Life Transitions
- Move to a new country
- New job
- Becoming a parent
- Separation
- Divorce
- Mid- life crisis
- Being part of a step family
- Empty nest
- Medical illness
- Personal loss
- Professional transition
- Retirement
Major life transitions — moving to a new country, changing jobs, separation and divorce, becoming a parent, retirement — can be an overwhelming and challenging part of life. Transitions, even happy ones, can also be stressful and bring up mixed feelings. In the simplest terms, transition is change, predictable or unpredictable. Whatever the degree or intensity of the event, every transition we experience has one thing in common. It forces us to make changes to our existing life. And with change, comes resistance and vulnerability. A major life transition literally closes one chapter of our life, and starts a new one, putting us in a new place and direction that we have not walked before. It is often a very difficult adjustment as we endure intense feelings of fear, doubt, and uncertainty.
In our collaborative work together, we will explore the impact of the transition, support you through it, and help you see clearly ahead. Creating bridges between present and past, building support systems, working on your sense of strength and resilience and vulnerability will be at the core of our work together.
It can be helpful to:
1. Recognize that transitions are hard because they can shake your sense of identity.
2. To be in transition is a wonderful opportunity for growth.
3. Remind yourself why you chose to make the change.
4. Recall other times in your life when you’ve successfully dealt with transitions.
5. When you’re in transition, it’s easy to become overly focused on yourself.
6. Part of what helps you feel secure in transition is having a support system.