Readiness of Allied Professionals to Join the Mental Health Workforce: A Qualitative Evaluation of Trained Lay Trauma Counsellors’ Experiences When Refugee Youth Disclose Suicidal Ideation

Sandra Löfving Gupta, Katarina Wijk, Georgina Warner and Anna Sarkadi
Additional contact information
Sandra Löfving Gupta: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 564, 751 22 Uppsala, Sweden
Katarina Wijk: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 564, 751 22 Uppsala, Sweden
Georgina Warner: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 564, 751 22 Uppsala, Sweden
Anna Sarkadi: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 564, 751 22 Uppsala, Sweden

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: The recent refugee crisis presented a huge challenge for the Swedish mental health workforce. Hence, innovative mental health workforce solutions were needed. Unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) are a particularly vulnerable refugee group. Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) was introduced as a community-based intervention utilising trained lay counsellors in a stepped model of care for refugee youth experiencing trauma symptoms. Professionals (e.g., teachers, social workers) can deliver the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-based intervention after a brief training. A point of debate in this workforce solution is the readiness of trained lay counsellors to deal with potentially demanding situations like disclosure of suicidal ideation. This study aimed to explore the TRT trained lay counsellors’ experiences of procedures upon URM’s disclosure of suicidal ideation. Individual semi-structured interviews with TRT trained lay counsellors were conducted, then analysed using systemic text condensation. The analysis revealed four themes: “Importance of safety structures”, “Collaboration is key”, “Let sleeping dogs lie” and “Going the extra mile”. Dealing with suicidal ideation is challenging and feelings of helplessness occur. Adding adequate supervision and specific training on suicidal ideation using role play is recommended. Collaboration between agencies and key stakeholders is essential when targeting refugee mental health in a stepped care model.

Keywords: workforce solution; mental health workforce; trained lay counsellors; unaccompanied refugee minors; teaching recovery techniques; cognitive behaviour therapy; group intervention; stepped care model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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