Salman Akhtar shares some of the personal experiences that led him to write about the impact of immigration on identity and on the psychoanalytic process. He gives examples of certain situations that may need to be handled slightly differently if the patient is an immigrant. He discusses some of the issues that need to be considered when working with a patient who is not speaking their mother tongue. He also emphasises the significance of the loss of the physical qualities of the mother country which serve a containing function.