More than connection
Belonging is the experience of being known, recognised and held by a group. It is not the same as having contacts, or being busy.
Research across health, work and military settings consistently links belonging to better recovery, lower risk and longer engagement.
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- Psychology · 1 min readSocial Identity
Social identity is the part of the self that comes from belonging to groups, units, teams, services, professions, families.
- Psychology · 1 min readPurpose
Purpose is the felt sense that what you do matters. It is rebuilt deliberately, not waited for.
- Occupational Transition · 1 min readMilitary Families
Military families carry the identity work of service alongside the serving person. Their transitions deserve the same care.
- Foundations · 1 min readWhy Identity Matters
Identity sits beneath wellbeing, performance, recovery and belonging. When we ignore it, support stalls. When we centre it, change becomes sustainable.
- Occupational Transition · 1 min readRetirement
Retirement is an identity event before it is a financial one. Without identity work, the freedom can quickly become drift.
About the author
Gemma Gardner
Founder and Research Lead, AURIS Institute
Gemma Gardner leads the AURIS research programme on identity and occupational transition. Her work builds the evidence base behind the AURIS Framework and the Identity System, drawing on interviews with service leavers, families and the organisations that support them.
- Lead author, Identity Performance Psychology white paper series
- Principal investigator, AURIS identity adaptation interview programme
- Author of AURIS submissions on identity in occupational transition
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