Presentation Information
[SY-84-01]The role of “stranger” in luminal spaces: through transformation of international students
*Kanako Shimizu1,2 (1.Rokubancho Mental Clinic, Japan depression center(Japan), 2.Jichi Medical University, Department of Psychiatry(Japan))
Keywords:
transformation,stranger,developmental disorder,depression,international student
Studying abroad is not only an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills, but also to experience personal growth. I work in a psychiatric clinic and am involved in the mental health care of international students. They mainly have adjustment disorders and mood disorders, sometimes with developmental trauma or gender issues in the background. Some have fled violence in the past like psychological refugees. In these cases, the foreign country serves as a boundary area and a transitional space. It is a harsh yet sheltering territory. As one patient said, “I spend my days here like a second childhood.” Living as a “stranger” in a foreign country, he encountered others and established himself. This presentation will focus on a clinical case of an international student with mood disorders and developmental issues. I will describe how his study abroad experience was therapeutic, healing narcissistic issues caused by developmental trauma and leading to self-establishment.