How do people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom conceptualize and cope with the asylum journey?

ABSTRACT

People seeking asylum experience traumatic events and psychological difficulties in country-of-origin, in ‘flight’, and during re-settlement. Research with this population has focussed on using quantitative methods to examine psychopathology from exposure to traumatic events, and there is a paucity of qualitative research exploring subjective experiences of this population throughout their asylum journey. Few studies have examined ways asylum seekers might cope with such events. This study aimed to address this gap by employing Constructivist Grounded Theory to understand the ways people seeking asylum conceptualize and cope with their experiences across the asylum process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven people seeking asylum accessing a third sector mental health project and/or primary-care health service. Four main themes emerged from the data: ‘Before Asylum’, ‘Displacement’, ‘Identity in the UK’ and ‘Reflections on the Future’. The stress of the asylum system and adaptation to new environments are core aspects of the theory, along with an exploration of how people cope with these circumstances, via internal psychological strategies and external support sources. Prior experiences (including the development of ‘inner strength’) impacted upon how participants conceptualized their everyday experiences, and this shaped their considerations for the future. Service implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Asylum seeker
• constructivist grounded theory
• qualitative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was expressed by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas Hoare

Thomas Hoare – Clinical Psychologist at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Previously worked in Forensic Mental Health Services, and for an International Non-Governmental Organization establishing mental health programmes overseas (including Nigeria, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Syria and Turkey). Email: [email protected] ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2227-294X

Andrew Vidgen

Andrew Vidgen – Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Recovery Services, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. Clinical and research interests are in the clinical application of values, displaced migrants, psychosis and supervision.

Neil P Roberts

Neil P Roberts – Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Honorary Senior Research Fellow with the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University. Research interests are related to the investigation and evaluation of psychological interventions for PTSD.