Living abroad: building a life here · worksheet 59
When you have lived in several countries, you sometimes wonder “where am I really from?”. Telling your story in chapters helps you connect the pieces and find the thread that runs through them.
Before you start
- What it is for: To tell your journey in chapters, connect your belongings and find the thread that runs through them.
- About 20-30 minutes, calmly. You can do it in several sittings.
- Telling your story like a book with chapters helps you see that you are the same person through the changes.
- The story doesn’t need to be “nice”: just true.
Prefer paper? Download the PDF to print (with a page for psychologists).
What to do with your results
What runs through all the chapters (values, strengths, bonds) is the heart of your identity. Your final sentence may change: come back to it from time to time.
If you find it hard
If your journey includes violence or forced exile, don’t go over the traumatic events on your own: do it with a professional.
For psychologists
The PDF also includes a page for the psychologist: how to run the exercise in session, points to watch and scientific references. You are free to use it with your clients.
For psychologists: aim, audience and duration
Help the person build a narrative of their migration journey that links the different stages and integrates both belongings, instead of an identity experienced as broken or “neither from here nor from there”.
Feeling of not belonging anywhere, second generations, journeys through several countries. Duration: 20-30 min in session; writing between sessions.
References
Bhugra, D. & Becker, M. A. (2005). Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity. World Psychiatry, 4(1), 18-24.
Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46(1), 5-34.
These worksheets do not replace therapy. If you are in distress or having suicidal thoughts, call your local emergency number (112 in Europe; 3114 in France, free, 24/7).
Free worksheet for non-commercial use: you may share it with credit to the author, without modifying it (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence).
