Identity
Identity is shaped by the roles we hold, the relationships we build, the experiences we carry, and the ways we understand ourselves. During periods of change, familiar parts of that identity can shift, creating questions about who we are and who we are becoming. Exploring identity can help us understand these changes, gain perspective, and integrate them into the larger framework of our lives.
Related Transitions
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When Our Patients Become Our Mirror
Sometimes a patient’s pain touches something deeply familiar in the therapist. In those moments, professional boundaries meet human experience, revealing how our own wounds, when understood and integrated, can deepen our capacity to help others heal.
Victim or Survivor…Your Choice?
How we understand hardship can shape how we move through it. Deborah Wagner explores the psychological distinction between identifying as a victim and seeing oneself as a survivor—and how reclaiming a sense of agency can become an important part of healing.
A Therapist’s Epiphany: A Psychological Construct
A therapist’s epiphany can emerge when a familiar psychological idea suddenly becomes personally meaningful. This reflection explores how psychological constructs move from abstract concepts to lived understanding, and how that shift can deepen perspective on ourselves and the experiences we are trying to make sense of.
Is It Just My Life or Is It Perimenopause?
When life already feels complicated, the emotional changes of perimenopause can be difficult to recognize or separate from everyday stress. Understanding how hormonal changes and life circumstances can interact may help women make sense of what they are experiencing and respond with greater perspective.
The Stories We Tell Part 2
The stories we share near the end of life can become an intimate form of legacy. When families create space for those stories to emerge, they can discover experiences, emotions, and meaning that deepen how they know—and remember—the people they love.
The Stories We Tell Part 1
As life nears its end, telling our stories can preserve identity, meaning, and a sense of legacy. When those stories are heard and witnessed by the people we love, they affirm the life that was lived and what will remain.
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Psychologist | Author | Expert on Life's Transitions
Exploring how we understand, navigate, and integrate the changes and challenges that shape our lives.
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© 2026 Deborah Wagner, Ph.D. All rights reserved.