Expat, International & TCK
Growing up between cultures gives you a lot. It also complicates things.
I work with expat, international, and TCK families in Los Angeles and virtually.
You know how to move between worlds. You've done it your whole life, shifting languages, shifting registers, sometimes feeling like a slightly different version of yourself depending on where you are. It's a skill. It's also exhausting in ways that are hard to explain to people who've never had to do it.
The grief is quieter than people expect. It's missing something you can't quite go back to, not fully belonging anywhere, parenting in a culture that isn't yours, or being in a relationship with someone whose cultural blueprint looks nothing like yours. It doesn't always have a name. But it's there.
I grew up between Argentina, Brazil, and the US. That context shapes everything about how I work with people navigating this, you don't have to spend the session explaining the parts that are hard to put into words.
This might sound familiar
You feel like a different person depending on where you are Which version is the real one? That question gets heavier the longer you carry it.
Your relationship is a collision of two different worlds You love each other but you were raised with different blueprints, for conflict, family, parenting, what a relationship is even supposed to look like.
You're raising kids between cultures and it's more complicated than you expected Which roots do you give them? How do you honor where you came from while helping them belong where you live? And what do you do when they start to feel caught in the middle?
The adjustment is harder than you expected Nobody warns you that even the changes you choose, the ones you were ready for, still come with grief.
Your family of origin doesn't quite get it The choices you've made, the life you're living, the person you've become, it doesn't always translate back home.
What we tend to work on
Working with me on this feels different from most therapy because I'm not approaching it from the outside. I grew up between Argentina, Brazil, and the US. I know what it's like to shift registers depending on who's in the room, to feel like a slightly different version of yourself in different contexts, to never have a clean answer to "where are you from?" That's not something I learned in a textbook. It's something I lived.
That means you don't have to spend the session translating yourself. We can get to the actual work faster.
I draw on attachment theory, family systems, and solution-focused approaches, but the cultural lens shapes everything. Where you came from, how you were raised, what your family taught you about relationships and conflict and belonging, that context travels with you whether you want it to or not. Understanding it is often where the real shift happens.
I also work in English and Spanish, and well enough in Portuguese to get by -- or as I'd say, portunhol. For clients who think or feel more naturally in another language, being able to work in that language isn't a small thing.
What it’s like to work with me
A quick call first. Before anything, we have a short call so you can ask questions, get a feel for how I work, and make sure it feels like a good fit.
First session together. Whether you're coming in as an individual, a couple, or a family, the first session is about getting the full picture, where you are, what you're carrying, and what you're hoping to get out of this.
Ongoing sessions. This is the core of the work. We meet regularly, in whatever language feels most natural, and actually make progress on the things that brought you here.
Couples or family sessions when needed. If you start as an individual and it makes sense to bring in a partner or family member at some point, we can do that. The work evolves as you do.
I'm available between sessions. This work can stir things up. If something comes up between appointments, you can reach out.
Next Steps
Ready to get started?
Send me a note
contact@mercedesoromendiaphd.com
(818) 860-2864