“Return” to Turkey – A child-centred intervention

Yigit’s family emigrated to the Netherlands from Turkey and faced great difficulties to integrate into a very different world. Yigit 8 y.o. is their first born child, and has been diagnosed as a ADHD patient and treated accordingly. Patrick, the Dutch family therapist, asked for a consultation with Prof. Maurizio Andolfi in Rotterdam, conducted in Turkish-English with the help of a cultural mediator. Instead of focusing on the boy’s ADHD diagnosis and issues, Andolfi instead invites Yigit to be his guide in exploring his extended family using the genogram and to explore the family’s roots in Turkey, using the map of the world. In this “return “to Turkey, Andolfi learnt about the recent, sudden death of mother’s father and the family rituals around this important loss. At the same time the father’ chronic kidney disease is explored as well as his lack of paternal responsibility. The family is given some tasks. In order to shift the focus from Yigit’s hyperactivity, his parents are asked to report his positive behavior at home and in school in a diary. The father is encouraged to assume more responsibility as a father and get rid of his submissiveness to his mother. A home visit by Patrick is included and parents and Ygit describe in their own words the incredible family transformation that took place in a year.

Specs
Format USB device
Running time approx: 45 minutes
Colour
All regions
Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Languages: Turkish, Dutch, English
Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish.