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

AI Summary

CCAC's necropolitical governance brutalises detainees and normalises suffering as manufactured by the system, not individual failing.
Quantitative measures show extreme distress: 100% above clinical cut-offs, with depression strongly correlated to length of detention.
Diagnose the pathological system rather than individuals; liberation psychology demands abolition of the camp as the necessary remedy.

AI Summary

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.

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.

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.

Basic summary

Am J Community Psychol. 2026 Jul 22. doi: 10.1002/ajcp.70085. Online ahead of print.

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.

PMID:42485064 | DOI:10.1002/ajcp.70085

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