In this powerful episode of The Immigrant Experience in America, Simone W. Johnson sits down with Dr. Leide Porcu, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, and author of Neither Here Nor There: A Guide for Immigrants and the Therapists Who Walk With Them.

Drawing from her own lived experience as an immigrant and decades of clinical practice, Dr. Porcu unpacks the emotional and psychological realities many immigrants carry but rarely name, identity fragmentation, suppressed distress, and multilayered grief. This conversation explores why immigrants often feel unseen in their mourning, how cultural dissonance and acculturation stress show up in mental health, and what culturally responsive care actually looks like in practice.

Dr. Porcu also shares practical tools for managing daily stressors such as visa uncertainty, financial pressure, and caregiving burden, without pathologizing survival. This episode is for immigrants, first-generation families, third-culture people, therapists, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the inner world of migration.

"Neither Here Nor There" : A Guide for Immigrants and Those Who Walk With Them by Leide Porcu was published by Routledge in February 2026. The book draws on more than seven years of focused writing and clinical work with immigrants and multilingual families. It addresses a wide range of immigrant experiences — from trauma and hardship to the disorientation, identity conflict, loneliness, and pressure to succeed that can affect even privileged newcomers. It also speaks to the second generation. The book offers practical therapeutic tools, case vignettes, culturally adaptive exercises, and guidance for therapists and allies supporting those living between cultures.

Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Neither-Here-Nor-There-Immigrants/dp/1041091184 Routledge https://www.routledge.com/Neither-Here-Nor-There-A-Guide-for-Immigrants-and-the-Therapists-Who-Walk-with-Them/Porcu/p/book/9781041091189

#immigrantmentalhealth neither here nor there immigration psychology culture shock mental health immigrant grief identity fragmentation acculturation stress imposter syndrome immigrants therapy for immigrants mental health and migration third culture identity The Immigrant Experience in America Decoding America #immigrantexperience

The Immigrant Experience in America Subscribe to our

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theimmigrantexperience

Listen to more episodes on: 💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN

💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE

💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!

💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:

💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson 💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast

💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience 📱 Share your story with us: 💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.

In this powerful episode of The Immigrant Experience in America, Simone W. Johnson sits down with Dr. Leide Porcu, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, and author of Neither Here Nor There: A Guide for Immigrants and the Therapists Who Walk With Them.

Drawing from her own lived experience as an immigrant and decades of clinical practice, Dr. Porcu unpacks the emotional and psychological realities many immigrants carry but rarely name, identity fragmentation, suppressed distress, and multilayered grief. This conversation explores why immigrants often feel unseen in their mourning, how cultural dissonance and acculturation stress show up in mental health, and what culturally responsive care actually looks like in practice.

Dr. Porcu also shares practical tools for managing daily stressors such as visa uncertainty, financial pressure, and caregiving burden, without pathologizing survival. This episode is for immigrants, first-generation families, third-culture people, therapists, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the inner world of migration.

"Neither Here Nor There" : A Guide for Immigrants and Those Who Walk With Them by Leide Porcu was published by Routledge in February 2026. The book draws on more than seven years of focused writing and clinical work with immigrants and multilingual families. It addresses a wide range of immigrant experiences — from trauma and hardship to the disorientation, identity conflict, loneliness, and pressure to succeed that can affect even privileged newcomers. It also speaks to the second generation. The book offers practical therapeutic tools, case vignettes, culturally adaptive exercises, and guidance for therapists and allies supporting those living between cultures.

Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Neither-Here-Nor-There-Immigrants/dp/1041091184 Routledge https://www.routledge.com/Neither-Here-Nor-There-A-Guide-for-Immigrants-and-the-Therapists-Who-Walk-with-Them/Porcu/p/book/9781041091189

#immigrantmentalhealth neither here nor there immigration psychology culture shock mental health immigrant grief identity fragmentation acculturation stress imposter syndrome immigrants therapy for immigrants mental health and migration third culture identity The Immigrant Experience in America Decoding America #immigrantexperience

The Immigrant Experience in America Subscribe to our

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theimmigrantexperience

Listen to more episodes on: 💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN

💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE

💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!

💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:

💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson 💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast

💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience 📱 Share your story with us: 💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.

In this powerful episode of The Immigrant Experience in America, Simone W. Johnson sits down with Dr. Leide Porcu, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, and author of Neither Here Nor There: A Guide for Immigrants and the Therapists Who Walk With Them.

