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The Emotional Well-being of Young People Seeking Asylum in the UK eBook only

This ground-breaking report presents findings from an in-depth study of the perspectives and experiences of children and young people arriving unaccompanied to seek asylum in the UK. 

The research is based on conversations with 54 young people from 18 countries, supplemented by interviews with key professionals with expertise and knowledge of working with this group. The young participants speak movingly about their journeys and the shock of arriving in the UK, about being in care and about their experiences of a range of health, education, social care, immigration and legal services. They highlight the stress of age disputes, the need for clearer guidance in areas such as immigration status and financial support, and reveal how Western attitudes and language regarding mental health can seem quite alien to people from different cultures. Implications for policy and practice are listed at the end of each chapter.

The book explores:

  • Journeys and arrivals in the UK
  • Young people’s experiences of good and poor emotional health
  • Young people’s understandings of mental health and emotional well-being
  • Experiences of primary care and other health services
  • Experiences of being in foster care, residential care and independent living
  • Young people’s experiences of social workers
  • The impact of education
  • Experiences of immigration and legal services
  • sources of support
  • resilience and the ways in which young people cope and adapt

Who is this book for?

This fascinating study is essential reading for social workers, foster carers, primary care and CAMHS teams, teachers, students and anyone seeking to understand and support not only unaccompanied young people seeking asylum but any group of vulnerable and social excluded young people. 

Authors

Elaine Chase is a senior research officer at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, at the Institute of Education, University of London. She has worked as a practitioner and researcher in public health in the UK and internationally. Abigail Knight is a researcher at the Institute of Education, University of London, with interests in the health and wellbeing of looked after children and young people. June Statham is Professor of Education and Family Support at TCRU, and has nearly 30 years of experience of research on children’s services.

This book is available as an eBook only. It can be downloaded free by CoramBAAF members from the members’ area of the website or purchased below.

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Reviews

Extensive quotations from young people’s accounts are used throughout the book and these illustrate the key findings very clearly. The book is concise and accessible, and will be equally useful for practitioners, researchers and social work students…[It] offers very important data about young people’s views and experiences and presents them in an informative and insightful way.

Dharman Jeyasingham, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Salford, Child & Family Social Work

This slim, accessible book discusses an in-depth study of the experiences of unaccompanied children and young people seeking asylum before, during and after their arrival in the UK. The views of experienced professionals are discussed, but it is the poignant and powerful stories of the 54 young participants interviewed which prove compelling and enlightening reading. Helpful summaries are provided at the end of each chapter, which highlight implications for practice. I would recommend this as essential reading for all professionals and carers working in this field.

Lynn Baxter, Senior Social Work Lecturer at the University of Greenwich, Community Care