ABSTRACT
A mindful linguistic stance offers various opportunities to online therapists working in the displacement context. The centrality of language to any talking cure is indisputable. Displacement fosters multilingualism and propels language even further to the centre of the therapeutic encounter. A multilingual therapeutic dyad (therapist and client) often experiences dilemma about which language to use in their communication. Exploring the client’s conscious and unconscious reasons for choosing either of his languages propels therapy forward. The location of our early attachments, the original “home”, is always associated with a language. It is the most traditional element of our culture. For a dislocated individual, mastering the new language from the new place is a challenge, and the process will transform his identity. Displacement is a challenge to the original identity. Language takes on multiple roles, from a tool of resistance to a catalyst of change. It creates extreme attitudes towards the language of clients, mother tongue or second language. The concept of “linguistic repertoire”, developed in the field of applied linguistics, can be integrated into therapy with multilingual clients. A new concept of “linguistic shame” is proposed. Case vignettes show a way of integrating various multilingualism-related topics, such as mother tongue, potential of the second language use in therapy, or using a lingua franca in displacement-sensitive therapy.
