ABSTRACT

To gain insights into psychologists’ experience of working with refugees in Brazil, semi-structured interviews with 14 psychologists were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. Results showed that participants experienced operating in a novel, precarious and xenophobic context, which led them to move beyond classical psychological work, engage in practical assistance and become very close to clients. Psychologists reported lack of public structures, insufficient competencies and high levels of fatigue. At the same time, they described gaining new perspectives and benefiting from witnessing their clients’ resilience. In terms of facilitators for the work with refugees, participants pointed to the importance of psychologists being flexible, authentic, of showing a high frustration tolerance and of making use of group-based approaches. Participants suggested that, in order to better refugees’ mental health in Brazil, efforts should focus on adopting a more social perspective in psychology, developing anti-discrimination campaigns, building policies for refugee’ inclusion and scaling up investments in mental healthcare in general. Suggestions for future research are made, as well as for psychologists who work with refugees, such as fostering a more collectivity-focused and contextual understanding of mental health.

摘要

为了深入了解心理学家在巴西与难民合作的经验，我们对 14 位心理学家进行了半结构化访谈，并使用主题分析进行了分析。结果表明，参与者经历了在一个新奇、不稳定和仇外的环境​​中工作，这使他们超越了经典的心理工作，从事实际帮助，并变得非常接近客户。心理学家报告说缺乏公共结构、能力不足和高度疲劳。同时，他们描述了获得新视角并从见证客户的复原力中受益。就难民工作的促进者而言，参与者指出心理学家灵活、真实、表现出高度的挫折容忍度和利用基于群体的方法的重要性。与会者建议，为了更好地改善巴西难民的心理健康，努力应侧重于采用更社会化的心理学视角、开展反歧视运动、制定难民包容政策以及扩大对心理保健的总体投资。对未来的研究以及与难民一起工作的心理学家提出了建议，例如促进对心理健康更加注重集体和背景的理解。