Drawing from her own lived experience as an immigrant and decades of clinical practice, Dr. Porcu unpacks the emotional and psychological realities many immigrants carry but rarely name, identity fragmentation, suppressed distress, and multilayered grief. This conversation explores why immigrants often feel unseen in their mourning, how cultural dissonance and acculturation stress show up in mental health, and what culturally responsive care actually looks like in practice.

Dr. Porcu also shares practical tools for managing daily stressors such as visa uncertainty, financial pressure, and caregiving burden, without pathologizing survival. This episode is for immigrants, first-generation families, third-culture people, therapists, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the inner world of migration.

"Neither Here Nor There" : A Guide for Immigrants and Those Who Walk With Them by Leide Porcu was published by Routledge in February 2026. The book draws on more than seven years of focused writing and clinical work with immigrants and multilingual families. It addresses a wide range of immigrant experiences — from trauma and hardship to the disorientation, identity conflict, loneliness, and pressure to succeed that can affect even privileged newcomers. It also speaks to the second generation. The book offers practical therapeutic tools, case vignettes, culturally adaptive exercises, and guidance for therapists and allies supporting those living between cultures.

Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Neither-Here-Nor-There-Immigrants/dp/1041091184 Routledge https://www.routledge.com/Neither-Here-Nor-There-A-Guide-for-Immigrants-and-the-Therapists-Who-Walk-with-Them/Porcu/p/book/9781041091189

#immigrantmentalhealth neither here nor there immigration psychology culture shock mental health immigrant grief identity fragmentation acculturation stress imposter syndrome immigrants therapy for immigrants mental health and migration third culture identity The Immigrant Experience in America Decoding America #immigrantexperience

The Immigrant Experience in America Subscribe to our

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theimmigrantexperience

Listen to more episodes on: 💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN

💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE

💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!

💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:

💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson 💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast

💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience 📱 Share your story with us: 💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.

In this conversation, Dr. Sam Rodriguez Morheim, respected periodontist and author, reflects on his family's Cuban American journey through the eyes of a child. In 1962, following the rise of the Castro regime, his family was forced to leave Cuba, abandoning their professions, possessions, and sense of certainty for an unknown future. Growing up in Brooklyn, Dr. Morheim shares how displacement, resilience, and memory shaped his identity and worldview.

This episode explores migration not as a political talking point, but as a deeply human experience marked by loss, adaptation, and quiet strength. From the weight of what was left behind to the values carried forward, this story speaks to immigrants, children of immigrants, and anyone shaped by movement across borders. This is a conversation about survival, family, and how early experiences echo across a lifetime.

Cuban American story Cuban immigration Immigrant childhood Exile from Cuba Castro regime 1962 Cuban diaspora Immigrant family stories Brooklyn immigrant history Children of immigrants Immigration and identity Cuban American experience Migration stories Latin American diaspora Resilience and migration Immigrant voices

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE - JOIN THE NEWSLETTER =https://winning-thinker-5313.kit.com/bb68d8dfce

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Immigrant Experience in America

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3OmWxJZ
Official Site: https://bit.ly/3OmWAWg

📱Listen to more episodes on:
💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN
💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE
💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!
💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:
💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson
💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast
💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience

📱 Share your story with us:
💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.

In this conversation, Dr. Sam Rodriguez Morheim, respected periodontist and author, reflects on his family's Cuban American journey through the eyes of a child. In 1962, following the rise of the Castro regime, his family was forced to leave Cuba, abandoning their professions, possessions, and sense of certainty for an unknown future. Growing up in Brooklyn, Dr. Morheim shares how displacement, resilience, and memory shaped his identity and worldview.

This episode explores migration not as a political talking point, but as a deeply human experience marked by loss, adaptation, and quiet strength. From the weight of what was left behind to the values carried forward, this story speaks to immigrants, children of immigrants, and anyone shaped by movement across borders. This is a conversation about survival, family, and how early experiences echo across a lifetime.

Cuban American story Cuban immigration Immigrant childhood Exile from Cuba Castro regime 1962 Cuban diaspora Immigrant family stories Brooklyn immigrant history Children of immigrants Immigration and identity Cuban American experience Migration stories Latin American diaspora Resilience and migration Immigrant voices

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE - JOIN THE NEWSLETTER =https://winning-thinker-5313.kit.com/bb68d8dfce

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Immigrant Experience in America

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3OmWxJZ
Official Site: https://bit.ly/3OmWAWg

📱Listen to more episodes on:
💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN
💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE
💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!
💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:
💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson
💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast
💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience

📱 Share your story with us:
💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.

