Home isn't a place. It's a practice. | Partricia Friberg | TEDxColumbiana

Patricia Friberg, a positive psychology practitioner and researcher, talks about building a sense of home through repeated moves across the United States, Switzerland and other countries, including evacuating wildfires. Drawing on research and her own experience, she proposes that home is created through practice rather than fixed by location. She outlines four practices for turning any transition into a place to call home: finding your people, celebrating customs old and new, appreciating the local environment, and contributing to your community. The talk, given at TEDxColumbiana, presents change as constant and growth through it as possible.

• Four practices for building belonging after a move
• Personal experience of cross-country and international relocations
• Reference to evacuating wildfires and rebuilding community
• Research-based approach from positive psychology

What if home isn't a place—but a practice? After multiple cross-country and international moves, evacuating wildfires, and rebuilding belonging again and again, Patricia Friberg shares four practices—rooted in research and lived experience—that transform any transition into a place to call home: find your people, celebrate customs old and new, appreciate the local environment, and contribute to your community. Change is constant—but we can grow through it. An artist-scholar at heart, Patricia Richardson Friberg is a positive psychology practitioner, researcher, and wellness leader whose work explores how creative arts practices enhance relational well-being, psychological safety, and human flourishing. A Doctoral Candidate at Middlesex University, she is academically published and presents at conferences including IPPA. She holds Master's degrees in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology (UEL) and Art Therapy and Creativity Development (Pratt Institute). A Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, her career spans a decade in community mental health and a decade in health club management—a synthesis that fuels her current research. She coached Ukrainian war refugees with the ICF Foundation, hosts the podcast 'Learned It From an 80s Song,' and trained at Second City's Improv Conservatory. Having made home across the U.S., Switzerland, and beyond, Patricia lives with curiosity, love of learning, and belief in shared humanity. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx