Institutional Disempowerment in the UK Asylum System

This research introduces the concept of institutional disempowerment and explores how mental health and well-being is affected by government services that deny users accountability and the exercise of choice and agency. Using situational analysis, a form of grounded theory, the study used mapping techniques to consider the impact of institutional disempowerment on people going through the process of seeking asylum in the UK. The involvement of three experts-by-experience co-researchers at every stage of the process informed and nuanced the design of the study and interpretation of the data. The use of the timeline data collection tool gave participants the power to shape their own narrative. From participants’ descriptions of the high and low points of their experience of the asylum process, the study mapped four core elements of the model – safety, social connection, identity, and power and autonomy – as well as the two cross-cutting components of time and bureaucracy. The mechanism of harm was understood with reference to well-evidenced theories demonstrating the negative impact on mental health of learned helplessness and the denial of self-determination, self-efficacy and agency. This makes an important contribution to the field of Counselling Psychology by providing useful evidence on how the asylum system can be made less damaging and for therapeutic work with people seeking asylum. The overarching importance of social factors on mental health and well-being, in both positive and negative ways, has been particularly striking and suggests a good entry point for change. The study provides a strong basis for future research on the concept of institutional disempowerment which holds promise as a model for creating more responsive and compassionate social services.