Growing up between cultures often means living with both richness and complexity. My own story began in northeastern Italy, where my parents belonged to the Slovene minority. This community, historically repressed – especially from the times of the Fascist regime on – carried the weight of cultural silencing. At home, I was immersed in Slovene traditions, language, and values, while outside I navigated Italian society.
Because there was little work available in their homeland, my parents had to leave the border region where the Slovene minority lived. They migrated abroad, and I was born in Germany. When I was only a toddler, we returned to Italy, where I continued to grow up between Slovene traditions at home and Italian society outside. This early experience of migration and cultural duality shaped my identity and gave me a deep understanding of what it means to belong everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Later, I “emigrated” myself to Milan for university. I remained there for 26 years, building a career in an international bank. Yet throughout those years, I carried a longing to return home. Inside me was a drive to “prove something,” to “do something that would reconnect me to my roots.” Eventually, I succeeded in returning to my region of origin, where I developed my second career as a coach and psychological counselor. Today, I work as an independent professional, supporting people online internationally.
This personal history resonates deeply with the journeys of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) * and international expatriates. Living across cultures can foster adaptability, creativity, and empathy, but it can also bring challenges: questions of identity, feelings of disconnection, and the difficulty of integrating diverse cultural influences into a coherent sense of self.
TCKs and expatriates often describe a sense of being “in between.” They may feel at home in multiple places, yet not fully rooted in any single culture. This hybridity can be a source of strength, but it can also create confusion and emotional strain. Some common themes include:
– Identity questions: “Where do I belong?” or “Which culture is truly mine?”
– Emotional dislocation: feeling at home everywhere and nowhere at once.
– Stress in transitions: moving between countries, jobs, or relationships can reactivate old patterns of uncertainty.
These experiences are not just intellectual—they are lived in the body, felt in the nervous system, and carried in emotional patterns.
My Practice: Integrating Body, Mind, and Culture
Today, I support people who are navigating transitions, cultural complexity, or the lingering effects of stress and trauma. My work integrates various methods, which include:
– Coaching and psychological counseling: to clarify goals, strengthen relationships, and support professional and personal growth.
– Somatic Experiencing® (SE): a body-based method that helps regulate the nervous system and release survival energy stuck in fight, flight, or freeze responses.
– Integral Somatic Psychology™ (ISP): an approach that expands the capacity to stay with emotions in the body, fostering resilience and embodied transformation.
This combination allows me to work with the whole person – mind, body, and emotions – so that I can support people not only in understanding their experiences cognitively, but also in processing them somatically and emotionally. For TCKs and expatriates, this is particularly important: cultural transitions are not just intellectual—they are lived in the body, felt in the nervous system, and carried in emotional patterns.
Returning to Roots
A few years ago, I began studying the Slovene language. My parents had not been able to teach it to me, as they themselves were forced to learn Italian at school and spoke only a dialect passed down orally. This dialect is slowly disappearing, as the Slovene minority in Italy continues to shrink due to migration and displacement.
Learning Slovene now is part of my personal journey to reconnect with my cultural roots. It is a way of honoring the heritage of my family and community, while also integrating it into my present life and professional practice.
Working across borders
My professional journey has also led me to assist in Somatic Experiencing® trainings held in contexts of war or post‑war, including Ukraine, Croatia, and Bosnia‑Herzegovina. These experiences continue to deepen my understanding of trauma in collective and cultural dimensions, and strengthen my commitment to supporting resilience and healing in diverse environments.
Working in these contexts has shown me how trauma is not only personal but also collective, embedded in communities and cultures. For people who have lived through war or displacement, the body often carries the imprint of survival responses long after the danger has passed. SE and ISP provide tools to gently release these patterns and restore a sense of safety and regulation.
Supporting TCKs and Expatriates
In my practice, I help clients explore their experiences in depth. Together, we work to transform stress into resilience, confusion into clarity, and cultural complexity into a source of strength. Some of the ways this unfolds include:
– Exploring identity and belonging: creating space to honor multiple cultural influences without needing to choose one over the other.
– Building emotional regulation: learning to stay with what feels overwhelming and transform it into resilience.
– Navigating transitions: whether moving countries, changing careers, or shifting relationships, finding stability in the midst of change.
In Summary
Living between cultures can be both a gift and a challenge. For TCKs and expatriates, the journey often involves weaving together multiple identities, navigating transitions, and finding stability in the midst of change. My practice offers a space to explore these themes safely and deeply, integrating body and mind to foster resilience and transformation.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_culture_kid
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Author Bio
Liana Dugaro is a psychological counselor and professional coach, and integrates also body oriented modalities. After a career as a bank executive, she followed her calling to support people in their personal and professional growth, through life transitions.
Learn more at lianadugaro.coach
