Some Problems of Cross-Cultural Psychotherapy with Refugees Seeking Treatment

The question of the applicability of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy founded on psychoanalytic theory, to persons socially and culturally distant from the western middle class has been a matter of debate since psychoanalysis appeared on the psychiatric scene. Due to the explosive development of worldwide communication in recent years—informationwise as well as physically and geographically—western therapists to an increasing degree have to relate to patients belonging to cultures different from their own. The phenomenon of forced migration due to war, famine, political harassment, and so forth, has brought this confrontation even to the traditionally culturally homogeneous northern European countries.

My specific engagement in this area stems from the professional situation in which I have been the last one-and-a-half years. In the spring of 1986, a small federal unit was established as a threeyear project, under the name of “Psychosocial Team for Refugees in Norway.” The team was given two main tasks, namely, “To contribute to the availability of qualified assistance to refugees living in Norway, suffering from psychosocial problems,” and “To assess future needs and propose further actions to improve such services.” To a limited extent this implies clinical work with refugees in need of psychotherapy. In cooperation with Amnesty International, however, a plan was made for developing some basic experience in the treatment of refugees who suffered psychological aftereffects of torture. A high percentage of the refugees have been subject to different kinds of organized violence; many of them have