Join Shop Talk with Brandi and James as they talk with Paula Wong about her work with cross cultural workers. Dr. Wong was trained in Australia and now lives in Switzerland where she covers a broad range of issues in her Counseling Practice primarily with cross cultural workers. Through her work Paula holds an unshakable hope for healing both individuals and relationships. Part of her training includes a psychoanalysis approach and sometimes she says, people need to just get on the couch!
Join Shop Talk with Brandi and James as they interview friends from around the world gaining insights at ways to celebrate Christmas cross culturally. Special thanks to guests Mary Lou Smyth, Christopher Arnold, Tim Robinson and Randi Israel!
Thanks to Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay for the free Christmas music in the podcast!
In this episode Brandi and James get a little deeper into what to do about depression. One of the big keys is growing in self awareness so you know when you need help and how to get it. It is easy to ask someone to help you move because it is obviously a two person job. Dealing with the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual challenges of depression are no different.
Some types of therapy that were mentioned in this episode are:
One of the main topics was the need to grow in self awareness especially as it relates to your own emotions. This Colorful emotion wheel could be helpful for that https://fairygodboss.com/career-topics/emotion-wheel
Join Brandi and James as they interview Geoff Whiteman, LMF discussing his research on resiliency and cross cultural workers. His study was completed by 892 workers representing 41 nationalities and serving in 148 countries. He will be speaking a Missio Nexus in September https://missionexus.org/innovate-2021/ on what the data said about organizations and resilience.
Visit his website at ResilientGlobalWorker.org to find out more and sign up for his newsletter.
Grab your copy of the UNIVERSAL HUMAN NEEDS WHEEL and other go-to interventions Geoff uses to help promote resilient growth among global workers at: bit.ly/RGWpodcast
Resource Recommendations:
Notes from the episode
If the number of people depressed globally every year represented a country’s population, it would be one of the biggest countries in the world ( Globally, more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression annually (WHO).) In this first episode James and Brandi discuss what depression is and how and why it might be more prevalent amongst cross cultural workers.
I had a black dog, his name was depression (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc)
World Health Organization (WHO) At its worst, depression can be a frightening, debilitating condition. Millions of people around the world live with depression. Many of these individuals and their families are afraid to talk about their struggles, and don’t know where to turn for help. However, depression is largely preventable and treatable. Recognizing depression and seeking help is the first and most critical towards recovery. In collaboration with WHO to mark World Mental Health Day, writer and illustrator Matthew Johnstone tells the story of overcoming the “black dog of depression”. More information on the book can be found here: http://matthewjohnstone.com.au/ For more information on mental health, please visit: http://www.who.int/topics/mental_heal… Disclaimer: This video may contain links and references to third party-websites. WHO is not responsible for, and does not endorse or promote, the content of any of these websites and the use thereof.
A Christian perspective of Depression (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXecSlwVBTQ&t=333s)
TCK’s and Trauma focusing on the research of Dr. Lindsay Stone. Dr. Stone is a TCK/MK herself and her research focused on stories of TCK’s and identified specific trauma categories they often experience.
One thing the globally mobile lifestyle requires from us all is to adjust to change. In Third Culture Kids: Growing up among Worlds, David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken introduced the concept of ‘building a RAFT’ to help ease us and our children through moves to new cultures.
RAFT stands for:
But RAFT is not only for moves across cultures. It is a change model for transitions of all kinds and can help us adjust in times of rapid change, ambiguity, even turmoil, such as what we are experiencing today.
(For full details on RAFT, please refer to Third Culture Kids, now in its third edition, by David C. Pollock, Ruth Van Reken, and Michael Pollock.)
(Third Culture Kids)
Families in Global Transition resources www.figt.org
Lauren Wells coaching, training & resources www.tcktraining.com
Interaction International resources https://interactionintl.org/resources/
TCK Connect groups https://interactionintl.org/programs/tck-connect/
In this publication, the authors explore the experiences of those who have become known as third culture kids (TCKs) – children who grow up or spend a significant part of their childhood living abroad. The book is rich with real-life anecdotes and examines the nature of the TCK kid experience and its effects on maturing, developing a sense of identity, and adjusting to one’s passport country upon return. The authors give readers an understanding of the challenges and benefits of the TCK life and provide practical suggestions and advice on maximizing those benefits. (Amazon)
One way to process your own grief is through writing of a lament. Here is one way to engage in that process.
Writing your own lament
By James Covey (adapted from Healing Teen’s Wounds of Trauma)
One positive way to deal with the hard things that go on in our lives is to create a “lament.” A lament is a way of expressing our pain to God when we feel bad. It might be done in words, in music, in dance or any other form of creative expression.
A lament helps us expose all the stuff that we have tried to hide and share it with God. This is a good way to start telling your story and releasing painful memories. As it becomes more comfortable for you to share it privately with God, creating a lament can lead to sharing your story with another person when you are ready.
There are many examples of laments in the Bible. Trauma after trauma happened to the nation of Israel as a community (wars, captivity, displacement, famines) as well as to individuals (abuse, rape, abandonment, murder). Many of them found comfort in bringing their pain to God. They had an honest way of speaking to God where they poured out their complaints to him, sometimes even as they declared their trust in him. There are over 40 laments in the book of psalms (making it the most common type of psalm). Laments have the elements below in them but they must have a complaint to be a lament. It is helpful to also have a review of God’s faithfulness and a vow of trust in God.
Parts of a Lament
James and ellie 