The life of a Third Culture Kid therapist

The life of a Third Culture Kid therapist

Rachel is, amongst many other things, a Third Culture Kid therapist specialising in Life Story Interview and Accompaniment, an approach she developed from her Sociological doctorial research into TCK identity, belonging and relationship to place. This podcast is a place she comes to contribute her ponderings on personal growth, working with pain, and the transformative change that comes from a better understanding of our own stories. For more information about Rachel’s therapeutic work, please visit: www.explorelifestory.com or drop her a line at rachelcason@explorelifestory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

August 7, 2026 21 mins
Powerlessness is a theme that shows up a lot in TCK stories. In this episode I'm exploring why this is and the difficulty of owning the power we gain as adults.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
I was reminded recently of the nuance between doing things that we feel are good for us because we 'should' or because we want to treat ourselves well. It is not uncommon for me to hear TCKs (myself included!) preoccupied with trying to crack the 'right way' to do our lives, and how this can bring a lot of anxiety. In this episode I explore what would shift if we were more preoccupied with treating ourselves well, than getting it r...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
This week, I'm observing my behaviour around my garden - how I seem to get lost in how to keep showing up to it after the big push of landscaping... and how this is mirrored in many ways as I navigate settledness as a TCK.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
July 17, 2026 21 mins
This is a bit of processing moment today! I'm reflecting on those familiar sticking places we come back to - the same sinking feelings - and how we can disrupt the cycle by finding and naming the beliefs about ourselves that underpin them. And then change our stories - fundamentally! Walk with me as I ponder!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
July 10, 2026 17 mins
Today I'm reflecting on how hard it can feel to tell our story in a way that fully reflects our experiences, and the pain of seeing our attempts to share misunderstood. These reflections took me to Rousseau's 'Surprised' piece - where he depicts a tiger in a jungle, frightened in a storm. There is a connection, I promise!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
July 3, 2026 23 mins
In this episode, I'm reflecting on my week off recently... and on how hard I'm finding it to tell the story outside of the familiar 'learning and growing' genre, and to instead sit with a new story - where it was straightforwardly and uncomplicatedly good.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
This episode tracks a little conversation with the biggest welcome - to Lindsay Linder, Life Story's Communications Associate! Lindsay has been working with me for a number of years now, but thanks to a recent grant, is now coming on board to help me even more - listen for more details! Also do check out my new 'My Team' page for more of her story - https://explorelifestory.com/my-team/

...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
July 1, 2026 18 mins

I am so excited to introduce to you my new team member - associate coach, Mary Talbot! Here is a short episode of us in conversation around her story, and what she's bringing to Life Story Therapies! Do check out the 'My Team' page on the website for more information!


My Team | Life Story Therapies


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
June 26, 2026 20 mins

So many TCKs I meet are deeply invested in social justice issues. Here I explore why this happens, what this involvement contributes to our stories, and how we can navigate identity throughout.


And for those interested! https://toilettwinning.org/


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
June 19, 2026 18 mins

An encounter with a harpist, and the joy of being in the audience. In this episode I reflect on the narrative so many Third Culture Kids encounter around their duty to lead.


And for those interested - https://www.eiralynnjones.com/


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Here I explore that tension I see myself and so many other TCKs carry in our stories - a sense of needing to figure out how to do life 'right'. I connect this to the necessity in childhood for many of us to figure out the correct way of being for the current cultural context. The urgency that surrounds this can often inhibit our ability to give ourselves goodness...

Hosted on Acast. See...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
June 5, 2026 24 mins
It's common for Third Culture Kids to ask themselves, 'Who am I?' With Life Story Therapies we look to our stories to inform the answer to this - but these same stories can also help us but showing us who we didn't get to be. There will have been chapters for us where options were limited, as well as opportunities opened, and in this episode I explore how looking at who I didn't get to be can offer expansiveness to our sense of sel...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Typically, Third Culture Kids carry grief triggered by the changes experienced in their early years. Here, I'm exploring how changes we may be working to choose in later life may actually need us to do grieving first. Grief reminds us of our story, why the things we find hard are hard, and makes space for us to change the next chapters.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 22, 2026 26 mins
This episode finds me struggling to articulate a sensation I've both felt personally and witnessed in my work with TCKs - a feeling that it's hard to truly trust the love of others as being about us. When we have spent a lifetime working to be useful or likeable by different cultural prisms, it can be hard to let love land as an experience we get to fully participate in, rather than simply work to generate.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 15, 2026 32 mins
I'm getting reflective this week in anticipation of my birthday - and pondering especially what it means to acknowledge the degree to which I feel safe and well in this, my 41st year. As I reflect on my TCK story so far, I have been collecting those memories - or reasons - I can honour as part of what has got me here so far, and wonder why 'safe' can be such a complicated word.

Hosted o...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Third Culture Kids and decisions - it's a topic that comes up a lot and here I work with the distinction between a decision deciding the kind of person we are versus knowing the kind of person we are making sense of our decisions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 1, 2026 20 mins
Authenticity has become a tense word for many Third Culture Kids. It seems to invite us to choose one way of being, one part of our selves to declare as our true self, and condemns us to a kind of consistency of being that can feel claustrophobic. In this episode I explore how we can work with our many selves, negotiating the internal mobility that we need to express them all in fluid freedom.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 24, 2026 22 mins
Inspired by a client recently, I've been pondering how we work with the edges of our maps - more precisely, what do we do when we step off the maps we've walked so far, and start exploring where known self and world are uncharted? After all, as they put it, "There be dragons"...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
I talk a lot about how we can process our story so far to understand better the chapters we want to write next... but what happens when we can't write those chapters where we want to? Here I walk through a process I'd invite in these challenging circumstances.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 3, 2026 20 mins
Dipping my toes into local civic processes this week - and exploring both my delight and curiosity in the 'local' given the TCK early exposure to 'global'. Join me as I ponder!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    Betrayal Weekly

    Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices