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People seeking asylum experience traumatic events and psychological difficulties in country-of-origin, in 'flight', and during re-settlement. Research with this population has focussed on using quantitative methods to examine psychopathology from exposure to traumatic events, and there is a paucity of qualitative research exploring subjective experiences of this population throughout their asylum journey. Few studies have examined ways asylum seekers might cope with such events. This study aimed to address this gap by employing Constructivist Grounded Theory to understand the ways people seeking asylum conceptualize and cope with their experiences across the asylum process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven people seeking asylum accessing a third sector mental health project and/or primary-care health service. Four main themes emerged from the data: 'Before Asylum', 'Displacement', 'Identity in the UK' and 'Reflections on the Future'. The stress of the asylum system and adaptation to new environments are core aspects of the theory, along with an exploration of how people cope with these circumstances, via internal psychological strategies and external support sources. Prior experiences (including the development of 'inner strength') impacted upon how participants conceptualized their everyday experiences, and this shaped their considerations for the future. Service implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – There has been a rapid development and implementation of crisis resolution home treatment teams (CRHTT) in the UK over the past decade. The available research studies of this service provision to date have largely focused on issues related to the "outputs" of CRHTT, for example cost efficacy and the impact on admission rates. There is limited research on the experiences of clinical psychologists within CRHTT. This is despite the fact that it would seem that research exploring the experiences of mental health professionals in CRHTT is important, as working in a new area of service provision may present specific challenges. An understanding of the nature of these challenges is considered important in order to support clinical psychologists in these settings, and to sustain and improve service delivery. Design/methodology/approach –This study presents a qualitative exploration of clinical psychologists' experiences of working in a CRHTT. In total, 11 clinical psychologists were interviewed about their perceptions of working within CRHTT, their relationships with other professionals and their experiences of working with service users in "crisis". The grounded theory approach was employed to analyse participants' accounts. Findings –Two themes were identified: psychological and clinical work and teamwork. The emergent themes are compared to the wider literature on clinical psychologists' experiences of working in teams, and working with service users in "crisis". Originality/value – This research demonstrates the value of a clinical psychology perspective in acute mental health settings. It also highlights the value of a clinical psychological perspective in multi-disciplinary team working. It draws attention to the need for clinical psychologists working in CRHTT settings to be able to more clearly articulate their roles in these services. It points to the importance of clinical psychologists considering the interventions they provide to service users with complex presentations. Also, it highlights their need to consider the psychological interventions they provide in CRHTT settings more generally, as this area of work does not closely align with NICE guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper seeks to explore staff experiences of working in Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT). There is a paucity of research in the area and a particular lack of in-depth qualitative accounts of staff experiences with most research focused on output and outcomes of CRHTs, including inpatient admission and bed-occupancy rates.Design/methodology/approach - Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to investigate participants' experiences of working in this service context. Five CRHT workers were interviewed about their experiences, including the aspects of their work that they found enjoyable and those that they found stressful, and how they coped with challenges related to the work.Findings - Three master themes, each with corresponding subordinate themes, emerged from the analysis. These were: "motivating factors", "stressors" and "coping". These findings indicated these subjective experiences emphasised the opportunities to make a difference and help service users and build therapeutic relationships. Perceived stressors were understood in the context of a complex service context, operational issues, responsibility for service users, and supervision and training needs.Research limitations/implications - The implications of the research for CRHT staff are discussed as well as the limitations of this study.Originality/value - This study offers a timely development in understanding the experiences of staff working in CRHTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]