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Qayumi, Nazia (2026) Syrian refugees' experience of accessing mental health services in the UK: an IPA study. Doctoral thesis, London Metropolitan University.
The Syrian crisis originated in 2011 as a popular uprising and subsequently evolved into widespread civil unrest and protracted armed violence. Over the following decade, it generated profound humanitarian consequences, including large-scale displacement, insecurity, and social disruption, with civilians bearing the greatest burden of its effects (UNHCR, 2020). Although significant political and military developments have occurred in Syria since 2020, the enduring humanitarian repercussions of the crisis continue to affect millions of people across the region.
Syrian refugees' experience complex mental health difficulties as a result of adverse experiences during pre-migration, forced displacement, and stress-inducing conditions in the resettlement phase (Hassan et al., 2006; Bilgili, 2019; Alakchar et al.,2022). Despite the significant mental health needs, existing support services in the resettlement process are time-limited and do not address and resolve the holistic needs of Syrian refugees.
It is necessary for these services to consider responding to the diverse needs of Syrians in ways that correspond with their cultural norms and beliefs by inclining towards more flexible and integrative care (Paudyal et al., 2021). In light of this, there is a further need to understand the impact of the present refugee crisis of forcefully displaced Syrians, and more specifically post their resettlement (Abbara et al.,2016 Paudyal, 2021; Santambrogio et al., 2024). The current limited literature largely contains quantitative studies looking at the experiences of Syrians accessing mental health services, which may overlook their individual experience, and may not be exclusively understood in light of their complexity, subjectivity, ability, strengths and needs.
This study explored the experiences of Syrian refugees accessing mental health services in the UK utilising the IPA method of analysis. The participating individuals were all Syrian refugees that had arrived in the UK post the conflict and were aged between eighteen to forty, who had accessed mental health services for therapeutic purposes. The analysis of semi-structured interviews demonstrated four group experiential themes; barriers accessing services, stigma and perception of mental health, impacts of trauma and resettlement, and hope and resilience. The research highlights the importance of enhancing cultural competence among practitioners, incorporating adaptable therapeutic modalities, implementing effective navigation of interpretation and linguistic services, and increased collaboration between community organisations and other support services to ensure equitable access to mental health services. Additionally, the study draws attention to Syrian refugees demonstrating significant resilience despite having encountered major obstacles. They exhibited remarkable strengths and resourcefulness in the face of adversity.
To enhance the robustness of this research and offer a broadened perspective and extensive understanding of this phenomenon, quantitative research conducted in collaboration with community organisations could complement the existing qualitative method. Furthermore, incorporating a larger sample size in quantitative data may offer statistical objective findings to offer a pathway toward more inclusive and effective mental health care services.
Lastly, counselling psychologists are capably situated to communicate these insights and train other mental health practitioners in culturally competent, trauma-informed and equitable practices. Through the use of consultation, supervision and creation of educational programmes, counselling psychologist could train practitioners across various disciplines with the abilities and insights required to work appropriately and effectively with Syrian refugees. As a result, they can extend the scope of ethical and holistically-rooted care and contribute to facilitate a more responsive and inclusive mental health care system.
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