Humanitarian helper wellbeing: A psychosocial refugee care approach

Background: Helpers of refugees may endure various hardships, and, on some occasions, report distress and psychopathological reactions because of their exposure to those adversities. At the same time, they may experience significant resilience or even positive development as a result of those adversities. These newly acquired strengths can be expressed by the concept of Adversity Activated Development (e.g., Papadopoulos, 2007). Based on the innovative theories of Refugee Care at CTAR (Centre of Trauma, Asylum & Refugees, University of Essex) and on expanded Jungian theory, in this thesis I investigate diverse aspects of humanitarian helper wellbeing. Methodology: Eight humanitarian helpers (including workers and volunteers) were interviewed for this study. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions for the collection of qualitative data were conducted. The Adversity Grid form (Papadopoulos, 2007), which has been cited and applied in several cases (Gionakis et al., 2022; IOM, 2019; Jasperse, 2021), was completed twice by each participant following the interviews. Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was implemented for the data analysis. Results: The empirical results demonstrate a wide range of experienced responses to and consequences of adversities from the participants. Aspects of helper stress including organisational ones, self-care resources and eudemonic wellbeing are identified as main themes. Discussion: The findings underline the complexity of the participants’ responses to adversity, which are not only negative and pathological, but also manifest incredible resilience and various gains. They also show that negative reactions are not always pathological and that they are linked to organisational or institutional dynamics issues and not solely to exposure to client’s adverse material. This thesis provides a broader psychosocial approach to helper wellbeing based on a newly developed conceptual framework. Practical recommendations for organisational policies are also provided. Additionally, this project introduces a depth psychological understanding of the helpers’ experiences from a Jungian perspective.