This book is to help counsellors and psychotherapists understand and engage with the experiences of persecution, violence and exile often faced by refugees. It offers a flexible approach to the special circumstances of displaced and traumatized clients from different cultural and political backgrounds.

This concise book is an essential tool to help counsellors and psychotherapists understand and engage with the experiences of persecution, violence and exile often faced by refugees. Dick Blackwell's unique framework is based on work carried out at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. It offers a flexible approach to the special circumstances of displaced and traumatized clients from different cultural and political backgrounds. The author considers four levels of experience - political, cultural, interpersonal and intrapsychic - and explores each of these in relation to both the client and therapist. He also includes practical information on advocacy, supervision and working with interpreters.

Acknowledgments. Part I - Setting the Scene: Openings and Engagements. 1 Who and what this book is for. 2 Counselling, psychotherapy and the refugee experience. 3. Assessment, suitability and adaptation. Part II - The Refugee's Experience.
4 Political level. 5. Cultural level. 6. Interpersonal level. 7. Intrapsychic level. Part III - The Therapist's Experience. 8. Political level. 9. Cultural level. 10. Interpersonal level. 11. Intrapsychic level. Part IV - Essential Additions: Completing the Picture. 12 Working with interpreters. 13. Advocacy - protection, asylum and welfare rights. 14 Summary. Appendix A: Further Reading. Appendix B: Resources. Index.