For adolescents who flee to the UK seeking asylum, the experience of leaving their home country puts them at risk of developing mental health problems. Although there is a research base exploring the mental health of asylum-seeking children and adolescents who arrive with their families, there is in contrast very little focusing on the mental health needs of children and adolescents who arrive in the UK alone. There has been ongoing debate about whether current theoretical models for understanding reactions to trauma and loss are helpful in supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adolescents with complex psychological and social issues as a result of fleeing their home countries. This article draws on young people's own understanding of their experiences of seeking asylum in the UK using a qualitative semi-structured interview. It attempts to develop a more contextually relevant understanding of their emotional reactions to adversity and to consider the sorts of support required. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to provide an in-depth understanding of six young asylum seekers' experiences, exploring themes of loss, negotiating a new life, psychological distress and the process of adjustment. Psychological interventions and future service provision for this group are discussed.

A B S T R A C TAttrition is a significant problem in child mental health services. Research investigating the factors associated with attrition has produced conflicting results, and failed to consider clients' own decision to terminate treatment prematurely. This study investigated parental accounts of why they completed or discontinued treatment. Completers and non-completers were interviewed using an open-ended interview schedule. All completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) before beginning treatment, but the sample size was too small to yield meaningful results. Core differences were found in the accounts of parents who completed treatment and parents who discontinued treatment. Completers' accounts were more focused on the child's problem and identified more factors that facilitated the effectiveness of the intervention; whereas non-completers' accounts were more focused on family problems and identified more obstacles that interfered with the effectiveness of the intervention. The findings have implications for the way in which non-completers are conceptualized for understanding the process of engagement.K E Y W O R D S adolescent, attrition, child, drop-out, mental health, non-completion I T I S W I D E LY accepted that improvements are urgently needed in the provision of mental health services to children and adolescents (