Care that already gets it.
Intrepid Counseling offers therapy for Third Culture Kids and globally mobile families,
and a community for the professionals who care for them.
Helping TCKs Thrive
We help kids, teens and adults with culturally complex backstories heal from trauma, anxiety and grief through therapy that honors every place you’ve called home and every culture that’s shaped you. Whether you want to work on “TCK stuff,” or just work on whatever you need with a counselor who gets it, you’re in the right place.
Alongside that work, we equip the counselors, member care staff and allied health providers who serve TCKs with the community, consultation and resources they need to offer that same quality of care.
What are TCKs and CCKs?
Third Culture Kids are people whose childhood takes place “among worlds.” We’re influenced by our parents’ culture(s), culture 1, and the dominant culture(s) of the place/places where we live growing up, culture 2. But, our main sense of belonging is to others who grew up in this multicultural way. That is the “third culture.” We’re often described as “belonging everywhere and nowhere.” This can be beautiful and fun, but you can see why we might have some unpacking to do in therapy. A TCK’s identity is complex; it sounds more like a piano than a clarinet.
Cross Cultural kids (CCKs) are kids who grew up with multiple cultural influences for any reason. This big category includes immigrant kids, refugee kids, missionary kids, military and diplo brats, kids who go to international schools in any country. I think if we' look for it, we’ll all find that we’re more culturally than what’s visible on the surface. Therapy with a TCK and CCK specialist means you know I’ve got the big idea, to ask, not guess about where-all you’re from, how many nationalities you have, how many places you’ve lived.
Does this sound familiar?
You look like you're from here and sound like you're from here, but this isn’t home. Home is a long-gone place, or many places.
You hear the expression, “you can never really go home,” from someone after they just visited their home town, ironically!, and think, “let me tell you about never going home.”
Someone at school pickup asks where you grew up. You give the short answer, then feel oddly lonely all the way home.
Grief for friends, houses, and whole places keeps surfacing at odd moments. You’re mentally shopping through your cultures for a goodbye ritual for this kind of loss. If there is one, you haven’t gotten to do it yet.
Your teen is quiet, anxious, or overwhelmed, and you can't tell if it's anxiety, depression, or something she hasn't told you yet.
If you’re used to feeling like you’re the one who brought a piano to a clarinet party, and felt like it was hard to fit all these extra pieces of yourself into how you relate to others, yes. And, may I submit for your inspiration, the clarinet trio - which not-obviously means piano, clarinet and cello.
No matter how big and compilated your map of “home” is, we can explore it together. If you hate metaphors, maybe I’m not the best fit, but if picturing-it really helps, you’re in the right place.
I’m looking for…
…therapy for myself or my family.
Therapy where your story already makes sense.
Trauma-informed, culturally fluent therapy for adult TCKs, teens, and their parents, in person and by telehealth.
…a community of colleagues who serve TCKs.
Independent, not alone.
A community of practice for counselors, member care and HR staff, and allied health providers who serve globally mobile families.
What makes this different?
Your whole story fits here. There's room for the whole long story here, I expect it. On the other hand, I have a frame of reference for complicated multicultural lives, so getting care doesn't have to wait on you explaining what a TCK is.
Yes to complexity. It really is complicated, so we embrace that. Anxiety, grief, trauma, and identity questions tangle together, and I don't flatten your story into a single diagnosis or culture.
Nerdy, playful, and serious about it. Expect diagrams, word banks for feelings that are hard to name, and humor that makes hard things approachable without making them small.
We can get there. Sometimes the route is complicated and takes a few tries. I'm not scared of the process.
When challenges stack up…
Let’s make the situation sandwich. Big changes, big challenges and big losses need to be understood one layer at a time. We add the left-handed lettuce, language-learning ham, new-kid cheese. Now, which layers can we take off the plate? Try out my Situation Sandwich to talk with your kid or lay out for yourself what is making this so hard.
Professionals: Join us as we meet monthly to swap resources and tricky cases. Be independent, not alone.
Been-there TCK Care
Hi, I'm Brianna, a licensed marriage and family therapist. I grew up in a small missionary community in Papua New Guinea, where I learned that for a TCK, admitting you're not okay can feel like it could cost you your school, your friends, and your home in a single flight. I also learned that we can get there, even when the route is complicated.
Whether you're a TCK sorting out where home is, or a parent who wants to help your teen, let's talk. We can start from wherever you are.
320 Dayton St. Suite 106
Edmonds, WA 98020
In-person and online
My office is conveniently located in downtown Edmonds, Washington State, USA.
I am also licensed in Georgia, USA.
I can meet online with clients in Washington State, Georgia and internationally on a case-by-case basis.
How to start
The first step is a 15-minute video call where I’ll answer any questions you have and let you know how I can help. If I am not the right person, I’ll do my best to get you to the right person. Then, if we agree to work together, we’ll spend another 10–15 minutes setting up the logistics for starting online counseling.
I’m passionate about teamwork.
I am passionate about teamwork. That’s why I surround myself with TCK care colleagues that I can consult with. If you reach out and I’m not the best fit, I’m happy to refer to others to make sure you get to work with the best TCK therapist for your needs. You can even check out some of my teammates here on this site.
Do you work with Third Culture Kids?
In addition to seeing clients, I support other professionals who also work with globally mobile kids and families. If that’s you, let’s do this together.
I SEE TCKs
Support for TCK-Care Professionals
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Peer Consultation
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Small Group Discussions
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Resource Sharing
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Networking and Referral Partners