Mental Health Support for Young Asylum Seekers

Young asylum seekers often struggle to access effective mental health support. Richard West, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, along with fellow nursing researchers at Sheffield Hallam University, conducted a review and practitioner survey to reveal why — and what must change.

Mental health services do not always work effectively for vulnerable migrants. We know this is true for young asylum seekers from our recent review published in Mental Health Practice. There are several reasons for this that came up including stigma, language barriers, fragile therapeutic relationships and culturally insensitive care. These challenges are not new but with the rising rates of young people seeking asylum it is important that a discussion is opened on this topic.

To move beyond the literature, we asked mental health practitioners directly about their experiences. Their responses were striking and mirrored the findings in the review.

Low Confidence among practitioners

Our survey found that mental health practitioners self-reported low confidence in working with young asylum seekers. There was variation within the respondents with practitioners with more experience often reporting higher levels of confidence. This low confidence seemed to come from several areas but importantly it was also seen as changeable.

1. Developing Professional Confidence. Respondents felt unsure how to deliver evidence-based care that is appropriate to the lives of young asylum seekers. We saw that several participants linked low confidence with uncertainty which seemed to stem from reduced access to training.
2. Cultural Responsiveness. Practitioners described the importance of being aware of their own and the young person’s culture and how this effected mental health support given. This was seen to develop through critically thinking about the limits of western mental health views on trauma which acknowledge the impact of migration, identity and wider contexts.
3. Constrained Agency. Many practitioners felt a sense that their work would be limited in its effectiveness. This was because young people were also experiencing housing instability, disjointed health services other barriers to good mental health. This caused a moral distress which was clear from the survey.

Why this matters

If we want to improve access and experience, we need change.

Mental health services could be brought into the community for young asylum seekers such as schools, charities and community centres. Mental health practitioners could then work collaboratively with workers and carers who know the young person well and have established a therapeutic relationship already. From a nursing education stance, asylum seeker health should be brought into the curriculum as a hard to reach population with specific needs.

Summary

While our findings highlight gaps, they also reveal opportunity for positive change. Practitioners find this topic important and want to see practical steps on how to reduce health inequalities. They’re asking for the knowledge, structures and flexibility to offer care that’s responsive. This survey is now submitted as a manuscript for publication. What is needed is a dedicated workforce of mental health practitioners who can continue to advocate for this population of young people.

About Richard West

Over the years, Richard West has worked in diverse clinical settings including a young people’s inpatient unit, an adult inpatient unit, and a community team. In 2022, Richard  joined Sheffield Hallam University, where he teaches on the Bachelor’s and Master’s Pre-registration Mental Health Nursing courses. His research focuses on physical activity for mental health, the mental health needs of young asylum seekers, and students who have taken a break in study.

Photo by mohamad azaam on Unsplash