Ask the psychologist - how does culture play a part in our evolving identity?

Every few weeks on this podcast I chat to a psychologist to help us unpack some of the key themes from the stories we’ve heard in the previous weeks.

This week, I was lucky to chat to the wonderful Leilanie Pakoa, a psychologist based in Brisbane who specialises in child psychology and sport and exercise psychology.

We talked through some of the key themes that came from the stories of Casey and Caroline, who featured on the podcast over the past fortnight.

Leilanie was able to bring to our discussion not only her perspective as a psychologist, but also her experiences with identity and culture. Leilanie’s mum is from Scotland and her dad from Vanuatu, and she grew up in Australia, so she’s enjoyed a rich, diverse cultural upbringing.

In this week’s episode, we chat about the role culture plays in our developing sense of identity, how we can draw from culture in those defining moments in our lives, and what we can learn from these stories.

I really enjoyed this chat on all things culture, identity, and growing up, and I hope you do to!

If you’d like to learn more about Leilanie’s practice, you can find her on Instagram at @surge.pw or visit her website, https://www.surgepw.com/