Helping our patients differentiate between “fitting in” and “belonging”

In counseling, we see a lot of folks who find it hard to differentiate between “fitting in” and “belonging” don’t we?

One way to think about it is this…

When we are accepted into a “tribe” because we behave in ways that are not true to ourselves and our values, it’s more about “fitting in”. 

 
When we act in ways congruent with who we are, our inner values, and are still accepted, then that is more about the feeling of “belonging”. 

One feels more secure than the other.