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Unaccompanied minors’ experiences of narrative exposure therapy

Part of: Being an Anti-Racist CBT therapist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2021

Glorianne Said ,
Yaman Alqadri  and
Dorothy King
Glorianne Said
Affiliation:
Foundation 63, London, UK
Yaman Alqadri
Affiliation:
Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1–19 Torrington Place, LondonWC1E 7HB, UK
Dorothy King*
Affiliation:
Foundation 63, London, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: dorothy.king1@nhs.net
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Abstract

Despite the understanding that unaccompanied minors’ (UAM) experience high rates of post-traumatic stress, the provision of evidence-based trauma-focused therapies is low for this population. Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is an effective short-term intervention for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after multiple traumatic experiences, such as those experienced by UAM. Within the existing literature, there is a lack of research investigating unaccompanied minors’ experiences of NET or any trauma-focused therapy. Participants were four UAM experiencing PTSD who formed part of a pilot delivery of NET within a dedicated child and adolescent mental health service for refugee children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). This project identified five themes that encapsulated unaccompanied minors’ experiences of receiving NET, including the process of preparing for this therapy, what it was like to receive it, and the differences they identified at the end of treatment. The significance of this taking place within a safe therapeutic relationship was explored within the context of the attachment losses experienced by UAM, and the impact this has on emotion regulation was considered. The potential of a reduction in PTSD symptoms facilitating a positive spiral in adolescence was reflected on within this paper.

Key learning aims

  1. (1) To understand the experience of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors (UAM) receiving narrative exposure therapy (NET) for post-traumatic stress disorder.

  2. (2) To understand the key concerns and motivators for UAM when considering engaging in NET.

  3. (3) To understand how these experiences relate to theoretical frameworks and the existing literature relating to emotional difficulties in adolescence.

Keywords

adolescencepost-traumatic stress disordernarrative exposure therapyrefugee childrenunaccompanied asylum-seeking childrenunaccompanied asylum-seeking minors
Type
Original Research
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 14 , 2021 , e11
Copyright
© British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2021

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References

Further reading

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Fazel, M., Stratford, H. J., Rowsell, E., Chan, C., Griffiths, H., & Robjant, K. (2020). Five applications of narrative exposure therapy for children and adolescents presenting with post-traumatic stress disorders. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitra, R., & Hodes, M. (2019). Prevention of psychological distress and promotion of resilience amongst unaccompanied refugee minors in resettlement countries. Child: Care, Health and Development, 45, 198–215.Google ScholarPubMed
Schauer, M., Neuner, F., & Elbert, T. (2017). Narrative exposure therapy for children and adolescents (KIDNET). In Landolt, M. A., Cloitre, M., & Schnyder, U. (eds), Evidence-Based Treatments for Trauma Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents (pp. 227–250). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schauer, M., Robjant, K., Elbert, T., & Neuner, F. (2020). Narrative exposure therapy. In Ford, J. D. & Courtois, C.A. (eds), Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders in Adults: Scientific Foundations and Therapeutic Models (pp. 309–331). New York, USA: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Smith, P., Dalgleish, T., & Meiser-Stedman, R. (2018). Practitioner review: posttraumatic stress disorder and its treatment in children and adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60, 500–515.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
UNICEF (2017). The Adolescent Brain: A Second Window of Opportunity. Florence, Italy: UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, Florence.Google Scholar

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