Hi, I was hoping i could find some information here.

I am English and a few years ago I moved over here to be with my (now) dutch husband. I gave up my flat, life and a good carreer to be with him, we were married in the UK in 2005. I have been unable to work in my field since moving here (living in the middle of nowhere combined with lousy public transport), and am dependent on him for everything. The marriage is in a bad way and he keeps threatening divorce. He has sort of agreed to see a counsellor (I have been asking for over a year) but I have no idea how to find a good english speaking counsellor, I phoned one up in Zeeland who said they were an excellent english speaker but they couldn't even talk on the phone! Can anyone recommend a good counsellor in the Zeeland or Rotterdam area?

To protect myself I also need to know what happens in dutch divorce, I cannot find anything of any use on expatica. I really need to know my rights and what I am entitled too. I am guessing that seeing a lawyer now may be a good idea too? So does anyone know of a good english speaking lawyer in the Zeeland/Rotterdam area?

Thank you.

Hello, sorry to hear you have trouble in your marriage. I don't know about the divorce laws and such, but I can recommend you contact ACCESS for counseling information. They have counselors on call, and they will help you find one in your area who can speak english. http://www.access-nl.org/


In the meantime, will he not consider other options, such as getting you a car, moving to a different area, etc? Try connecting with other ex-pats in your area, this can help a lot and some of them may be able to give you good information.

Good luck!

access were no help. They gave me a dutch language only telephone helpline to find a lawyer and the nearest counsellor was in Den Haag (so 2 hours drive) and didn't speak dutch so no good for my husband.

My husband says I have caused all the problems and he is not to blame for anything, whereas I knwo both of us have problems. But he wont accept he has a drinking problem either.

Unfortunately no other expats in the area I live and his family hate me so I have no support at all.

Thank you for your help though.

Does no-one on these boards know of an English speaking marriage counsellor in the Zeeland Rotterdam area or a divorce lawyer in Rotterdam who speaks English?

I'm a family,marriage counselor. Send me a message through the message system here and I will contact you. I'm in the Rotterdam area. I'm counseling several marriages in trouble at the present.

Hi Dutchhelp, thanks for your reply, I didn't see it in time unfortunately.
We eventually (I had been asking to see a counsellor for over a year) ended up seeing a marriage counsellor in The Hague who spoke dutch and english but as I feared it was too little too late. My husband sat there and said everything was all my fault, he was fine and had done nothing wrong and the drinking was all in my imagination too and he had wanted rid of me for a year but I was too stupid to tae the hint. So we're now getting divorced.