What and How Can Psychoanalysis Contribute in Support of Refugees? Concepts, clinical experiences and applications in the project STEP‐BY‐STEP, a pilot project supporting refugees in the initial reception center “Michaelisdorf” (Michaelis‐village) in Darmstadt, Germany

Abstract

AbstractThe topic of migration, flight and trauma is as old as civilization, as its myths, fairytales, and its legends such as “The Odyssey” and well‐known literary figures like Oedipus and Medea (first section of the paper). However, the current refugee crisis in Europe has led to societal tensions and even splitting among large groups, such as in Germany where enormous empathy for the refugees' plight can be observed on the one hand, and hostilities, anxiety and xenophobic feelings and actions on the other hand. In the second section of the paper, the authors summarize some of the psychoanalytical concepts trying to understand some of the unconscious roots of xenophobia, antisemitism, fundamentalism and nationalism. Another psychoanalytical contribution in support of refugees comes from the body of psychoanalytic and interdisciplinary research on trauma and its transgenerational transmission (third section). Therewith psychoanalysis has produced a large conceptual, research and clinical knowledge base, which we may consider to be one of the contributions of psychoanalysis to current interdisciplinary and public discourse on refugees and immigrants. In the last section of this paper the authors summarize the pilot project STEP‐BY‐STEP which was carried out from January 2016 until April 2017 in a first reception center in Darmstadt. Concepts, applications and clinical experiences are presented for discussion. The pilot project has been quite successful and is serving as a model to be implemented during the next five years by four Psychosocial Centers for supporting refugees in Hesse. Given the large problems society faces in response to the “Refugee Crisis”, the authors consider their labors a mere drop in the endless ocean of pain, despair and sufferings of thousands of refugees who have escaped war, terror and poverty in their home countries and are hoping for a better life in Europe and elsewhere.