This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Volkan, V. D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Re-Libidinalization of the Internal World of a Refugee Family

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, The Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Washington D.C.

This article describes the effects that forced migration has on refugees’ identities and explores their difficulty in mourning. To illustrate the aftermath of forced migration, I will describe the internal world of a refugee family driven from their homes after massive ethnic violence. It took nine years from the time of their dislocation for them to be able to ‘re-libidinalize’ their self-representations. The re-libidinalization process allowed them to resolve their sense of helplessness and humiliation. After working through these feelings, they could tame the derivatives of their aggression, bring the mourning process to a practical end, and improve their abilities to test reality and adapt to their new environment. I will focus on their utilization of linking objects as one expression of their difficulty in mourning.

Key Words: migration • refugees • dislocation • aggression • mourning • linking object

Group Analysis, Vol. 36, No. 4, 555-570 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0533316403364012


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?