The construction of representations proceeds both from the influence of purposive ideas, certainly shaped in childhood, and of a transformation ensuing from past, present and future experiences. The adolescent’s inscription in the genital order causes these representations to be renegotiated; this is manifested in the making of a plan, such as it is represented to him. The therapeutic setting can signify the importance of establishing a matrix that fosters this work of revisiting through thought. Some episodes from the life of Messi, a famous soccer player, serve as a guiding thread in this study.
Plans for isolated foreign minors are located at the crossroads where the migratory imagination, the person’s or family’s dreams of the future and the personalized plan constructed with the help of educators come together. Very often, these are opposed to a practice wherein adaptation to reality is supposed to be accomplished by giving up dreams viewed as « utopian ». Using an anthropological study involving twenty young isolated foreign minors (MIE) cared for in Socially Oriented Children’s Centers (MECS) in the Aquitaine region, and D. W. Winnicott’s concept of potential space, this article suggests a different way of thinking about the construction of projects for these youngsters, one which considers their dreams for the future as tools in caring for them.
Adolescence, 2013, T. 31, n°3, pp. 633-649.
Revue semestrielle de psychanalyse, psychopathologie et sciences humaines, indexée AERES au listing PsycINFO publiée avec le concours du Centre National du Livre et de l’Université de Paris Diderot Paris 7