Expats may have heard about the stress involved in moving to a new country, but the experience can still throw many off balance. Carole Ann Rice believes that coaching offers expats the support they need to rediscover themselves in their new identity.

There can't be many life changes more awesome than relocating a job, home and country. Taking a giant leap of courage and faith to uproot and cast your net across un-chartered waters is an adventure many are called to but few choose.

Although it may seem as if all your birthdays have come at once as you embark upon a new life in a new country, it can also seem to unfold a veritable catalogue of high tension nightmares.

In the ranks of what causes the most stress in our lives after unexpected bereavement, moving house, changing jobs and divorce are up there as life challenges guaranteed to raise the blood pressure and test our resolve.

So as a stranger in a strange land, who can you turn to when all around you is unfamiliar; when family and friends back 'home' are gleefully awaiting your good news and you've a long way to go until you feel settled and sure of your new life?

Although many international organisations have HR departments committed to helping new employees settle into their new positions with ease and comfort, monitoring well-being and ensuring a seamless relocation, some of you may seek a more personal but neutral support with whom to share your anxieties.

This is where coaching can be most powerful.  Offering confidential and unconditional support (usually via the telephone, at a convenient time), the good coach provides a listening ear or a hand to hold, instilling motivation or inspiration if you so desire.  But unlike employer, partner or family the coach has no agenda other than the client's desired goals and outcomes.

Change management – Who are you now?

Leaving behind all that is familiar some people view a relocation as a new start; a new beginning perhaps where they leave behind things they no longer want in their lives.  Traumas, bad relationships and life's disappointments seem to become a thing of the past as you pack your case and face a new future full of possibilities.

 1 2 Next >