From the fantasy of resilient identities to the process of identity resilience
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-12-2018-0043 |
| Date | 15 May 2019 |
| Published date | 15 May 2019 |
| Pages | 86-88 |
| Author | Daniel Derivois |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
From the fantasy of resilient identities to
the process of identity resilience
Daniel Derivois
Abstract
Purpose –We live in a world marked at the same time by collective traumas and suffering of identity.
The purpose of this paper is to stimulate reflection on the links between resilience and identity at the individual
and collective levels.
Design/methodology/approach –This is an opinion piece using global collective history to put into
perspective some psychological aspects of suffering of identity which mental health and social professionals
may face in their practices.
Findings –These transformations affect the mental health of people facing multiple choices ranging from the
risk of a fantasy of resilient identities to the possibility of a process of identity resilience.
Originality/value –To face this major challenge, professionals should be trained in the global history and
anthropology of intercultural relations, to better support patients traumatized by identity threats in a process
of resilience.
Keywords Resilience, History, Trauma, Identity
Paper type Viewpoint
Identity suffering is a major mental health problem in today’s world (Khan et al., 2017). Currently,
the world is beset by a long-term mutual identity trauma. Beyond the clash of civilizations
(Huntington, 1996), this global trauma can be seen in the effects of slavery, colonization (Murray,
2016), world wars (Fitzpatrick, 2017) and genocide (Shrira et al., 2019) on the identity
construction of the peoples of the world as well as in the recent terrorist attacks that continue to
alter relations between these peoples, and affect the mental health of people (Durodié and
Wainwright, 2019; Thoresen et al., 2014). The trauma affects the victims, and dehumanizes the
aggressors at the same time (Sironi, 1999). This trauma is mutual because the binary conception
of the world leads us to perceive the other as the source of our traumas.
This trauma generates collective and/or individual reactions that can be explored using the
concept of resilience. This concept refers to the strategies adopted by an individual or
community to cope with traumatic events (Ungar, 2016). The term is usually used in cases of
physical and psychological trauma. In this case, it refers to the trauma that results from identity
attacks, because when the body or psyche is attacked, the whole identity of the individual or
community is shaken.
Thus, in the face of the identity trauma that we observe in today’s world, two major trends come
into perspective: the fantasy of resilient identities and the process of identity resilience. The
fantasy of resilient identities is based on withdrawals into identity fueled by racial ideology. It is
supported by the three following errors concerning identity (Kaufmann, 2014): believing that it
refers to history, memory, roots; confusing administrative identification with the production of the
meaning of life; believing that identity is fixed and stable. Nazism, Fascism and Leninism are
strong symbols of this. As for the process of identity resilience, it is based on the fact that we are
all made of the same human stuff, the same spiritual material, while being fundamentally and
naturally diverse. One feature of identity resilience is the creolization and unpredictability of the
world of which E. Glissant (2004) speaks. “I can change, by exchanging with the other, without
losing or distorting myself,”he emphasizes. The fantasy of resilient identities is driven by the fear
of losing oneself, while the process of identity resilience is driven by the adventure of living
Daniel Derivois is Professor of
Clinical Psychology and
Psychopathology at the
Department of Psychology of
University of Bourgogne,
Dijon, France and
Assistant Director of
Psy-DREPI Laboratory (EA458)
University of Bourgogne,
Dijon, France.
PAG E 86
j
MENTALHEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
VOL. 23 NO. 2 2019, pp. 86-88, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 DOI 10.1108/MHSI-12-2018-0043
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