Coaching vs. Therapy
After a decade abroad, Melissa moved back to the United States to be closer to family. At this time, she faced another dilemma: Should she try to get her qualifications recognised in the US so she could practice as a psychologist? The process for therapists trained abroad was again complex, time-consuming and restrictive. Even once she’d gone through the process, it would only allow her to work with clients based in Washington State.
At this juncture, Melissa decided to pivot in a different direction and offer coaching. It wasn’t an easy decision. While it offered more flexibility in how she could work, it raised more identity questions. After years of identifying as a therapist, Melissa felt uncomfortable introducing herself as a coach. But over time, she found a way to integrate both parts of her experience and create a new way of working that feels more aligned.
The Benefits of Coaching vs. Therapy
Offering coaching allows Melissa to continue supporting globally mobile clients, regardless of where they’re based, including U.S. citizens seeking support with repatriation. This is also a good option for Melissa since she doesn’t know if she’ll relocate her practice again in the future. Like many globally mobile individuals, “where is home?” is a complicated question without a single clear answer, and it’s likely that she and her family will relocate again in the future. Her current business setup will allow for continued flexibility no matter where in the world life takes her.
Another thing Melissa values about coaching is that many of her clients are looking not only for healing, but also for growth, change, and direction. Some have previously been in therapy and want to explore different approaches that help them move forward in practical ways, rather than focusing on analysing the past.
At the same time, Melissa is very clear that coaching is not therapy. If she is contacted by someone who needs mental health support that falls outside the scope of her coaching work, she refers them out to colleagues. (Being part of the LIT Community is helpful for this as she has a network of trusted colleagues who specialise in different areas).
There Is No One “Right” Way to Create a Location Independent Career
One thing you might have picked up on from Melissa’s journey is that there is rarely one single, clear path for location independent therapists to take. Through living in different countries, working across cultures, and her role as co-founder of the LIT Community, Melissa has seen countless ways to run an online practice and work as a location independent therapist.
Often, therapists want clear-cut answers about what is allowed and ethical, or how to structure an location independent career. But the reality is far more nuanced than people expect. There isn’t a simple answer to the regulations question as it depends on so many variables. If you want to learn more about what it looks like to navigate the regulations as an online therapist, we dive deeper into the topic in our blog post here.
That means it’s not always easy or straightforward to be a location independent therapist – especially when you’re first getting started and even more so if you don’t know others who are doing something similar. For Melissa, this journey has felt lonely at times. But being in community with other likeminded colleagues makes the whole thing feel less isolating and overwhelming – which is why we created the LIT Community in the first place.
Where Melissa’s journey has brought her today
We hope you’ve found it interesting (and maybe even inspiring) to learn more about Melissa’s journey as a location independent therapist over the years.
Today, Melissa’s work integrates her therapy background with a strong emphasis on self-compassion. With over a decade of business experience, Melissa now feels comfortable embracing the ‘coach’ label while also making space for her identity as a mental health professional. During this time, she’s also had two children and juggles running a business while raising them. While (incredibly!) challenging at times, she’s found it much more feasible than working as an employee because of the flexibility that working for herself brings.
This year, Melissa also self-published her memoir, A Compassionate Mess: A Therapist, Her Monsters, and a Journey to Self-Acceptance. A work in progress for many years, this book explores many of these themes in greater depth, including Melissa’s evolving understanding of what it means to be a therapist. It also reflects on her own personal journey and how self-compassion became an important part of both her life and her work with clients. You can find out more about it here!
If you are a mental health professional navigating questions about moving abroad as a therapist, transitioning from therapy to coaching, or building a more sustainable, internationally mobile career, we offer 1:1 consultations with our LIT co-founders. Find out more and book a consultation call here.
Thinking About Your Own Location Independent Career?
There is no single “right” way to build a location independent career in therapy or coaching. But equally, you don’t have to figure it all out alone. Within the LIT Community, mental health professionals from around the world come together to share experiences, ask questions, reflect on challenges, and support one another in building sustainable, meaningful careers across borders.
If you’re looking for connection, guidance, and honest conversations about the realities of this path, you can join us inside the community here.
