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IDENTITY FORMATION DIFFICULTIES IN IMMIGRANT ADOLESCENTS: THREE CASES FROM GERMANY
American Journal of Psychoanalysis
|November 28, 2015
Summary
Adolescent mental health is complex, especially for immigrants facing identity challenges and trauma. Understanding the native country
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Adolescence involves significant biological and personality changes, creating inherent instability.
- Immigration background, persecution, and harassment can further complicate identity formation and mental well-being in adolescents.
- Mental health challenges in adolescents are often exacerbated by cultural and personal histories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore diagnostic and psychotherapeutic challenges in mentally disturbed adolescents with immigration backgrounds.
- To analyze the specific influence of the native country on adolescent psychic disorders.
- To discuss the risks of diagnostic colonization and perpetrator-victim dynamics in transcultural contexts.
Main Methods:
- Case study analysis of three mentally disturbed adolescents with diverse immigration backgrounds.
- Qualitative examination of the interplay between immigration, native country influence, and psychic disorders.
- Discussion of therapeutic approaches, including transcultural transitional spaces.
Main Results:
- The native country significantly influences adolescent psychic disorders, acting as a narcissistic target, past metaphor, or deposited conflict.
- Diagnostic challenges include 'diagnostic colonization' and the activation of historical perpetrator-victim constellations.
- Transcultural transitional spaces can serve as a therapeutic container for adolescents navigating complex cultural identities.
Conclusions:
- Transcultural approaches are vital for addressing the unique mental health needs of immigrant adolescents.
- Therapeutic interventions must acknowledge and integrate the influence of the adolescent's native country and immigration experiences.
- Careful consideration of diagnostic practices is necessary to avoid pathologizing cultural backgrounds.
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