Zipper-Weber Viktoriya
Department of Economy and Health, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Aug 6;13(15):1920. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13151920.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, countless forcibly displaced individuals facing not only material loss, but also deep psychological distress, have sought refuge across Europe. For those traumatized by war, the absence of a shared language in therapy can hinder healing and exacerbate suffering. While cultural diversity in psychotherapy has gained recognition, the role of native-language communication-especially from a person-centered perspective-remains underexplored.
This narrative review with a thematic analysis examines whether and how psychotherapy in the mother tongue facilitates access to therapy and enhances therapeutic efficacy. Four inter-related clusters emerged: (1) the psychosocial context of trauma and displacement; (2) language as a structural gatekeeper to care (RQ1); (3) native-language therapy as a mechanism of change (RQ2); (4) potential risks such as over-identification or therapeutic mismatch (RQ2).
The findings suggest that native-language therapy can support the symbolic integration of trauma and foster the core conditions for healing. The implications for multilingual therapy formats, training in interpreter-mediated settings, and future research designs-including longitudinal, transnational studies-are discussed.
In light of the current crises, language is not just a tool for access to therapy, but a pathway to psychological healing.
自乌克兰战争爆发以来，无数被迫流离失所的人不仅面临物质损失，还承受着深深的心理痛苦，他们在欧洲各地寻求避难。对于那些因战争而受创伤的人来说，治疗过程中缺乏共同语言会阻碍康复并加剧痛苦。虽然心理治疗中的文化多样性已得到认可，但母语交流的作用——尤其是从以人为本的角度来看——仍未得到充分探索。
本项进行主题分析的叙述性综述探讨了母语心理治疗是否以及如何促进治疗的可及性并提高治疗效果。出现了四个相互关联的类别：（1）创伤和流离失所的社会心理背景；（2）语言作为获得治疗的结构性守门人（研究问题1）；（3）母语治疗作为一种改变机制（研究问题2）；（4）过度认同或治疗不匹配等潜在风险（研究问题2）。
研究结果表明，母语治疗可以支持创伤的象征性整合，并为康复营造核心条件。文中讨论了对多语言治疗形式、口译介导环境中的培训以及未来研究设计（包括纵向、跨国研究）的影响。
鉴于当前的危机，语言不仅是获得治疗的工具，更是通往心理康复的途径。
