Psychological Aspects Regarding Intercultural Transformation Through Communication – Elements of Interest in the Practice of Social Work

When a foreign group that wants to relocate comes into contact with the culture of the host group, the process of intercultural adaptation of both groups is set in motion. The process starts and continues through communication, regardless of its form. During this process, individuals undergo a certain degree of intercultural transformation, corresponding to the degree of communication they have had. Transformation is bilateral and occurs naturally and inevitably, even when foreigners do not seek to adapt and want to maintain their individuality, even if they do not have a proactive attitude in order for adaptation to occur, even when there is no desire to effectively participate in communicative activities with the hosts and the foreigners choose to mainly become implicated in superficial contacts with the natives. Even in extreme conflictual situations, such as war or the crisis of refugees, the individuals who came into contact with the culture of the states where they took refuge, upon returning to their own country, no longer have the same cultural traits as when they left their native country. The purpose of this article is to theoretically analyze the psychological mechanisms that are of interest in the field of social work regarding the process of intercultural transformation that takes place through communication between the host group and the foreign group in the clash of two different cultures.