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theses

As of 2019, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identified 70.8 million current, forcibly displaced people (“UNHCR,” 2019). Once displaced, these migrants may proactively or retroactively seek refuge by means of a legal asylum case, which at times includes a psychological evaluation. Semi-structured interviews were held with seven psychologists, exploring their experiences conducting asylum evaluations across the following domains: their autobiographical connections to this field, the factors that drove them to serve in this social justice role, and their ability to make meaning of the stories they hear. Against the background of the history of immigration policy in the US, the current migrant crisis, the psychological impact of traumatic migration, the role of psychological evaluations in asylum cases, and meaning making theory, the data was examined by qualitative thematic and structural analysis. Several significant thematic areas emerged from participants’ responses, including: training experiences, role identification, use of interpreter services, meaning making, autobiographical connections, drives, policy, and personal strengths and weaknesses. Findings suggested that while psychologists may have diverse personal and professional motivations to pursue work with asylum seekers, they all engaged in some form of a meaning making process. Participants noted that the contextual variables that impacted their work, including time allocated to assessments, finances, and the presence of a supportive professional community, contributed to professional burnout and/or “vicarious resilience” through exposure to asylees’ narratives. Participants’ advice to fellow mental health professionals highlighted their encouragement to seek involvement in immigration or other social justice work.

ETD_10643

Psy.D.

Includes bibliographical references

doi:10.7282/t3-9h5x-wx15

ETD doctoral

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