Clinical psychology · software development · life abroad
Mental health for Brazilian developers abroad
Those who write code also have to deal with uncertainty, reviewing their own work, team dynamics, and a life that continues beyond the screen.
A small change can require hours of investigation. A meeting may take place in another language. After closing the editor, there are still personal decisions, important people, and a country where you are building your life. This page examines how these dimensions can intersect, without assuming that the profession or a move to another country causes illness.
The practical work
The code is only part of the routine
Developing software involves understanding requirements, communicating with others, deciding between possible solutions, testing, reviewing, and dealing with unforeseen side effects. The time it takes to complete a task is not always visible to the person receiving the deliverable. A difficult-to-reproduce error can consume all morning without producing an obvious change in the repository.
In certain teams, attention alternates between investigations requiring follow-up and messages demanding responses. There are periods of intense collaboration and others of solitary work. None of these conditions alone determines how someone will be psychologically. What matters is understanding their combination with autonomy, team support, expectations, personal history, and living conditions.
A qualitative study with 14 software engineers found reports spanning individual, team, and organizational levels. This type of study helps formulate questions about work, but its sample does not represent all developers. Read the study from the University of California, Irvine.
When investigating a problem becomes the measure of one's own worth
Sometimes a task remains unfinished because the problem is indeed complex. But it can happen that the technical difficulty takes on another meaning: If I ask for help, they will realize that I am not as good as they thought. From that point on, someone might spend more time working alone, postpone a useful conversation, or keep rereading what they did.
This interpretation does not arise out of nowhere. It may be connected to previous experiences, how the team responds to questions, the person's professional standing, and the extent to which they feel they need to demonstrate competence in the new country. There may also be situations in which seeking help is genuinely difficult in that environment. Psychotherapy considers these possibilities before proposing any conclusion.
A possible clinical question
What happened when you asked for clarification the last time? Was there a concrete reaction from the team, an anticipation of what could occur, or both?
Examining the distinction between facts, predictions, and working conditions can open up alternative responses. It is not about demanding constant confidence or attributing all difficulty to the individual.
Code review is also a relationship.
A pull request may receive suggestions about naming, architecture, tests, and unforeseen cases. There are careful reviews, rushed reviews, and ambiguous comments. When the conversation takes place in another language and almost entirely in writing, it can sometimes be difficult to understand the intent or find the best time to ask.
A comment on the code does not define the capacity of whoever wrote it. Nevertheless, the emotional reaction can be relevant. Perhaps there may be embarrassment, irritation, or fear of sending the next change. We can investigate how the review is conducted, what you understood from the message, and what you usually do after receiving it.
Incidents and Shared Responsibility
When something fails in production, there are urgent technical decisions, communication with colleagues, and real consequences for users. After the incident, some teams examine processes and system conditions; others focus their attention on finding a person responsible. This difference matters.
If an episode keeps returning to your mind, you cannot determine its meaning from the page alone. It may involve assessing the consequences, personal accountability, an unsafe environment for recognizing mistakes, or other issues. Psychotherapy can help examine the episode without erasing technical responsibility or turning it into automatic individual guilt.
Will you learn to work or study to never fall behind?
It is reasonable to update your knowledge throughout your career. The question arises when a weekend without courses seems to cast doubt on your entire professional future. Languages, AI tools, infrastructure, and development practices are constantly changing, yet no one can keep up with everything at once.
For those living outside Brazil, the career may be linked to the possibility of remaining in the country, family income, and plans built over years. In some contexts, insecurity about work and residence is concrete. In others, the feeling that one never knows enough persists even when professional recognition exists. It is necessary to distinguish these situations rather than responding to both with the same advice.
A review of studies on software engineers' well-being describes the topic as multidimensional and points to the need to examine individual, team, and organizational factors. It does not establish a single cause or allow for diagnosing readers of this page. See the scientific review.
Working in another language without reducing everything to that language
One person can fully understand technology and still prefer a few seconds to formulate an objection in English. They may also express themselves easily yet find difficulty in a specific relationship with leadership. Language is part of the situation, not a ready-made explanation for all discomfort.
In reviews, interviews, and architectural decisions, it is worth asking what is being negotiated: a technical detail, the right to disagree, time to think, or the sense of belonging to the team. In psychotherapy, these experiences can be processed in Brazilian Portuguese.
Outside the team, who is part of your life?
After work, life does not automatically organize itself around friendships and rest. Building connections in another country can take time; maintaining relationships in Brazil requires balancing schedules. Some feel comfortable with remote work, while others desire more in-person interaction.
Your work can matter deeply without being your sole source of identity or belonging. Relationships, family, decisions about where to live, and moments that have nothing to do with code can also be topics in psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy
How to look at these experiences in the clinic
In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, we can examine specific situations and the relationship between interpretations, emotions, and behaviors. Think of it as a review with various requests for change. One possible interpretation is “My solution doesn’t work.” Another is “There are criteria I still need to understand.” Both hypotheses need to be examined in light of feedback, the team, and your history. Clinical work does not consist of imposing a positive interpretation.
We can also observe avoidance patterns, work hours that encroach on personal life, difficulty in seeking clarification, and ways of responding to self-imposed pressure. The analysis includes the concrete conditions of employment. Psychotherapy does not replace necessary changes in work organization and is not intended to make someone produce more.
When is the right time to talk about what's happening?
There is no specific list of events that determines when someone should seek psychotherapy. Perhaps you want to understand why a change in team dynamics has become so significant, why important conversations have been postponed, or how your professional life relates to what you wish to build outside of it. You may also be dealing with questions that have no connection to work.
Examples such as difficulty relaxing, rumination after a review, and reduced availability for personal relationships are not diagnoses. Their meaning depends on the frequency, intensity, and context in each person's life.
For a broader view of care for people in other roles in the field, see the page Psychotherapy for technology professionals abroad.
Questions About Care
Do I need to bring up a work problem?
No. Psychotherapy can address relationships, family, life changes, and other topics that are important to you.
Do I need to work as a developer?
No. The services can also include people in other roles and fields.
What is the first session like?
The first session is already part of the psychotherapeutic process. You can share the reason you are seeking therapy and aspects of your context at the pace you need, without preparing a complete account before the meeting.
Can I receive services if I live outside of Brazil?
Please indicate your country and, where applicable, your region of residence at first contact. The possibility of service is verified based on Brazilian professional standards and requirements applicable to your location.
Are the sessions conducted in Portuguese? What is the duration?
Yes. The service is exclusively online, in Brazilian Portuguese, and each session lasts 50 minutes.
Do you accept health insurance?
No. The care is private and the fee is provided upon contact.
First contact
We can talk about what you're going through
If your development routine, life abroad, or other personal issues have taken up space in your life, psychotherapy can be a place to explore these experiences with attention to your context. You can contact us to learn about the conditions of service and check availability.
My training in Information Systems and my prior experience of approximately ten years as a developer give me familiarity with software work. In psychotherapy, this knowledge informs how I listen to your story and to the issues you want to work on.
In your first message, please provide your country of residence, time zone, and availability. You do not need to share personal details via WhatsApp.
Alexandre Bartoli
Psychologist · CRP 04/86889
Português do Brasil
English
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