About Cassandra
CASSANDRA KARLSSON — Practice Manager International Bachelor of Psychology, Leiden University · English, Swedish, French, Spanish
Cassandra grew up between Sweden and France, which means she arrived at Expat Psychologist Amsterdam with something that can’t be taught in a classroom — a lived understanding of what it means to build a sense of belonging somewhere that isn’t quite home yet. She knows the particular experience of navigating life across cultures: the richness of it, the complexity of it, and the moments when it quietly becomes harder than it looks from the outside. That experience shapes everything about how she engages with clients, from the very first contact.
She holds an International Bachelor of Psychology from Leiden University, where she specialised in clinical application and spent four years immersed in both the theory and the human reality of mental health care. That combination — academic rigour alongside genuine personal insight — gives her an unusually grounded perspective for someone early in her career. She came to Expat Psychologist Amsterdam as a personal assistant in training, drawn by the opportunity to combine her passion for psychology with hands-on experience in the administrative side of a specialist practice. It was, in her words, a natural fit.
“There are no facts, only interpretations.” — Nietzsche
As Practice Manager, Cassandra is the first point of contact for new clients — the person who answers your message, coordinates your appointment, and makes sure that from the very first interaction, you feel in good hands. She understands that reaching out to a psychologist for the first time takes courage, and she takes the responsibility of that first impression seriously. Whether you know exactly what you’re looking for or you’re still finding the words for it, she will help you navigate the process with patience, warmth and no unnecessary pressure.
Inclusion matters deeply to her — in all its forms. Having spent her formative years in international school environments across Europe, she developed an early awareness of how much we have to learn from each other, and how much easier every transition becomes when the people around you are genuinely invested in making it work.
Outside the practice, Cassandra finds grounding in music and storytelling — two things, she says, that have a way of anchoring her no matter where she is. She has also developed a growing interest in history and physics, drawn to the perspective they offer on the present. She speaks Swedish, English, French and Spanish, a linguistic range she attributes in large part to her grandmother and to her years of living and studying across Europe. After four years in Leiden, she has recently joined the Amsterdam team — and brings with her exactly the kind of thoughtful, quietly attentive care that sets the tone for a client’s entire experience with the practice.
