1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This article «set out to demonstrate the importance of contextualizing expressions of distress in adolescents who had to flee from war-affected areas using a family and a cultural lens.» (p. 94)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The author tries to answer the following question: «how to best help adolescent refugees and their families?» (p. 94)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Two cases study «were used to illustrate the constructs of postmigration identity formation and differentiation of self describing two trajectories.» (p. 94) «Cases were identified [in Montreal] from the Cultural Consultation Service (CCS) at the Jewish General Hospital.» (p. 89) «Both stories involve 16-year-old girls, both the eldest of four children, who, despite similar family structure, experienced very different paths.» (p. 90)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

According to the analysis, in «one case study, the adolescent was not able to differentiate from her family system because of their absence and the negative impact on her mental health. In the other study, the adolescent was attempt [sic] differentiation of self, causing tensions within the family system. Finally, the case analysis also emphasized the clinical relevance of exploring meaning making and cultural idioms of distress in the face of trauma and loss at the individual and the family level. In terms of clinical implication, using a family lens will bring into focus the importance of strengthening and improving interactions within the family system whether one is intervening with individual or the family. Adding a cultural lens to the systemic lens will help better understand cultural idioms of distress as a systemic phenomenon. Each member of the family and the system as a whole, are engaged in acculturation processes, though the impact on identity and cultural identity adds additional burdens to the developmental tasks of adolescence. Because symptoms and distress may be embedded with familial dynamics and cultural idioms of distress, the aim of a therapist is to foster conditions of safety in therapeutic spaces to explore the narrative of the families and youth, as well as their meaning making and explanatory models of distress.» (p. 94)