In this talk, the author describe the practice of the Minkowska Center of Paris, a medical-psychosocial service providing transcultural consultations for immigrants and refugees. In mental health care, the intercultural encounter cross several problems such as the victimization of the other and the wrong use of his culture. The talk focuses on some of these problems, such as the strong impact of institutions on their well-being and describes some risks in intercultural settings with adolescents. The Medical Anthropology approach used at the Minkowska Center of Paris permits to analyze adolescent’s requests, considering cultural representations and the impact of social determinants of mental health without sacrificing the individuality of the subject.
Keywords: Immigrant adolescents, identity, cultural representations, mental health, psychosocial intervention, medical anthropology.