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Unaccompanied children and young people seeking asylum in the UK experience hardships and challenges when accessing support, social services and applying for asylum. Navigating the asylum system and the asylum process itself can negatively impact the mental health of young people seeking asylum, in some cases it can even cause trauma or re-traumatise them. This presentation draws on empirical findings based on Albanian young people’s lived experience of the UK’s asylum process. Participatory and co-production methods were used to compile a set of trauma-informed practice (TIP) guidelines and recommendations applicable to the asylum process.
The main factors causing significant concern for the young people were linked to lack of knowledge regarding their rights and access to support, legal complexities of the asylum system, uncertainty about the asylum process and lengthy delays in decisions on their asylum claims. Often, trauma was linked to language-, cultural- and social barriers faced by the young people seeking asylum intensifying experiences of stigma and social isolation. Key TIP guidelines and recommendations were developed for the asylum process as a whole. These include the need to build trust relations between asylum claimants and professionals in the system, promote humane and compassionate engagement with persons seeking asylum, and give voice and agency to asylum claimants throughout the asylum process. Moreover, the TIP guidelines focus on the importance of sensitivity to culture and gender of asylum applicants, and the urgency for the asylum process to be more transparent regarding the progress of claims. Most importantly, all relevant professionals in the asylum system should be mindful of, and responsive to, the mental health and trauma suffered by people seeking asylum.
About the speakers
Armando Laçi is an aspiring accredited nutritionist and personal trainer, currently studying human nutrition and medical sciences and building his own brand, ANF Coaching. Having once been an asylum seeker, Armando draws from his unique journey and experiences, blending a passion for teaching and fitness to help others transform their lifestyles one smart choice at a time.
Dr Ingi Iusmen is Associate Professor in Governance and Policy in the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Southampton. She specialises in public policy, human rights, children’s rights, unaccompanied migrant children and migration and refugee studies. More recently, she has started conducting research on how to trauma-inform the asylum system and how this can be informed by people with lived experience of the system. She uses participatory methodologies combined with trauma-informed approaches to research. Currently she is working on a Leverhulme Research Fellowship focusing on how the UK asylum system can be trauma-informed in a way that is reconcilable with anti-immigration objectives.
About the event organisers
This event is organised by the Refugee Mental Health and Place Network and co-sponsored by the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health.
Refugee Mental Health and Place Network
The Refugee Mental Health and Place Network is a growing network of researchers and community organisations exploring post-migration factors and refugee mental health. We seek to strengthen interdisciplinary expertise and intersectoral capacity to inform health and social policy to help improve mental health outcomes for refugees and asylum seekers. Read more in our recent blog on Understanding the role of place in refugee mental health to inform policy.
ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health
The ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health develops research to promote and sustain good mental health in communities. We aim to shift public debate about mental health away from a focus on individualised interventions, towards social practices and policies that promote and sustain good mental health.
More information
This online event forms part of the Refugee Mental Health and Place Series, a collection of events which aims to deepen our understanding of the role of place in refugee mental health outcomes, the structural causes of mental health differences, and community sources of support.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Directory for Refugees and Migrants in London
The MHPSS Directory is a broad and detailed list of organisations providing mental health and social support services to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in London and Greater London.
Find out more and download the MHPSS directory.
Contact us
We would like all our events to be inclusive and accessible. Please do not hesitate to contact us by email to csmh@kcl.ac.uk to let us know if you have any access requirements or to find out more about this session.