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A particularly interesting aspect of this material shows the impact on the psyche of anxieties converging from two sources: the individual domain of adolescence, and the broader global predicament of asylum seekers.
Leyla's family had to flee from their country of origin, and after a period in a refugee camp moved to this country and applied for asylum, which they failed to get. Leyla, who was then 10 and is now 16, has therefore spent her entire adolescence with no secure national status and thus presumably with no real idea of whether, or for how long, she will be allowed to stay here. The threat of a sudden expulsion is not a mere abstraction to her family. On the contrary, it is bound to remain a constant, living fear even if it has been driven into the background by more pressing day to day concerns. In fact Leyla has been having continual reminders of her unsafe situation, such as not owning a passport and needing to forego school trips. The therapist is aware of the situation and has helped Leyla with her external anxieties, in this way facilitating the emergence of more ordinary adolescent issues.