Mental Health
TRAUMA SERIES
Trauma is too often woven into the fabric of cross-cultural life. It’s in the hard terms, the losses and goodbyes that accumulate quietly, the things witnessed that can’t be unseen, and the weight carried on behalf of others. At Olive Tree Counseling Center, we believe that understanding trauma is an essential tool we can offer to you as cross-cultural workers and the member care providers who walk alongside them. In the articles and panel discussion below, our clinical team explores the foundations of trauma: how it lives in the brain and body, why it doesn’t look the same in every person or every culture, how early experiences shape the way we carry pain into adulthood, and what happens when caring for others begins to take its own toll. Whether you are personally navigating the aftermath of difficult experiences or seeking to better support those in your care, we hope these resources bring language, insight, and above all, hope.
Family & Relationships
Expat Living
NAVIGATING TRANSITIONS
This chosen life as a cross-cultural worker is full of major international moves, and untold transitions as you, or people close to you, come and go. It certainly adds in a level of stress and instability that many in our home countries never experience. But is it possible to navigate these transitions well?
In this two-part series, Amber Nicole sits down with each of our therapists at Olive Tree to get their insights on different aspects of international moves / transitions that workers face. There are helpful tools and pastoral reminders in here for every stage – and whether you’re facing one of these transitions now yourself, or care for someone who is, we hope you’ll find this a timely and valuable series to go back to time and and again.
