Refugee and staff experiences of psychotherapeutic services: a qualitative systematic review

Aspasia Karageorge¹, Paul Rhodes², Rebecca Gray³, Renos Papadopoulos^4
1 psychologistand doctoral candidate of clinical psychology at the Clinical Psychology Unit, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Australia., Australia
² clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the Clinical Psychology Unit, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Australia., Australia
³ Senior Manager of Research and Evaluation at Relationships Australia NSW, Australia., Australia
⁴ Director of the Centre for Trauma, Asylum and Refugees at the University of Essex, and honorary clinical psychologist and systemic psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic, UK., UK

Correspondence Address:

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

While the need for psychotherapeutic services for refugees is well documented, little is known about the acceptability and validity of these approaches, especially from refugee and staff perspectives. Qualitative studies of user experience provide critical insight into the utility of current service approaches, and is both clinically and ethically indicated. Therefore, a systematic review of client and provider experiences of psychotherapeutic services is presented (11 studies), combining thematic synthesis and meta-ethnographic approaches. Key concepts to achieving acceptable care were: mutual understanding, addressing complex needs, discussing trauma and cultural competence. Each concept was enabled, or hindered, by a set of related themes. Results found that while practical assistance and advocacy are important to refugee clients, these aspects of care should remain rooted in therapeutic processes of mutual understanding, narrative continuity and self-empowerment through self-efficacy. Further, more ethically rigorous research is still needed in this critical area.