A qualitative exploration of what works for migrant adolescents in transcultural psychotherapy: perceptions of adolescents, their parents, and their therapists

Abstract

Background Migrant adolescents are at a higher risk than their native-born counterparts of psychiatric disorders, and their care is a public health issue. In France, transcultural psychotherapy is a treatment provided by a group of therapists designed to meet the specific needs of these patients when usual care appears ineffective. The objective of this study was to explore the therapeutic elements at work in transcultural psychotherapy. Methods We conducted a qualitative study crossing the perspectives of adolescents receiving transcultural psychotherapy, their parents, their first-line therapist (FLT), and the transcultural therapists. The families were chosen by purposive sampling. Data were collected during semi-structured individual (for FLTs) and group (families and transcultural therapists) interviews that explored the therapeutic elements involved and effective in transcultural psychotherapy. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine the data. In all, 44 participants were questioned: three adolescents (2 girls and 1 boy, all aged 18 to 21 years) and their parents (3 mothers and 1 father), three FLTs (2 child psychiatrists and 1 psychologist), and the 34 therapists participating in the three transcultural psychotherapy groups. Results The analysis uncovered three themes: (1) the perceived effectiveness of the group’s functioning; (2) the recounting of the individual, family, and cultural history to allow for complexity and nuance; and (3) the personal investment by therapists, made possible by the group. Conclusions Our results show some therapeutic elements at work in transcultural psychotherapy that enable it to meet the particular needs of some migrant adolescents that are unmet in standard therapy. Continuing to study transcultural psychotherapy and assess its effectiveness is essential for promoting and optimizing psychiatric care for migrant adolescents.

Are all children treated equally? Psychiatric care and treatment receipt among migrant, descendant and majority Swedish children: a register-based study

“…Previous studies suggest that attitudes and perceptions among parents affect the use of psychiatric services among migrant youths (Verhulp et al ., 2015). Immigrant parents may be less likely to accept psychotropic drug treatments compared to the majority parents (Guzder et al ., 2013), while psychotherapy adapted to transcultural encounters may better meet the needs of migrant children (Grau et al ., 2020). Most studies, however, have focused on barriers to accessing care, and therefore, we do not know how saliently reported barriers such as stigma, language obstacles, lack of knowledge of services, perceived lack of cultural sensitivity among providers, etc., (Place et al ., 2021) relate to the provision and/or acceptance of treatments for those who overcome barriers to accessing care.…”

Belief in Jinn Possession Scale: Development and validation

“…In addition to defining what constitutes an illness, culture also determines how that ailment will be treated, and culture tailoring can enhance treatment outcomes (Huey & Tilley, 2018). Over the previous two decades, significant medical investigations and conceptual inquiries were conducted to examine the intricate interaction between psychiatric illness, race, and culture and they were successful in creating a completely new field of research called cross-cultural psychiatry, often referred to as ethnopsychiatry, transcultural, or, more recently, cultural psychiatry (see Grau et al, 2020; Mendenhall et al, 2019). Because the human brain is primarily a social brain and mental health issues can manifest themselves in learning deficiencies in families and communities, cross-cultural psychiatry is now more important than ever.…”