The experience of working with refugees: counsellors in primary care

The Experiences of Staff Working With Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the United Kingdom: A Grounded Theory Exploration

“…The existing literature suggests that professionals often feel ill-equipped to deal with their client's needs (Century et al, 2007;Drennan & Joseph, 2005) and that in addition they experience a range of difficulties such as working with the asylum system (Johnson, 2003), managing client's demands and expectations (Fisher, 2004), managing professional boundaries (Misra, Connolly, Klynman, & Majeed, 2006), and language barriers (Franks, Gawn, & Bowden, 2007), all of which were difficulties identified by staff in the present study. However, the findings from the current study also highlight additional challenges and dilemmas experienced by staff which do not appear to be documented in the existing literature including the dilemma of wanting to empower clients but feeling that the service staff provided sometimes served to encourage dependency.…”

“…All of the counselors reported that working with refugee clients was considerably more stressful and posed greater ethical dilemmas than work with nonrefugee clients. Counselors also described several challenges to undertaking their work, including difficulties managing language barriers and using interpreters, conflict between working with client's practical versus psychological needs, as well as difficulties in maintaining professional boundaries with clients (Century et al, 2007). In terms of the emotional impact, counselors described feeling overwhelmed, helpless, powerless, frustrated and exhausted.…”

“…In terms of the emotional impact, counselors described feeling overwhelmed, helpless, powerless, frustrated and exhausted. Century et al (2007) accounts had a profound effect on many of the counselors and some respondents stated that they found it difficult to control their own feelings during sessions. Although it was not formally assessed as part of the study, Century et al (2007) questioned to what extent the counselors had internalised the experiences and emotions of their clients.…”

“…Although there is little existing literature examining the impact and psychological effects of working with refugees and asylum seekers, Century, Leavey, and Payne (2007) undertook a qualitative exploration that examined the experiences of counselors working with refugees in primary care. All of the counselors reported that working with refugee clients was considerably more stressful and posed greater ethical dilemmas than work with nonrefugee clients.…”

Supervision Found Wanting: Experiences of Health and Social Workers in Non-Government Organisations Working with Refugees and Asylum Seekers

“…The provision of services without supervision has been shown to contribute to less effective practice and burnout (Lloyd, King, and Chenoweth 2002;Collins 2008;Rogowski 2011). Research suggests that without formal support social care workers are at risk, particularly as a result of stress (Huxley et al 2005;Century Leavey, and Payne 2007).…”