[Symposium 61] Ethnic diversity, psychiatric conditions, and transgressive behavior: Insights from cases in forensic mental health care

[SY-61-02] A Tapestry of Self: Laila’s Intersectional Identity in Forensic Mental Health Care

*Marjolein De Pau, Tom Vander Beken, Stijn Vandevelde, Sara Rowaert (Ghent University(Belgium))

Keywords:

forensic mental health,ethnicity,intersectional identity,narrative portraiture

This presentation contributes to the symposium’s focus on cultural identity and transgressive behavior in forensic mental health care by exploring how intersectional identities shape recovery processes within institutional settings. While ethnically diverse clients often encounter systemic and interpersonal barriers in forensic care, less is known about how they navigate these experiences in relation to their evolving sense of self.We present an in-depth case study using narrative portraiture—a relational, strengths-based methodology—to explore the lived experience of Laila, a young woman of Amazigh descent engaged in forensic mental health care in Belgium. Her story highlights how identity-related challenges—including migration history, gender, cultural hybridity, and institutional constraints—interact with processes of recovery and desistance. Rather than treating culture as a static trait or risk factor, this case reveals how identity is actively negotiated in and through relationships, institutional structures, and broader social discourses.Laila’s narrative invites us to reconsider how forensic mental health care can better accommodate clients’ identity work as a central part of recovery. Her experience shows how rigid institutional frameworks can undermine this process, while more responsive environments—those that offer “a place to be me”—enable greater engagement and wellbeing.In line with the symposium’s aim to foster inclusive and culturally-sensitive forensic practices, this presentation advocates for a shift toward ethnographic and relational approaches that attend to clients’ voices, hybrid identities, and lived experiences. It underscores the importance of moving beyond diagnostic or behavioral frames to recognize the ethical and therapeutic significance of belonging, recognition, and meaning-making in forensic care.