Skip to content
1981
Special Issue: LGBTQ+ Perspectives. Guest Editors: Ryan Campinho Valadas and Mandy Carr
  • ISSN: 0263-0672
  • E-ISSN: 2157-1430

Abstract

As Great Britain reaches 50 years of LBGTQ+ legislation, making it illegal to persecute an individual based on their sexual identity, not everywhere in the world is so enlightened. In some parts of the world, the act of homosexuality is punishable by law, with people sentenced to incarceration or even death. For some people, trying to leave their country and claim asylum in another part of the world is the only way people can truly be themselves. This paper is based on the case studies of two male clients who are both waiting for an asylum decision, with both cases based on their sexuality, and the approach used in therapy sessions, specifically focusing on not only coming to terms with their own persecution, moving from shame of their own culture, but also working with frustration and the re-shaming effects of proving one’s sexuality. The overall objective is to create an argument for Dramatherapy when working with complex trauma, shame and raising awareness of the lesser-known work of Dramatherapy and asylum seekers.

© 2018 British Association of Dramatherapists
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1080/02630672.2018.1524503
2024-06-06
2026-04-12

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association DSM–V Development. 2012. “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” Accessed 5 April 2018. http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/PTSD%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
  2. BatchelorT. 2015. “‘Guilty until Proven Innocent’: The Trial of LGBT Asylum Seekers Detained in the UK.” Accessed 5 April 2018. https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2015/03/guilty-until-proven-innocent-trial-lgbt-asylum-seekers-detained-uk
  3. BissonJ.I. 2007. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” British Medical Journal 334 (7597): 789–793. doi:10.1136/bmj.39162.538553.80
     [Google Scholar]
  4. BoylesJ. 2017. “Assessing Survivors of Torture for Psychological Therapy.” In Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture, a Human-rights Approach with People Seeking Asylum, edited by BoylesJ.. Monmouth: PCCS Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. BrownB. 2012. “Listening to Shame.” [Online Video. TED Talks]. Accessed 5 April 2018. https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame
     [Google Scholar]
  6. DokterD. 1998. Arts Therapies with Refugees and Migrants, Reaching across Borders. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. DomiklesD. 2012. “Violence and Laughter: How School-Based Dramatherapy Can Go Beyond Behaviour Management for Boys at Risk of Exclusion from School.” In Dramatherapy with Children, Young People and Schools, Enabling Creativity, Sociability, Communication and Learning, edited by LeighL., IrvineG., DixA., and HaythornneD., 71–82. East Sussex: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. DuffyN. 2017. “The UK Has Rejected Thousands of Gay Asylum Seekers.” Pink News. [Online]. Accessed 5 April 2018. https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/11/30/the-uk-has-rejected-thousands-of-gay-asylum-seekers
     [Google Scholar]
  9. DuncanP. 2017. “Gay Relationships are Still Criminalised in 72 Countries, Report Finds.” [Online]. Accessed 5 April 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/27/gay-relationships-still-criminalised-countries-report
  10. Fletcher. 2017. “Sexuality, Torture and Recovery.” In Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture, a Human-rights Approach with People Seeking Asylum, edited by Boyles, 223–245 J. Monmouth: PCCS Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. GobinR., and FreydJ.. 2014. “The Impact of Betrayal Trauma on the Tendency to Trust. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.” American Psychological Association 6 (5): 505–511.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Herman. 1992. Trauma and Recovery. The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Torture. New York: Basic Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. HolmesJ. 2001. The Search for the Secure Base, Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy. East Sussex: Burner-Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Home Office. 2016. Asylum Policy Instruction, Sexual Orientation in Asylum Claims [Online]. Accessed 5 April 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Home Office. 2018 Eligbility of Asylum. [Online]. Accessed 5 April 2018. https://www.gov.uk/claim-asylum/eligibility
     [Google Scholar]
  16. JenningsS. 1990. Dramatherapy with Families, Groups and Individuals. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. KolmannskogV. 2018. The Empty Chair; Tales from Gestalt Therapy. Oxon: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. LanyadoM. 1999. “Holding and Letting Go: Some Thoughts about the Process of Ending Therapy.” Journal of Child Psychotherapy 25 (3): 357–378. doi:10.1080/00754179908260301
     [Google Scholar]
  19. LearmanL. 2015. “A Dialogue with Three Voices; the Impact of Interpreters on the Therapeutic Alliance When Working with Asylum Seekers and Refugees Who Have Lived through Traumatic Experinces.” PhD, Manchester Institute of Education.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. LemmaA. 2010. “The Power of Relationship: A Study of Key Working as an Intervention with Traumatised Young People.” Journal of Social Work Practice: Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community 24 (4): 409–427. doi:10.1080/02650533.2010.496965.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. LewisT., AminiF., and LannonR.. 2000. A General Theory of Love. New York: Random House.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. MackenzieN. 2013. “A Brief Exploration of the Role of Dramatherapy within A Multi-Modal Arts Therapy Approach to Working with Children Aged 4–14 Years Impacted by Trauma.” Dramatherapy 35 (2): 131–139. doi:10.1080/02630672.2013.823747
     [Google Scholar]
  23. MichaelsonR. 2017. “LGBT People in Egypt Targeted in Wave of Arrests and Violence.” [Online] The Guardian. Accessed 23 April 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/08/lgbt-people-egypt-targeted-wave-arrests-violence
     [Google Scholar]
  24. NeunerF., KurreckS., RufM., OdenwaldM., ElbertT., and SchauerM.. 2010. “Can Asylum-Seekers with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Be Successfully Treated? A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.” Cognitive Behavior Therapy 39 (2): 81–91. doi:10.1080/16506070903121042
     [Google Scholar]
  25. PaivioS.C., and GreenbergL.S.. 1995. “Resolving ‘Unfinished Business’: Efficacy of Experiential Therapy.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 63 (3): 419–425.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. SchockK., RosnerR., and KnaevelsrudC.. 2015. “Impact of Asylum Interviews on the Mental Health of Traumatized Asylum Seekers.” European Journal of Psychotraumatology 6 (1). doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.26286
     [Google Scholar]
  27. StepakoffS. 2007. “The Healing Power of Symbolization in the Aftermath of Massive War Atrocities: Examples from Liberian and Sierra Leonean Survivors.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 47: 400–412. doi:10.1177/0022167807301787. Accessed 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG). 2010. Failing the Grade. London. Accessed 5 April 2018. https://uklgig.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Failing-the-Grade.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  29. UNHCR. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 2018. “Asylum Seekers.” Accessed 11 March 2018. http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c137.html
  30. WeissD.S., and MarmarC.R.. 1996. “The Impact of Event Scale - Revised.” In Assessing Psychological Trauma and PTSD, edited by WilsonJ. and KeaneT.M., 399–411. New York: Guilford.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. WinnL. 1994. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Dramatherapy, Treatment and Risk Reduction. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Winnicott, D. 1971. Playing With Reality. London: Tavistock.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1080/02630672.2018.1524503
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): asylum seekers; dramatherapy; LGBTQ+; refugees; trauma

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test