Find connection and therapeutic support in English in Annecy, Haute Savoie, and throughout France via online sessions
What are the normal stages of emotional experience when moving to a new country? How do we adapt? Is it normal to feel anxious or great sadness? How do we know when to seek the support of a professional? How long does it take to adapt? The answer to these questions is as unique as you.
Beginning a new chapter of life in a new country is ofted a muddled experience of clarity and uncertain decisions, excitement and grief, new beginnings and endings simultaneously overlapped. As a licensed therapist myself I recall my cultural diversity trainings in university on acculturation and recall clearly the professor lecturing us on how the stages of accultruation mirror those of grief. This is not surprising as when we move to a new place, we leave a part of ourself behind while simultaneously envisioning a new evolution of ourself. I knew all of this, but it hit different when I crossed my own ocean of new beginnings.
The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
This poem has always resonated with me, My first memories are hearing it from my mother who herself was an English teacher. I can’t be sure that it didn’t first appear at school, but my memory is through my mother and her love of literature and poetry. I never knew that it would become so personal for my own life’s journey. Poetry and art have an amazing way of externalizing and reflecting what we are feeling internally. Likewise, talking with someone and connecting allows us to process and make tangible and seen all that we are experiencing.
If you are going through a life transition as an expat or within a multicultural relationship adjusting to a road less traveled and feeling alone or that you could use some connection, therapeutic counsling sessions offer a means of supporting your wellbing. Reach out today for a consultaion or to schedule an initial session.
Take steps to find support and wellness by connecting and contacting Megan today.
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Email: info@mazenspace.com