Credentials

• Licensed Psychologist (Portugal & Sweden)

• MA in Clinical and Counselling Psychology

• MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience

• PgD in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Couple’s Therapy & Clinical Sexology

• Specialist in Organisational Psychology

               Languages: English, Portuguese, Swedish — with strong knowledge of French and Spanish.

A life between borders — and stories

I was born in Portugal, lived in Sweden for over a decade, and have spent much of my adult life navigating life across languages, countries, and identities. Along the way, I’ve worked with international organisations, expats, creatives, couples, leaders, and seekers — each carrying their own version of questions like: “Who am I now?” “Where am I going?” or “What’s the meaning of all this?”

My path has moved through many landscapes — both inward and outward. I've conducted academic research on consciousness, depression, and the psychological effects of yoga, while also exploring altered states through meditation and personal inquiry. I’ve known the silence of heartbreak, the complexity of starting over, and the quiet liberation that comes with making peace with your own story.

I once met a tall ship captain and spent a season aboard his vessel, a chapter that taught me how to move with the wind and trust in forces beyond control. After that, I lived alone aboard my own boat through the stillness of a Nordic summer, and years later, I built a family with that same man. These experiences offered lessons that deepened what years of formal training began.

They don’t just inform my work — they shape it. They’ve made me a more grounded therapist, a more spacious listener, and a more honest writer.

Why I do this?

I do this work because change rarely fails for lack of willpower, it fails for lack of a clear story. Most of my clients don't need convincing that something has to shift; they need help understanding what's actually happening, and language for it that holds up under pressure. That's the work I care about: combining the structure of evidence-based psychology with the honesty of narrative therapy, so people can think clearly about their own lives instead of just enduring them.

Writing & What's Next

After years of change and deep listening, both in life and in my work as a psychologist, I've returned to writing with a clearer voice.

My Substack, Field Notes from a Psychologist’s Life, is a quiet corner of the internet where I share reflections on inner clarity, motherhood, grief, creativity, identity, and the beauty of becoming.

If you’re new here, I invite you to start with this piece:
Start Here: The Art of Becoming — A psychologist’s story of movement, identity, and finding calm in the unknown.

Because stories can heal. Especially when we learn to live, and write, our own.

Let's Work Together

Through AnaBatista.com, I offer more than sessions: a space to think clearly about change, backed by clinical training and years of doing this work across cultures.

There are two ways to begin:

• Work with me 1:1 — Individual and couples therapy for expats and high-achievers navigating anxiety, burnout, and major transitions.
• Explore a self-paced course — Structured, guided work on anxiety, transitions, and identity, at your own pace.

Reach out when it feels right, there's no rush.