Advancing transculturally informed, humanistic therapeutic practice for refugees and asylum seekers presenting with embodied trauma

Introduction

A record of 122.6 million people have sought refuge and asylum across the globe in 2024, exacerbated by emergencies in Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan and by the Israel–Hamas war. This number is set to rise to over 130 million people in refugee situations in 59 countries this year alone. With refugees suffering from higher rates of mental health difficulties than the general population, there is an urgent need to provide an expedient, socially just, transculturally informed pathway into humanistic psychological care services for these individuals. The objectives of this study were to explore how therapeutic practitioners are working effectively with displaced individuals presenting with embodied trauma, their experiences of transcultural approaches to therapeutic work and the impact of working alongside psychopharmacological medications in this commonly overprescribed client group.

Method

A qualitative semi-structured interview was operationalised with 12 therapeutic practitioners who have worked with displaced individuals, utilising reflexive thematic analysis of the data.

Results

Findings highlight a critical need for an updated transculturally informed, humanistic, person-centred pathway of care for each displaced individual.

Discussion

This study offers facilitators and challenges to using a humanistic, transculturally updated assessment, formulation, treatment plan, and routine outcome measures for embodied trauma. It also considers the importance of working with a client's cultural context of origin, language, universally understood emotions, cultural strengths, preferences for therapy and use of a psychopharmacological review within a holistic constellation of care.