Nouvelles normalités Nouvelles pathologies Nouvelles ... - Psynem

6° 6éme Congresso Congrès Européen Europeo de di Psicopatologia Psychopathologie dell’Infanzia de l’Enfance e et dell’Adolescenza
de l’Adolescence
Nuove Nouvelles normalità normalités Nuove Nouvelles patologie pathologies Nuove pratiche Nouvelles pratiques
FRIDAY, May 6 SYMPOSIUMS
Symposium 7 Adoption
FAMIGLIA ADOTTIVA: LA SFIDA DELLA COMPLESSITÀ
Ondina Greco Centro di Ateneo Studie Ricerche sulla Famiglia Università C Largo Gemelli, Milano (Milano - IT)
6th European Congress on Psychopathology in Childhood and Adolescence
New normalities, new pathologies, new practices
Adoptive family
the challenge of complexity
Ondina Greco
Atheneum Center for Family Studies and Research
Catholic University
Milan, Italy
Bologna, May, 6, 2011
ondina.greco@unicatt.it
To be adopted is …
To be accepted ….
after being abandoned
The word “to leave” has two significant meanings:
IDEALIZATION
to leave s.one
to leave s.one to s.one
The Adoption is, from its beginning,
an “Aporia” to be resolved
Biaxial model about the dual belonging
IDEALIZATION VALORIZATION
VALORIZATION INTELLECTUALIZATION DISTANCING
Axis of the Origin
ASSIMILATION NORMALIZATION
Axis of the Adoptive Family
At this moment
(Greco, 2010)
AVOIDING/
JUDGEMENTAL
ATTITUDE
RELATIONAL
DIFFICULTIES
REPRESSION/
DENIAL
RELATIONAL
FRACTURE
297
The literature
contribution
Adoption Life Span perspective
(Brodzinsky, 1992)
Adoptive Family developmental Tasks
(Cigoli, Scabini, 2006), in particular
emotional Distance Regulation
(Grotevant, H.D., 2009).
Dual Connection to the two Families
(Brodzinsky, Smith, Brodzinsky, 1998)
Adoptive Family as a Metafamily (Hajal,
Rosenberg, 1991).
Adoptive Family as
a Metafamily
The Metafamily concept, initially referred to the step-
Families (Sager e al., 1981), afterwords extended to the
adoptive Families (Hajal, Rosenberg, 1991), results
useful in general for the structurally complex Families,
as foster Families, immigrant Families …
In terms of the psychoanalitic Psychology (Sandler,
1962) the “Metafamily” Representation refers to both
the new Family and the previous one: Persons and
Elements of the present Context and Persons and
Elements of the past one, both perceived as belonging to
one’s own psychological Family Area
Family Boundaries Representation, that is the
Representation of who belongs to the Family and who
does not to, results crucial (Greco, 2006)
This biaxial model (Greco, 2010) is an ideal model representing
the different position both of adoptees and their parents in
respect of the dual connection (Brodzinsky, 1998)
On the axis of the Origin World
Towards the extremes of the axis we can find different dysfunctional
positions:
Idealization (splitting process: all good to the Origin)
Avoiding / Judgemental attitude (the topic of the Origin is not tolerable and it
is actively avoided, or it is considered very negatively)
Repression / Denial (it results not possible to contact the topic of the Origin)
In the middle part of the axis we can find more functional positions:
Valorization (gratitude, positive memories or fantasies; positive relationship
in case of an open adoption)
Intellectualization (no emotional analysis of one’s own past: explanation
of the abandonment because of general reasons )
Distancing (one’s own origin is recognized, but kept in the background)