TY - CHAP
T1 - Promoting Awareness About Psychological Consequences of Living in a Community Oppressed by the Mafia: A Group-Analytic Intervention
AU - Eiroa-Orosa, Fj; Lomas, T; Rowe, M
AU - Di Blasi, Maria
AU - Giordano, Cecilia
AU - Pavia, Laura
AU - Cannizzaro, Giusy
AU - Tosto, Crispino
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The effects of the Mafia have been extensively studied from sociological, economic, and
historical points of view. However, little research has investigated the influence of the
Mafia on individuals and communities in terms of its psychological and social impact. In
order to contribute to the advancement of our understanding of the psychological effects
of the Mafia on individuals and communities and to promote a participative process
of social change, a group analytic intervention was conducted within a Community
Based Participatory Research carried out in Corleone, a small Sicilian town with a
historically recognized role in the evolution of the Mafia, as well as in the fight against
its control. Qualitative findings from the group intervention revealed the development
of an awareness process that allowed participants to become aware of their social
unconscious anxieties and defenses and to recognize and manage the strong emotional
impact related to the Mafia’s presence in their lives. Highlighting how psychological
processes can have negative impacts on individual and collective capacity to pursuit
transformation and resilience, this article provides important insight on how clinical
psychology may operate in socio-cultural contexts to promote the reconstruction of the
traumatic social dimensions in the community.
AB - The effects of the Mafia have been extensively studied from sociological, economic, and
historical points of view. However, little research has investigated the influence of the
Mafia on individuals and communities in terms of its psychological and social impact. In
order to contribute to the advancement of our understanding of the psychological effects
of the Mafia on individuals and communities and to promote a participative process
of social change, a group analytic intervention was conducted within a Community
Based Participatory Research carried out in Corleone, a small Sicilian town with a
historically recognized role in the evolution of the Mafia, as well as in the fight against
its control. Qualitative findings from the group intervention revealed the development
of an awareness process that allowed participants to become aware of their social
unconscious anxieties and defenses and to recognize and manage the strong emotional
impact related to the Mafia’s presence in their lives. Highlighting how psychological
processes can have negative impacts on individual and collective capacity to pursuit
transformation and resilience, this article provides important insight on how clinical
psychology may operate in socio-cultural contexts to promote the reconstruction of the
traumatic social dimensions in the community.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10447/325862
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9782889456482
SP - 9
EP - 18
BT - The Sociocultural Context of Psychosocial Interventions
ER -