Socialinio darbo su pabėgėliais ir prieglobsčio prašytojais ypatumai

The article analyses the peculiarities of social work with refugees and asylum seekers. In recent years, the number of refugees and asylum seekers worldwide has increased. In 2021, Lithuania and other European Union countries faced many refugees from Belarus. The war in Ukraine, which began in 2022, when most people were forced to seek refuge in the European Union countries, is also a major challenge. Having arrived in a new country, refugees and asylum seekers must adapt to the new environment. Social workers contribute to integrating refugees and asylum seekers; however, they often experience many challenges while aiding this group of clients. Dealing with nationals of other countries requires specific preparation from specialists. Therefore, due to the increase in the number of refugees in Lithuania and around the world in recent years, it is important to pay more attention to the field of social work with refugees and asylum seekers. This would improve social workers’ readiness to deal with people from other cultures and improve the social services provided to this group of clients. The study aims to analyse the peculiarities of social work with refugees and asylum seekers. Methods of structured interview and qualitative content analysis were applied for the research involving 3 social workers. The study results revealed that social workers face cultural challenges in aiding refugees and asylum seekers, such as a lack of common language, the impact of religion on the provision of social services, different perceptions of time, and differences in the roles of men and women. Also, due to the traumas and negative experiences, the psychological state of most refugees and asylum seekers is poor. Thus, those people can have positive and negative attitudes towards social workers and the services provided. Social workers noted that when working with such a client group, it is very important to have no prejudices or stereotypes and constantly improve knowledge. Interinstitutional cooperation is important while providing social services. However, it has been observed that some institutions tend to cooperate, while some cooperate unwillingly. Regarding working conditions, respondents said they were satisfied, but the conditions could be improved, as could the national political system.