Therapy For Real Life Podcast

Host Anna Lindberg Cedar, MPA, LCSW interviews guest expert, Melody Warnick, on today's show to discuss what it takes to build a sense of belonging in your community. This story is personal for Warnick, who admits that she previously believed that moving would solve all of her problems before discovering that problems will follow you anywhere. Warnick changed her thinking when she launched a series of "love where you live experiments" after moving from Austin, TX to settle down in Blacksburg, VA. Warnick researched the scientific literature and found that there are concrete steps that one can take to establish a sense of "place attachment" in one's community. Spoiler alert: Warnick's experiments to love her new town worked and she remains happy there after nine years! Warnick summarizes what she learned and gives specific suggestions to develop a sense of belonging in one’s new (or old) place in her book, This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are. Together, Cedar and Warnick discuss the many ten