We all come from somewhere : identity and belonging of young asylum seekers in transition and effects on counselling

Abstract

This study explored the experiences of six former unaccompanied asylum-seeking young participants and their perspectives on their in-care experiences, preparation for leaving care, and after-care support, -taking into consideration the definitions and experiences of ‘home’, ‘identity’ and ‘belonging’ at a time of transition to adulthood and adjustment to life in a new country. The research also enabled four professionals to share their views on practice and policy affecting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children leaving care. The study adopted an Interpretative Phenomenological Approach to collect and analyse the data generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews. A number of themes communicating the asylum-seeking young participants experience emerged. These include life before asylum, displacement and journey, definition of an asylum seeker and the care in the residential setting for UMAS, home and time, adaptation stressors, coping and managing stress when leaving care and thinking about the future. The data indicate that unaccompanied young people face considerable challenges in the transition from care towards independence and that practice falls short of the standard envisaged by the leaving care framework. This research has yielded useful information. It is hoped that this research will serve as an eye-opener for professionals working with young asylum seekers, and can assist them in preparing their clients for a smoother transition to adulthood. This research clearly brought out the need for further specialized training especially when dealing with trauma, and counsellors need to work further to increase self-awareness of their own cultural identity.