Research · ESRC-funded research at King’s College London with Iranian and Afghan sanctuary-seeking communities and organisations
The Asylum Process and Mental Health
“Coming from a dark stage to see a light, your fate is lit. - Ghaanim, Afghan research contributor”
The challenge
A system that harms the people it should protect
Clinical accounts of refugee mental health have traditionally emphasised war, persecution and past trauma. People seeking sanctuary in the UK also have to live through long waits, disbelief, poverty, restricted rights, hostile political rhetoric and bureaucratic uncertainty after arrival. The research asked what happens when those post-migration conditions are treated as central to mental health, and what people themselves do to cope, care for one another and create meaning under pressure.
What we did
Ethnography, interviews and participatory action research
This was my PhD research. It involved sustained engagement with Iranian and Afghan sanctuary seekers, community organisations and practitioners, combining interviews, ethnographic observation, systematic review and participatory action research. It examined asylum interviews, waiting, deprivation, social relationships, community spaces, service encounters, coping and the ethics of conducting research with migrant communities.
What changed
The research helped shift the conversation from individual pathology towards systems, relationships and migrant knowledge about coping
: Findings informed peer-reviewed publications, practitioner guidance, creative anthologies, training and subsequent community projects. The programme became the foundation for The Migrant Art of Coping, which develops the argument that people navigating oppressive migration systems produce important knowledge about care, solidarity, creativity and mental health that can inform wider practice.
Outputs
PhD research; peer-reviewed publications; creative anthology; community workshops; practitioner guidance; foundation for The Migrant Art of Coping