Being an Immigrant
My Hungarian origin and upbringing provides me with firsthand experience of the immigration journey that is often a mixture of adventurous excitement and stressful adjustment with many losses and gains on the way. Because of the hopes for better opportunities, this life changing event is often viewed as a solely positive experience and the stress that this transition can cause is often left unrecognized. The ways we think of the world and relate to one another in our culture of origin often differs from the norms in the foreign land. These discrepancies can easily lead to feelings of disconnection, not-belonging and difficulties with forming fulfilling relationships.
Immigrant Parenting
Parenting in a foreign country can be especially challenging especially when there is little familiar support available from your own family and community. Caregiving asks us to make choices of what we want our children to learn about how best to navigate life. When the whole family is in the process of adjusting to a new culture, this process can become especially confusing for both parents and child.
I offer therapeutic support with experiences like:
· Questions of cultural identity
· Loss of close contact with the familiar social circles at home
· Adjusting to the new while preserving your culture of origin
· Navigating multicultural/racial relationships and family
· Bilingual, bicultural parenting
· Stresses and restrictions of legal documentation process
· The traumatic experiences with immigration and refugee status