Presentation Information
[SY-5]A Cross-cultural Comparison of the Impact of Immigration on Parent-Child Relationships in Japan, Spain, and the U.S.
Nelida Tanaka1, Cheiron McMahill2, Vera Alvarez3, Chizuko Tezuka (1.Yotsuya Yui Clinic(Japan), 2.Kannon Healing Counseling(United States of America), 3.Hospital Universitario 12 Octubre(Spain))
Keywords:
Migration,Parent-Children Relationships,Mental Health,Cross-cultural comparison,Japan,Spain,United States of America
Over the past five decades, international migration has significantly increased, as indicated in the World Migration Report 2024 published by the International Organization for Migration. Migration, irrespective of its underlying motivations, entails numerous separations and losses, including disconnection from familial and social networks, linguistic and cultural displacement, loss of territorial ties, social status, and a sense of belonging, as formulated by Achotegui (1999) in "The Seven Mournings of Migration and Interculturality." This loss, also referred to by researchers as “migratory grief” and “ambiguous loss,” may contribute to the clinical symptoms of trauma, guilt, anger, sadness, anxiety, and grief presented by our child, adolescent, and parent clients.
Of these factors, as mental health practitioners we are in a position to assist with the loss exemplified by the disconnection from familial networks, in particular when it comes to the parent-child relationship. It can present in many forms in our work, from helping to establish or re-establish clarity of roles, expectations, and trust in parents and children reunited after a period of physical separation, to gaining the understanding and support of immigrant parents in the in-patient treatment of a child in a country where the concept of mental health differs significantly from the parent’s country of origin, to supporting older teenage clients in mending the relationship with a parent or grieving the temporary or permanent loss of a relationship due to internal and societal forces.
This symposium uses specific clinical cases to illustrate how immigration impacts the bond between children and parents in host countries and contributes to mental distress and impairment, and how we have supported the repair of or healing from disconnections between parents and children either in family or individual sessions.
Of these factors, as mental health practitioners we are in a position to assist with the loss exemplified by the disconnection from familial networks, in particular when it comes to the parent-child relationship. It can present in many forms in our work, from helping to establish or re-establish clarity of roles, expectations, and trust in parents and children reunited after a period of physical separation, to gaining the understanding and support of immigrant parents in the in-patient treatment of a child in a country where the concept of mental health differs significantly from the parent’s country of origin, to supporting older teenage clients in mending the relationship with a parent or grieving the temporary or permanent loss of a relationship due to internal and societal forces.
This symposium uses specific clinical cases to illustrate how immigration impacts the bond between children and parents in host countries and contributes to mental distress and impairment, and how we have supported the repair of or healing from disconnections between parents and children either in family or individual sessions.