Most studies on refugee populations are organized around trauma-related issues and focus on explaining pathological factors. Few studies are anchored in general developmental psychology with the aim of exploring normal age-specific developmental tasks and how the special circumstances associated with forced migration can influence how developmental tasks are negotiated. This study is part of a larger mixed method study seeking to identify resilience-promoting and resilience-inhibiting factors, on individual and contextual levels, among asylum seekers and refugees on the move and settled (...) in reception centers in Norway. A strategic sample of 20 adolescent and young adult refugees/asylum seekers during flight in Serbia and after arrival in Norway was chosen from a sample of 178 refugees interviewed in depth in Serbia and at receptions centers in Norway. The sample reflects the focus of this paper, which is to explore adolescent and young adult refugees/asylum seekers’ psychological and social needs and resources during flight to and after arrival in the host country, including how developmental tasks are negotiated. Through qualitative analysis, experiences associated with the developmental changes the participants experienced before, during, and after flight are contextualized. Their sense of self, their relationships with their families and their perceptions of their situation as adolescents or young adults in a highly unpredictable situation are presented in the light of relevant theory and findings from similar refugee studies. All the participants have fled from dangerous and intolerable situations in their home countries. They describe extreme dangers during flight in contexts that are unpredictable and where they feel lonely and unsupported. Most have unmet psychosocial needs and have received little support or help for their mental health issues during flight or after arrival in Norway. Suggestions for interventions and resilience-promoting actions are given based on the findings of the study. (shrink)

Traumatisierte Menschen haben mit vorübergehenden oder anhaltenden Symbolisierungsschwierigkeiten zu kämpfen. Diese treten entweder in psychisch eingekapselter, umgrenzter Form in Erscheinung oder als psychische Funktionsabläufe, die sich in umfassenderer Weise auf die Lebensprojekte, politischen Einstellungen und kulturellen Normvorstellungen der Person auswirken, und zeigen sich in ihrer Körper-Welt-Beziehung, ihrer Individuum-Gruppen-Beziehung und/oder ihrer Individuum-Diskurs-Beziehung. Die Schwierigkeiten können in imaginativen und symbolischen Funktionsmodi auftreten. Gravierende Störungen der Symbolisierung lassen sich aus psychoanalytischer Sicht beschreiben als Begleiterscheinungen der paranoid-schizoiden und der autistisch-berührenden Position (Ogden), als Evakuierung (...) von Beta-Elementen in den Körper (Bion), als Verwerfung (Lacan) und als Urverdrängung (Freud). Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt einige psychoanalytisch fundierte semiotische Überlegungen vor, die dem Forschungsfeld Trauma und Psychose entstammen. Anhand von Fallbeispielen werden der Zusammenbruch der Symbolisierung, Fixierungen auf den nichtsymbolischen Modus der psychischen Repräsentation und die Re-Symbolisierung erläutert, die sich dank der kreativen transformativen Intervention des Analytikers vollzieht. (shrink)

Psychoanalysis in Social and Cultural Settings examines the theory and practice of psychoanalysis with patients who have experienced deeply traumatic experiences, through war, forced migration, atrocities and other social and cultural dislocations. The book is divided into 3 main sections, covering terrorism, refugees, and traumatisation, with another 2 with specific focus transcultural issues establishing psychoanalysis in China, and on research related to themes outlined in the book. Major key psychoanalytic themes run through the work, focusing on identity and the self, (...) fundamentalism, resilience, dehumanisation, cultural differences, and enactment. Offering key theory and clinical guidance for working with highly traumatised patients, this book will be essential for all psychoanalysts and therapists working with victims of terrorism, refugees, and other deeply traumatic life events. (shrink)