One of the best ways to reflect upon your experience as an expat is to explore and process it with other people who understand what it is like.

I offer workshops and seminars on

• Identity issues of the trailing spouse
• Culture shock
• The concept of “home”
• Adjustment and transitions

Contact me to explore booking a workshop or presentation

I want you to stop being afraid of child abuse.

I know that sounds controversial, contradictory and confusing. Aren’t we supposed to be afraid?

Yes and no. Statistics show that abuse of children is rampant and it is cause for huge concern.  Abuse and neglect happen in all countries, cultures and socio-economic groups.  One of the important messages that safeguarding experts promote is that “abuse can happen here”. We know that a sex abuse scandal in our community not only damages children forever but can ruin a school or organization that is doing so much good in other areas. So shouldn’t we be afraid?

While fear sometimes makes us spring into action, it can make us feel paralysed, overwhelmed and helpless. Fear can cause us to approach child protection as something we have to do instead of something we want to do. Fear promotes defensiveness and self-protection. By using fear to fight child abuse we are perpetuating the very emotional state that we are trying to eliminate.

Instead of feeling fear, I want you to feel empowered, knowledgable and confident about preventing child abuse. I want you to show up for work at your schools, sports programs, clubs knowing that you have policies in place to prevent abuse, training to identify abuse and personnel that are interacting with children in a healthy, safe way. And if for some reason, abuse still occurs, I want you to know how to help children report it and heal from it as best possible.

I have extensive experience working in international schools to provide child protection training, policy review and support to families impacted by abuse. Contact me to arrange a consultation for your school or organization.

A driving force in my desire to live overseas is my lifelong fascination with cultural differences. Culture is much more than the clothes we wear and the food we eat. It is at the heart of what we value and how we see the world.

International life provides countless opportunities to explore other cultures and examine your own. However, new insights don’t always happen by themselves. It takes exploration and reflection to fully understand when cultural differences are at work and to appreciate the richness they bring to life.

I am a certified trainer of “Crossing Cultures with Competence” through The Interchange Institute. Contact me to discuss cultural training, orientation to new host countries and individual or group sessions on culture shock and transition.

Living overseas can be an exciting and fulfilling experience. But it can also be lonely, stressful and uncertain. In my experience as an expat, when it’s good, it’s great. When it’s bad, it’s really hard.

The complexities of life don’t stop when you move to a new country. Living away from friends, family and supports can make the ordinary ups and downs of life even more challenging. Family members get sick, marriages falter and people feel depressed or anxious. And when you need to talk to someone, it is often hard to find a therapist who speaks your language and understands your issues.

I have 20 years of experience providing counselling to people struggling with transitions, identity, sadness and anxiety. I have lived overseas for 12 years of my life and understand the issues that expats face. I have a masters degree in Clinical Social Work, a degree specifically focused on counselling, and am a licensed independent social worker in the State of Massachusetts in the US.

All my counselling sessions are private and confidential. Contact me to set up a free 30 minute consultation to determine if counselling is right for you.