Negotiating a Sense of ‘Home’: An Exploration of Cultural Identity, Belonging and Loss Among the Diaspora

Abstract

Using ‘home’ as a starting point, this research study explores the themes and experiences common to the diaspora, individuals who have multiracial and multicultural experience. The themes and experiences of cultural identity, belonging, and loss are explored from theoretical and phenomenological perspectives presented in current research. Sense of home is investigated from a theoretical, development-in-context perspective, with a view to understanding how ‘home’ relates to belongingness and cultural identity formation. Phenomenological perspectives on negotiating a sense of home are examined, with a view to understanding the process of migration. Clinical implications and recommendations for work with diasporic individuals are discussed.