Dr Burdick knows the feeling of isolation for expats due to lack of support, as he himself spent years living between Switzerland and the UAE. He will tell you that those who are employed by US, & UK entities doing business in the Netherlands have family members who immediately require schools, health and wellness options.
To that end Dr. Burdick has successfully worked with local and governmental agencies to provide counseling and other types of supports to expats. He also works with business entities through their HR departments to find insurance based programs that will work effectively for individuals and families living in the Netherlands and using US, UK or EU insurance options.
Programs themselves are ready and willing to work with corporations, small & family business to provide ‘ hand tailored’ options to their employees. Dr. Burdick works with such programs, and can meet with you to discuss program options, and to set up further proactive versus reactive discussion. Benjamin Franklin is credited as saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” However, it was likely his doctor, his mother, or wife — who knows for sure. The logic still stands, and the least expensive alternative. Get in quick to help people, and it will save euros — guaranteed!
Dr Burdick feels firmly that people do much better and get results much faster when in a residential placement, whether it be a school, or a treatment center. However, some people prefer to use local resources at the beginning or for aftercare as advised. The most experienced and trained counselors, coaches, and therapists are available for either one-to-one session work or tele-conferencing. Fees are charged individually and vary by the practitioner themselves, depending on specialization.
“Dr. Burdick has been an excellent resource on electronic media for myself (Head of School), and our school when we have had to address issues with various students. The most notable was when I called him and asked him to help with a boy that was in need of immediate assessment, to decide if we can manage him at our school, if he needed to be at a different institution, or he needs a different journey altogether. Not only was Dr. Burdick helpful, he flew to school within a week, and then when the boy was unable to return to school due to visa restrictions, he managed a weekend face-to-face session with the boys mother, and on Skype with the student. From this assessment, Dr. Burdick recommended a program in USA for 4-8 weeks that might help him with his issues, and might give him the tools to be able to return to our school, or at least attend another institution successfully.
Dr. Burdick’s willingness to be there and take command of the situation, assess the students quickly and diligently, was appreciated by our school, but also by the boy’s family. He helped them understand the situation and proposed different avenues for them to go along.” Tim Sloman, Carlsbad International School
- developing partnerships with business is the first step in reaching the needs of expat families working abroad.
- working collaboratively with programs to offer ‘hand tailored’ options is the most efficient way.
- Family run businesses require additional attention with confidentiality a key component.
- community members must look at ‘out of the box’ solutions to meet resolve ‘hard to resolve’ problems.
- programs are willing to provide opportunities right now to help expats looking for options.