I am interested in how young people form a sense of identity and belonging as they grow up — including, for those who do, the particular experience of growing up between cultures. Having lived and worked across different countries myself, this is a layer I understand closely.
WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
Making sense of who you're becoming
This interest has a professional history behind it. Between 2001 and 2004, as Research Director at a Madrid-based consultancy, I led research into children, adolescents and family life, combining market research, psychology and cultural analysis. That throughline continues today through Adolescentando, my podcast project, and through ongoing work with Fighting Words in Ireland and Sa Terra Forest School in Menorca.
I see adolescence as one of the most creative and challenging periods of human development. Questions of identity, belonging, relationships, autonomy, cultural influence and adulthood often become particularly visible during this period, especially in intercultural environments.
Part of my professional work involves deep conversations with adolescents around experiences that may influence how they understand themselves and how they enter adult life.
MY METHOD ·
When words aren't enough
With this age group in particular, conversation alone is not always the easiest way in.
Writing, expressive arts and movement often give a young person a way to show what they are not yet ready to say directly, and I draw on this regularly in my work with them.
MY FOCUS ·
Create sense and meaning
This work looks at how a young person's sense of self is built:
bonding and boundaries
the path toward adulthood
the cultural influences and unspoken assumptions absorbed from an environment
and how educational and cultural settings shape direction, relationships and a sense of future.
· PODCAST ·
Podcast
Move beyond adult-centred perspectives
The podcast creates a space where adolescents can express their own perspectives and experiences. Young people themselves are the protagonists.
The intention is to move beyond adult-centred perspectives, which can sometimes limit listening and produce rigid or stereotyped views of adolescence.
The space allows adolescents to explore their lived experience, develop their own voice and gradually form their own point of view about their lives and their place in the world.
· COLLABORATIONS ·
Collaboration with educational environments
Alongside my work with adults, I remain interested in collaborating with schools and educational communities, particularly in international environments where questions of bonding, cultural codes, identity and relationships are part of everyday life.
This can take different forms depending on what a school needs: a conversation with staff or tutors, a session with students, or an ongoing collaboration built around a specific concern.
If any of this speaks to your community, I would welcome a conversation about what might make sense.
