Work

Diagnosing the system: Mental health, necropolitical uncare, and the abolition of migration detention

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This article examines the psychological effects of migration detention in the European Union's Closed Controlled Access Center (CCAC) on Samos through an ecological lens. It explores a double normalization of suffering: the brutalization of necropolitical migration governance and the simultaneous understanding of resulting distress as an individual pathology. The mixed-methods approach included measures of psychological distress (HSCL-25, HTQ-R; n = 7) and semi-standardized interviews based on the Torturing Environment Scale (TES; N = 18). Data triangulation mapped the interaction between communal, organizational, and (inter)personal levels. Quantitative results highlighted extreme levels of distress (100% of participants above clinical cut-offs), with depression strongly correlating with detention duration. However, triangulation with qualitative testimonies demonstrates that suffering is ecologically manufactured: The CCAC's institutional psycho-medical and humanitarian uncare produce this distress rather than merely failing to alleviate it. The study emphasizes that the CCAC functions as a pathogenic torturing environment designed to debilitate. Recognizing the observed symptoms as symptoms of the system itself, this paper argues for a shift from diagnosing the individual to diagnosing the pathological system-a shift that, from a liberation psychology perspective, demands nothing less than the abolition of the camp.

Source: American Journal of Community Psychology

DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.70085

Author: Julia Manek

Institution: Goethe University Frankfurt

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Health and Trauma

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,620