S2 · Ep 11: Belonging — What If It Is Something You Build? | Yocabed Semere | The MindSpa Podcast

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of The MindSpa Podcast, Michelle Massunken sits down with Yocabed Semere to explore identity, belonging, and the emotional tension many people in immigrant and diaspora communities experience while navigating multiple cultures, expectations, and values. The conversation reflects on how cultural identity, family pressure, and lived experience can shape mental health, relationships, and self-understanding.Yocabed shares her personal journey from Eritrea to Uganda and later to Canada, while also reflecting on what she now sees clinically in her work supporting immigrant youth and young adults. Together, Michelle and Yocabed discuss the “diaspora pull” — the experience of feeling caught between cultures while trying to understand where you belong and how to remain connected to both yourself and your community.The episode explores topics including acculturative stress, code-switching, perfectionism, people-pleasing, anxiety, burnout, and the pressure that can come from balancing personal values with cultural and family expectations. The conversation also looks at mental health stigma within many Black and immigrant communities, and how therapy can create space for reflection, self-compassion, and healthier boundaries without disconnecting from culture or family identity.Rather than framing identity as an all-or-nothing experience, Michelle and Yocabed discuss the possibility of cultural integration — taking meaningful parts of multiple cultures and building a life that aligns more closely with personal values, emotional wellbeing, and connection.Yocabed Semere is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) at MindSpa Mental Health, supporting adults navigating anxiety, burnout, emotional regulation, perfectionism, identity challenges, and life transitions. Her approach is culturally informed and grounded in evidence-based therapies including CBT, ACT, DBT, and Solution-Focused Therapy. Yocabed holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Carleton University and a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. Connect With Yocabed SemereWebsite | Psychology Today |LinkedIn The MindSpa PodcastThoughtful conversations about mental health, relationships, identity, healing, grounded in clinical expertise and steady human insight.HostsTina Wilston, M.Ed., Registered Psychotherapist Co-Owner, MindSpa Mental Health CentreLinkedIn, Instagram, FacebookMichelle Massunken, MSW, RSWCo-Owner, MindSpa Mental Health CentreLinkedIn, Instagram, FacebookMindSpa Mental Health CentreOttawa - Kanata & Gloucesterthemindspa.caLinkedIn, instagramListen onApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube