Exploring refugees and asylum seekers experience of group work for trauma: a qualitative study

Background: Refugees and asylum seekers may experience complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of war, violence, torture and abuse. Treatment for this includes safety and stabilisation interventions, which aim to develop skills in understanding trauma and in regulating emotional distress. Group treatment can be effective, however for refugees and asylum seekers there could be certain issues, such as cultural and contextual differences, which could make their experience different. More research is required to investigate the types of interventions being used to treat refugees and asylum seekers. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven individuals, five of whom had interpreters. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three main overarching themes with eight sub-themes were constructed from the data. These examined what the ‘ingredients’ were for the group intervention, the delivery of the group intervention and contextual factors, that influenced refugees and asylum seekers’ experiences of the group intervention. Conclusions: Individuals developed a better understanding of their difficulties which helped them to manage their difficulties using the strategies taught in the safety and stabilisation group. Feeling safe and secure were found to be important within the group setting. Some individuals continued to experience anxiety, either in relation to the trauma they experienced or with regard to the asylum-seeking process. Individuals may benefit from additional support. Future research is required exploring the mechanisms involved in group interventions