In this conversation, Dr. Sam Rodriguez Morheim, respected periodontist and author, reflects on his family's Cuban American journey through the eyes of a child. In 1962, following the rise of the Castro regime, his family was forced to leave Cuba, abandoning their professions, possessions, and sense of certainty for an unknown future. Growing up in Brooklyn, Dr. Morheim shares how displacement, resilience, and memory shaped his identity and worldview.

This episode explores migration not as a political talking point, but as a deeply human experience marked by loss, adaptation, and quiet strength. From the weight of what was left behind to the values carried forward, this story speaks to immigrants, children of immigrants, and anyone shaped by movement across borders. This is a conversation about survival, family, and how early experiences echo across a lifetime.

Cuban American story Cuban immigration Immigrant childhood Exile from Cuba Castro regime 1962 Cuban diaspora Immigrant family stories Brooklyn immigrant history Children of immigrants Immigration and identity Cuban American experience Migration stories Latin American diaspora Resilience and migration Immigrant voices

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE - JOIN THE NEWSLETTER =https://winning-thinker-5313.kit.com/bb68d8dfce

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Immigrant Experience in America

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3OmWxJZ
Official Site: https://bit.ly/3OmWAWg

📱Listen to more episodes on:
💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN
💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE
💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!
💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:
💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson
💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast
💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience

📱 Share your story with us:
💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.

Dr Mazella Fuller is back to share her story. It bridges every system immigrants encounter: education, healthcare, and the daily coded rules that shape belonging.

As co-editor of "Antiblackness and the Stories of Authentic Allies: Lived Experiences in the Fight Against Institutionalized Racism," she has curated voices that map the realities of navigating and confronting explicit and subtle bias in America's institutions. Her earlier book, "Treating Black Women with Eating Disorders: A Clinician's Guide," broke new ground by highlighting how race and migration intersect in mental health.

Raised in an Afrocentric household in the South, Dr. Fuller's mission to break systemic barriers runs deep. She has spent 30 years advocating, mentoring, and building communities at Duke and Smith College. Whether speaking to mentorship as her daily act of reparations or describing how adjusting to America's unwritten codes can feel like hacking biased systems, Dr. Fuller offers wisdom that will resonate with everyone listening, from new arrivals to longtime Americans seeking to understand what true allyship looks like in the immigrant journey.

Booking website: https://antiracismandequity.com/antiracism-book-promo/

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE - JOIN THE NEWSLETTER =https://winning-thinker-5313.kit.com/bb68d8dfce

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Immigrant Experience in America

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3OmWxJZ
Official Site: https://bit.ly/3OmWAWg

📱Listen to more episodes on:
💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN
💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE
💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!
💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:
💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson
💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast
💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience

📱 Share your story with us:
💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.

Dr Mazella Fuller is back to share her story. It bridges every system immigrants encounter: education, healthcare, and the daily coded rules that shape belonging.

As co-editor of "Antiblackness and the Stories of Authentic Allies: Lived Experiences in the Fight Against Institutionalized Racism," she has curated voices that map the realities of navigating and confronting explicit and subtle bias in America's institutions. Her earlier book, "Treating Black Women with Eating Disorders: A Clinician's Guide," broke new ground by highlighting how race and migration intersect in mental health.

Raised in an Afrocentric household in the South, Dr. Fuller's mission to break systemic barriers runs deep. She has spent 30 years advocating, mentoring, and building communities at Duke and Smith College. Whether speaking to mentorship as her daily act of reparations or describing how adjusting to America's unwritten codes can feel like hacking biased systems, Dr. Fuller offers wisdom that will resonate with everyone listening, from new arrivals to longtime Americans seeking to understand what true allyship looks like in the immigrant journey.

Booking website: https://antiracismandequity.com/antiracism-book-promo/

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE - JOIN THE NEWSLETTER =https://winning-thinker-5313.kit.com/bb68d8dfce

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Immigrant Experience in America

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3OmWxJZ
Official Site: https://bit.ly/3OmWAWg

📱Listen to more episodes on:
💼 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3OK7xCN
💼 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DKXsiE
💼 Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VG4Cn

📱Support our Patreon: https://bit.ly/3KwUiTz

📱Connect with Simone!
💼 Website: https://www.thebridgeconcepts.org

📱 Follow us on Social Media:
💼 LinkedIn: / simonewjohnson
💼 Instagram: / theimmigrantexperiencepodcast
💼 TikTok: / theimmigrantexperience

📱 Share your story with us:
💼 simone.8.johnson@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The Immigrant Experience in America podcast is produced in my personal capacity. The views and opinions shared by me and my guests are our own and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. government or USCIS.

Please note: I do not provide immigration legal services or case-specific guidance. My work focuses on cultural adjustment, financial empowerment, and personal growth.