Open AccessBorderland and Borderline: Understanding and Treating Adolescent Migrants in Crisis
Author(s) -
Annette Streeck-Fischer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
adolescent psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2210-6774
pISSN - 2210-6766
DOI - 10.2174/2210676609666190415144153
Subject(s) - individuation , identity crisis , refugee , identity formation , restructuring , identity (music) , psychology , developmental psychology , political science , gender studies , sociology , social psychology , psychoanalysis , self concept , law , physics , personality , acoustics
Background:: Much of the literature on adolescent refugees has focused on theirexperiences of trauma, and trauma-focused psychotherapy has been emphasized. In additionto having experienced trauma, adolescents with refugee or migration backgrounds are confrontedwith distinct challenges in the process of identity formation. These problems resultfrom the normal processes of identity formation and restructuring during adolescence (the socalledsecond individuation phase) complicated by their transition from their culture of originto the new culture. This process has been called a third individuation phase. These teenagerslive on the border between two worlds and are called borderland adolescents. Method:: This paper describes the developmental processes of young migrants, using caseexamples to illustrate how the migrant experience affects development, particularly identitydevelopment. Discussion:: Splitting, which is part of normal adolescent development, also occurs during theprocess of adaptation to a new culture. Although the process of splitting can support the integrationinto the new culture, it can also lead to dangerous polarization with borderline features. It isimportant to take this into account in psychotherapeutic work with borderland adolescents.