What we’re about
Moving to a new country can be exhilarating—and disorienting, whether one has lived here for 1 month or 20 years. The Expat Reflection Circle offers a stable, compassionate space to reflect on life transitions, loss of identity anchors, relationship shifts, and the challenge of building a meaningful life away from familiar ground.
This group emphasizes emotional honesty, interpersonal learning, and the development of trust over time. While not a substitute for individual psychotherapy, the circle draws from best practices in therapeutic group work and is guided with care and professional integrity.
Themes we may explore include:
Finding belonging in unfamiliar landscapes
Cultural grief and identity reconstruction
Navigating relationships in intercultural contexts
Burnout, perfectionism, and pressure to “thrive” abroad
Creativity, stagnation, and renewal
Making meaning from displacement and change
Group Agreements
Commit to 6 months (attend at least once per month; welcome to come more often)
Honor confidentiality and mutual respect
Attend a short intake conversation (free of charge and non-binding) to ensure group fit
Reflect a willingness to engage emotionally, to witness and grow together
Facilitated by Heather O’Donnell
Heather O’Donnell is a psychologist (M.Sc.), certified artistic-systemic therapist (DGSF), and the founding director of TGR The Green Room, a center for counseling, creative development, and psychological support for performing artists.
She offers therapy and psychological support for people navigating personal change, emotional challenges, or periods of illness and recovery. Her approach combines systemic therapy, trauma-informed and creative methods, and mindfulness-based tools to help clients develop greater self-awareness, resilience, and psychological flexibility.
Clients come to her with a wide range of concerns—including anxiety, burnout, identity questions, relationship issues, grief, and the long-term effects of trauma. Many are at a turning point—professionally, emotionally, or physically—and seek support to regain clarity, strength, and direction.
With a background in both psychology and the arts, Heather brings an integrative and empathetic perspective to her work. Originally an internationally engaged concert pianist, her career was redirected after injury—an experience that became the foundation for her later work supporting others in moments of transformation.
She completed her B.Sc. in Psychology at the Free University of Berlin and her M.Sc. in Prevention and Health Psychology at SRH University. She also holds a certificate in Musicians’ Health from the Kurt Singer Institute / University of the Arts Berlin and completed mindfulness teacher training (MTTC) with Christopher Titmuss and Ulla König.
Heather has lived in the United States, France, and Germany, and understands firsthand the complex emotional landscape of relocation and reinvention. As a member of both the Expat Therapy Hub and the International Therapists' Directory, she is dedicated to providing culturally sensitive care to international clients and communities.
Her expertise is recognized internationally. She has presented at institutions such as University College London, Weill Cornell Medical Center (New York), the European Network of Cultural Centres, and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. She has also lectured at Columbia University, the New England Conservatory, Robert Schumann Hochschule, and Rhodes University, among others.
Whether working with individuals or groups, Heather’s practice is grounded in respect for each person’s lived experience, and oriented toward sustainable health, meaning, and growth. Her work bridges therapeutic depth, systemic thinking, and artistic intelligence, always with the aim of fostering inner resilience and cultural transformation.
