Abstract
There are three periods of psychic vulnerability for a child or an adolescent coming from a migrant family: The perinatal period, the beginning of school, and the transition to adolescence. We explain how these represent periods of risk and illustrate it with short clinical vignettes. In clinical situations, taking care of these children requires using the notion of cultural “métissage” (cultural crossing), which means to build one’s identity relying on the two cultural worlds the family belongs to. This vulnerability can be overcome, but in some instances, it develops into psychopathology. Some examples in connection with the transcultural context are detailed: suicidal risk and addictions. Sometimes, a classical therapeutic approach isn’t enough in cases of blockage or cultural misunderstandings, and the clinical work can be unproductive if the clinical setting isn’t adapted. The transcultural clinical setting is a psychotherapeutic technique that allows cultural differences to be addressed.
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Radjack, R., Lévesque-Daniel, S., Moro, M.R. (2021). Transcultural Aspects of Psychiatry and Mental Health in Migrant Children and Adolescents. In: Bhugra, D., Moussaoui, D., Ventriglio, A., Tribe, R. (eds) Mental Health, Mental Illness and Migration. Mental Health and Illness Worldwide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0750-7_42-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0750-7_42-1
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