The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective
People fleeing war and violence often face complex asylum procedures in host countries which have been described as ‘exhausting by design’. This study explored service providers' perspectives on how the UK asylum process gives rise to exhaustion, and the ways in which exhaustion affects the men...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | SSM - Mental Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560325000726 |
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| author | Tianne Haggar Hanna Kienzler |
| author_facet | Tianne Haggar Hanna Kienzler |
| author_sort | Tianne Haggar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People fleeing war and violence often face complex asylum procedures in host countries which have been described as ‘exhausting by design’. This study explored service providers' perspectives on how the UK asylum process gives rise to exhaustion, and the ways in which exhaustion affects the mental health of people seeking asylum. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals providing social, legal, medical or mental health services to people seeking asylum in the UK. Results demonstrate that the UK asylum process seemingly exhausts those seeking asylum through the intersection of policies and practices that create conditions of hostility, discrimination and deprivation. The resultant exhaustion contributes to, and is exacerbated by, poor mental health, creating a vicious cycle of psychological harm. Based on these findings, we argue that the ‘politics of exhaustion’ embedded within the UK asylum process is a form of structural violence that harms mental health and wellbeing by fundamentally undermining the resilience of people seeking asylum to cope with continued adversity in the UK. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ab4c63c8ce604cef866fe57a87d786cd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-5603 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM - Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-ab4c63c8ce604cef866fe57a87d786cd2025-08-20T02:06:08ZengElsevierSSM - Mental Health2666-56032025-06-01710046010.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100460The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspectiveTianne Haggar0Hanna Kienzler1The Policy Institute, King's College London, 22 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6LE, United Kingdom; Corresponding author. The Policy Institute, 22 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6LE, United Kingdom.Centre for Society and Mental Health, King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG, United KingdomPeople fleeing war and violence often face complex asylum procedures in host countries which have been described as ‘exhausting by design’. This study explored service providers' perspectives on how the UK asylum process gives rise to exhaustion, and the ways in which exhaustion affects the mental health of people seeking asylum. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals providing social, legal, medical or mental health services to people seeking asylum in the UK. Results demonstrate that the UK asylum process seemingly exhausts those seeking asylum through the intersection of policies and practices that create conditions of hostility, discrimination and deprivation. The resultant exhaustion contributes to, and is exacerbated by, poor mental health, creating a vicious cycle of psychological harm. Based on these findings, we argue that the ‘politics of exhaustion’ embedded within the UK asylum process is a form of structural violence that harms mental health and wellbeing by fundamentally undermining the resilience of people seeking asylum to cope with continued adversity in the UK.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560325000726AsylumPeople seeking asylumMental healthExhaustionStructural violenceMigration |
| spellingShingle | Tianne Haggar Hanna Kienzler The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective SSM - Mental Health Asylum People seeking asylum Mental health Exhaustion Structural violence Migration |
| title | The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective |
| title_full | The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective |
| title_fullStr | The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective |
| title_short | The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective |
| title_sort | politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the uk a service provider perspective |
| topic | Asylum People seeking asylum Mental health Exhaustion Structural violence Migration |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560325000726 |
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