Immigrants and Refugees: Trauma, Perennial Mourning, Prejudice, and Border Psychology

by Vamık D. Volkan

Aside from the many political, cultural and economic aspects of the present refugee crisis in Europe, it is also crucial to consider the psychological element. In our fast-changing world, globalisation, advances in communication technology, fast travel, terrorism and now the refugee crisis make psychoanalytic investigation of the Other a major necessity. Psychoanalyst Vamik Volkan, who left Cyprus for the US as a young man, brings his own experiences as an immigrant to bear on this study of the psychology of immigrants and refugees, and of those who cross paths with them. In Part 1, case examples illustrate the impact of traumatic experiences, group identity issues, and how traumas embedded in the experience of immigrants and refugees can be passed down from one generation to the next. Part 2 focuses on the host countries, considering the evolution of prejudice and how fear of newcomers can affect everything from international politics to the way we behave as individuals.

Genres: Psychology

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2017

About the author

Vamık D. Volkan (born in 1932 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Turkish Cypriot Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, the Senior Erik Erikson Scholar at the Erikson Institute of Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and an Emeritus Training and Supervising Analyst at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Washington, D.C. Before coming to the United States in 1957 he received his medical education at the School of Medicine, University of Ankara, Turkey. He Professor Volkan holds Honorary Doctorate degrees from Kuopio University, Finland (2005) and from Ankara University, Turkey (2006). Academic Positions and Appointments in the USA Dr. Volkan was Director of the Gender Identity Clinic, University of Virginia Medical Center (1970-1976); member of the Task Force on Psychiatry and Foreign Affairs, American Psychiatric Association (1971-1977); Acting Chairperson of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Virginia School of Medicine (1977-1978); Consultant, Agency for International Development, Cyprus Mental Health Project, Department of State, Washington, D.C. for the design and construction of a Community Mental Health Center in Lefkoșa (Nicosia), North Cyprus, with a capacity for 100 inpatients (1977-1982); Chairperson of the Advisory Committee, Division of Social Work, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center (1981-1983); Co-chair of the Sexual Deviations Study Group, American Psychoanalytic Association (1982-1992); Chairperson of the Committee on Psychiatry and Foreign Affairs, American Psychiatric Association (1983-1985); Chairperson of the Committee on International Relations, Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (1986-1996); member, Advisory Board, Center for Psychological Studies in the Nuclear Age, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts (1989-1992); member, Advisory Board, Margaret S. Mahler Research Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1992-2005); Chairperson of the Select Advisory Commission of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Critical Incident Response Group that examined the 1993 Waco, Texas incident (1995); Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts (2001); member of Working Group on Terror and Terrorism, International Psychoanalytic Association (2002-2004); Guest Instructor, Berkshires Psychoanalytic Institute, Stockbridge, MA (2007). Blue Ridge Hospital Dr. Volkan was the Medical Director of the University of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Hospital (a general hospital) (1978-1994). Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction (CSMHI) Dr. Volkan was Founder and Director of the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction (CSMHI) (1987-2002) at the School of Medicine, University of Virginia. CSMHI applied a growing theoretical and field-proven base of knowledge to issues such as ethnic tension, racism, national identity, terrorism, societal trauma, transgenerational transmissions, leader-follower relationships, and other aspects of national and international conflict. Because no single discipline can fully illuminate such deep-seated and complex issues, CSMHI's faculty and board included experts in psychoanalysis, psychiatry, psychology, diplomacy, history, political science, and environmental policy. Their combined perspectives and experience provided in-depth analyses of political, historical, and social issues and the psychological processes that invariably exist beneath their surface.[1]

International Negotiation Network (INN) Professor Volkan was a member of the International Negotiation Network (INN) under the directorship of the former President Jimmy Carter (1989-1998). In 1987, President Carter founded INN as a flexible, informed network of former heads of state, Nobel Peace laureates, eminent persons and conflict resolution practitioners dedicated to resolving international conflicts through peaceful means. In 1992, Dr. Volkan traveled with President Carter and othe

Reviews

[emre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psikanaliz literatürünün insan ömrünün her veçhesini, insanın her davranış ve duygusunu bir sebebe, anlama, soruna... bağlama dürtüsünü her zamanki gibi yorucu bulsam da, keyifli ve ufuk açıcı bir okuma oldu.

[Elisabet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vamik raises important awareness on the struggles that immigrants and refugees face in their exodus to another country. Having said that, I found the writing and approach a bit simplistic. The cases in the book are strictly described within a Freudian psycho-analytical approach. Even though I understand his background and reasoning to work within these theories, I cannot help but feeling he also simplifies and reduce the uniqueness of the stories he shares. I think when taking about “the other”, it is necessary to give them voice instead of speaking for them according to psychological theories. Psycholanalysis can give us tools, but not tell the story of the other for them.
I would have also appreciated the distinction of immigrants and refugees throughout the whole book in the way the stories are presented, and not just a “by the book” definition at the onset of the book.

It’s a good book for anyone who has an interest in the topic of 21st century migration and wants to imitate themselves in the reflection of this topic.

[Hafif Adımlarla Gülümseyerek · Rating 5 out of 5]

“İnsanların “öteki” hakkında nasıl önyargı geliştirdiklerinin; kolektif önyargının nasıl oluştuğunun ve bunun nasıl kötücül hale gelebildiğinin psikolojisine yakından bakmak gerekiyor. İnsanların kişisel ya da kolektif olarak nasıl ahlak dışı, insanlık dışı ve dehşet verici davranmaya eğilimli olduklarını incelemekten ve anlamaya çalışmaktan kaçınmamalı ve çekinmemeliyiz.”

Üzerine ciltlerce yazılması gereken.