Who I Work With:
I have my PhD in Clinical and Health Psychology and have been working with the international community — expats, immigrants, refugees, and adult TCKs — around the globe for over a decade. My clients come to me for support through transitions like adjusting to life abroad, making the decision to move home, repatriating, or navigating a big change abroad such as a breakup, becoming a parent, or a job change.
You Might be Interested in Working Together if Any of This Sounds Familiar:
- You built a beautiful life abroad, but somehow it still doesn’t feel like enough
- You’re facing the stay or go dilemma and can’t seem to make a decision, no matter how many pros and cons lists you write
- You keep telling yourself you should be more grateful — other people would love to be in your position
- You feel homesick, but you’re not even sure which home you’re homesick for
- You’re exhausted from holding it all together and pretending everything is fine
- You have friends near you who get expat life, but nobody who knows all of you — the version back home and the version you’re becoming
How I Work With My Clients:
My coaching is not about helping you make a decision. It’s about helping you understand yourself well enough that the decision becomes clearer on its own. It’s about helping you understand what’s really going on underneath the surface — the self-criticism you’ve mistaken for high standards, the quiet feeling that something is missing even when everything looks fine from the outside, and the version of yourself that’s been waiting to be heard.
I tailor my work to each client, but often integrate tools from Acceptance and Commitment Coaching and Mindful Self-Compassion.
Our work together often focuses on:
- Getting to the heart of what’s really going on because “I can’t decide whether to stay or go,” is rarely just about geography.
- Making decisions that feel true to you — not driven by guilt, fear, or what everyone else thinks you should do.
- Building emotional resilience so you can surf the waves of expat life without losing yourself.
- Overcoming that critical voice that tells you to be more grateful, try harder, or figure it out on your own. And replacing it with ways to be kinder to yourself that match your own personality.
A Little About Me
I’m originally from the U.S. and spent 10 years living in Spain and the Netherlands before repatriating. I’m in a bilingual (Spanish-English) marriage and am raising two bilingual children — so I understand firsthand the complexity of having your heart in more than one place.
Let’s Connect
If you’re interested in discussing how we could work together, set up a free consultation call at melissaparks.com or send me an email.
