English-speaking psychologist in Stockholm
If you are more comfortable talking about difficult things in English than in Swedish, that matters. Therapy depends on being able to say what you actually mean, and having to translate yourself while doing it gets in the way.
I am Per Morien, a licensed psychologist (legitimerad psykolog) with a practice on Odengatan 39 in Stockholm, close to Odenplan. I work in both Swedish and English, and I have been working as a psychologist since 2009 — in psychiatry, primary care, occupational health and private practice.
What I work with
Most people who come to me are dealing with one of the following:
Anxiety. Panic attacks, social anxiety, health anxiety, or worry that has grown to take up more and more space.
Stress and burnout. Exhaustion that doesn’t lift with rest, difficulty concentrating, a sense that your capacity has quietly shrunk.
Low mood and depression. Loss of energy or motivation, or the feeling that things that used to matter no longer do.
Relationship difficulties. Individually, or as couples therapy. Couples sessions are available in English, and it is often easier for a couple to work on their relationship in a language where both feel equally at home.
Long-term pain. I spent several years researching pain at university level and developing treatment approaches in that area.
Many people come without a clear explanation for how they are feeling. That is a perfectly good starting point — working out what is going on is part of what we do together.
How I work
I am trained in CBT and also work with third-wave approaches such as ACT and DBT. But I treat CBT as a theoretical model — a way of understanding how thoughts, feelings and behaviour connect — rather than as a manual to follow step by step.
In practice, that means we start from your situation and from what is actually keeping the problem in place, not from a predetermined programme. Sometimes that means spending time on something no manual would list, because that is where the problem sits.
What stays the same is where we begin: you talk, I ask questions, and we try to understand the context together. Many people say that the first session alone gives them a different view of what they are dealing with.
Living in Stockholm without Swedish
A few things come up often enough to be worth naming.
Navigating Swedish healthcare is difficult when you don’t speak the language and don’t know how the system fits together. Coming to me requires no referral and no contact with a vårdcentral — you book directly.
Being far from family and long-standing friendships changes what support is available when something is hard. That isolation is often part of what people bring, and it is worth talking about rather than treating as a separate matter.
And moving country is a significant life event in itself, even when it was chosen and even when it went well.
What I work with
Most people who come to me are dealing with one of the following:
Anxiety. Panic attacks, social anxiety, health anxiety, or worry that has grown to take up more and more space.
Stress and burnout. Exhaustion that doesn’t lift with rest, difficulty concentrating, a sense that your capacity has quietly shrunk.
Low mood and depression. Loss of energy or motivation, or the feeling that things that used to matter no longer do.
Relationship difficulties. Individually, or as couples therapy. Couples sessions are available in English, and it is often easier for a couple to work on their relationship in a language where both feel equally at home.
Long-term pain. I spent several years researching pain at university level and developing treatment approaches in that area.
Many people come without a clear explanation for how they are feeling. That is a perfectly good starting point — working out what is going on is part of what we do together.
Practical information
Where. Odengatan 39, 113 51 Stockholm, near Odenplan. Sessions can also be held by video, whether that suits you better or you live elsewhere in Sweden.
Booking. No referral is needed. You book directly, and an appointment is often available as soon as the next day.
Cost. The first session is 750 SEK — half the ordinary price. Sessions after that are 1,500 SEK. A first couples session is 950 SEK.
Confidentiality. As a licensed psychologist I am bound by professional confidentiality under Swedish law.
Employer-funded sessions. Some employers cover therapy for their staff. If yours does, I can invoice your employer directly — just let me know when you book.
Not sure whether to book?
If you are uncertain whether therapy is right for you, or whether I am the right person, you are welcome to start with a free ten-minute phone call. You describe briefly what it is about, ask whatever you want to ask, and hear how I think about it.
You speak to me directly, not to someone who will pass you on.
What I work with
Most people who come to me are dealing with one of the following:
Anxiety. Panic attacks, social anxiety, health anxiety, or worry that has grown to take up more and more space.
Stress and burnout. Exhaustion that doesn’t lift with rest, difficulty concentrating, a sense that your capacity has quietly shrunk.
Low mood and depression. Loss of energy or motivation, or the feeling that things that used to matter no longer do.
Relationship difficulties. Individually, or as couples therapy. Couples sessions are available in English, and it is often easier for a couple to work on their relationship in a language where both feel equally at home.
Long-term pain. I spent several years researching pain at university level and developing treatment approaches in that area.
Many people come without a clear explanation for how they are feeling. That is a perfectly good starting point — working out what is going on is part of what we do together.