The use of narratives as a therapeutic tool among Latin American immigrant women: processes of reconstruction and  empowerment in contexts of vulnerability

Dolores Pereñiguez, Mª; Fenoy Palacios, Francisco José; Echevarría, Paloma; Morales-Moreno, Isabel; Muñoz Devesa, Aarón

Publication:
The use of narratives as a therapeutic tool among Latin American immigrant women: processes of reconstruction and empowerment in contexts of vulnerability

dc.contributor.author	Dolores Pereñiguez, Mª
dc.contributor.author	Fenoy Palacios, Francisco José
dc.contributor.author	Echevarría, Paloma
dc.contributor.author	Morales-Moreno, Isabel
dc.contributor.author	Muñoz Devesa, Aarón
dc.contributor.department	Atención Sociosanitaria
dc.contributor.other	Facultad de Ciencias Sociosanitarias (Lorca)
dc.date.accessioned	2025-11-18T11:07:17Z
dc.date.available	2025-11-18T11:07:17Z
dc.date.copyright	© 2025 by the authors
dc.date.issued	2025-02-08
dc.description.abstract	Background/Objectives: This study explores how narratives can act as therapeutic tools for Latin American immigrant women residing in the Region of Murcia, Spain. The objective is to analyse how the act of narrating their migratory experiences contributes to emotional relief, the re-signification of their trajectories, and the construction of resilience, while strengthening identity and fostering a sense of belonging in contexts marked by exclusion and inequalities in gender and class. Methods: A qualitative methodology was used with a narrative and gender approach. The field work was carried out between 2022 and 2023, with a sample of 20 women selected through snowball sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analysed through an inductive approach using MAXQDA24.5software. The emerging categories reflected the emotional experience and meanings constructed during the migration process. Results: The narratives revealed five key categories: emotional relief of social suffering through expression, reconstruction of dentity and re-signification of experiences, emotional validation and strengthening of identity, empowerment and symbolic resistance, and sense of belonging and connection. Likewise, it was observed that the interviews created therapeutic spaces that strengthened the bond between researcher and participant. Conclusions: The narratives contribute to processing emotions and redefining traumatic experiences, while also allowing greater agency in the participating women. This approach highlights the transformative potential of narrative research to generate situated knowledge and promote inclusive practices in contexts of vulnerability.
dc.format	application/pdf
dc.format.extent	18
dc.identifier.citation	Healthcare 2025, 13, 362
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.3390/ healthcare13040362
dc.identifier.eissn	2227-9032
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10201/173910
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	MDPI
dc.relation	Sin financiación externa a la Universidad
dc.relation.publisherversion	https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/13/4/362
dc.rights	Attribution 4.0 International	*
dc.rights.accessRights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	*
dc.subject	Immigrant women
dc.subject	Latin America
dc.subject	Vulnerability
dc.subject	Empowerment
dc.subject	Narratives
dc.subject.ods	No relacionado con ningún objetivo de desarrollo sostenible
dc.title	The use of narratives as a therapeutic tool among Latin American immigrant women: processes of reconstruction and empowerment in contexts of vulnerability
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dspace.entity.type	Publication	es
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