Transcultural therapy helps young Congolese woman process trauma
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In Paris, France, clinicians worked with Gloria, a young woman from the Banyamulenge community of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to address chronic pain linked to childhood trauma and forced migration.
Gloria experienced separation from her mother and siblings during conflict in South Kivu and spent six years apart from her family before they reunited in 2023. Therapists conducted seven transcultural consultation sessions at Cochin Hospital, analyzing transcripts to understand how the process unfolded.
The sessions revealed three key changes in Gloria’s condition. She shifted from focusing on physical symptoms to constructing a personal story, and began to develop a stronger sense of self separate from her mother. This separation occurred with the help of the pagne, a wax-print cloth that holds cultural significance for women and mothers in West and Central Africa. Clinicians also observed Gloria drawing on cultural concepts like Addolorata and Ubuntu to understand her experiences and family history.
Addolorata references a sorrowful Madonna, while Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term roughly translating to “humanity toward others.” These concepts, along with reflections on family stories, helped Gloria process intergenerational suffering. The therapy group acted as a supportive environment where Gloria could name and understand her pain within a shared cultural and family context.
