Coaching and Therapy for:
- Immigrants
- Temporary Residents
- Second generations
For immigrants, expats, and temporary residents, despite the different circumstances, to move and settle in a new country is often stressful. Some immigrants and temporary residents decide to move to a new country to engage in new careers or education, or to join their families or partners. Others are forced to move under great duress. But even when the move is relatively easy and desired, the geographical and cultural dislocation, the loss of the daily presence of the loved ones, the loss of professional and existential know-how, the depreciation of some of the self-defining values brings heightened emotions, confusion, tiredness, self-consciousness, and stress. The more one experiences his move as not voluntary and disempowering, the more the person feels unwelcome and unappreciated, the more is the risk of trauma. The outcome is influenced by the quality of the environment back home, the quality of the new environment, the reasons for leaving, and the person’s psychological strengths and vulnerabilities.
Even in the best-case scenario, stress is unavoidable. People may become anxious, depressed or fearful in the new environment. They may feel lonely or confused by the new culture. They may feel ashamed for a variety of reasons such as their accent, living circumstances, or for plainly being marginalized or different. They may experience feelings of guilt for those they left behind; for having left a county in disarray; for the privilege they experience as immigrants who pass for locals vis-à-vis the people back home or other immigrants who are less fortunate; or for not feeling competent enough in the language and culture of heritage.
Immigrants are suspended in-between places; and at times, to find security and stability, they have to depend on others and make great compromises to secure visas and working papers.
Because of these difficulties, immigrants cannot be overcome by feelings or debilitating symptoms, because their lives and success often depend on their performance, on their focused choices, on their strengths and foresight. They need to stay at the mast and move ahead. They need tools to cope with new and difficult situations and manage feelings optimally.
Being an immigrant myself and having worked for many years with many immigrants, temporary residents, and second generations, I am familiar with these dynamics. Part of my work as a therapist is aimed at providing tools to help people coming from different cultures to address complex new situations, modulate one’s emotions, and make a softer landing. Therefore, if you are interested in exploring these issues in therapy or coaching, please call at 212-929-7724, so we can book an appointment.
To help immigrants in their path to comfort and success, I also wrote a handbook that collects evidence-based techniques and easy to implement tools that meet the needs of people in transition between cultures and places. Please click below to leave your contact info, so I can let you know when the book is published and when the nearest book signing will be.
Please click here .
