Family Matters

Abstract

Abstract This chapter addresses the role of the family in the mental, social, and relational well-being of migrants—immigrants, refugees, and displaced children, adolescents, and adults. Starting with a review of the ecosocial changes in a family after migration to new countries, cultures, and contexts, the chapter then discusses how clinicians can respond to the unique challenges for displaced families using a family-based approach. This requires a basic epistemological shift toward families and communities when dealing with migration and trauma. The key notion is that families are the crucible for socialization and belonging and crucial resources for the care, support, and healing of its members. The first challenge for clinicians with displaced persons is to add a sociocultural dimension to sensitize them to working with families across cultures, appreciating changing definitions of families, and understanding families in light of globalization and global mental health. The second challenge is to appreciate how family functioning is affected by disasters and conflicts leading to displacement, including migration and refugee status. These dislocations not only disrupt family functioning in the culture of origin (enculturation), but demand adaptation to other cultures (acculturation). Some of the clinical challenges for the clinician include family fragmentation and new family configurations, exposure to traumatic incidents, and differential effects of fragmentation and trauma across the domains of age (with unique challenges for refugee youth, elderly, and special needs), gender (with special sensitivity to how LGBTQ issues morph across culture), culture (including language, religion, and social class), and other aspects of identity.