Refugee Resource PCC Phase 1 research Meeting the need for counselling for victims of crime: findings from a research project focusing on minority groups Jane Shackman & Fiona Gell

PCC priority categories Victims of serious crime Persistently targeted Most vulnerable and intimidated

Project Aim To develop capacity across the TV to provide specialist post-trauma counselling to victims of crime who are: Refugees Asylum-seekers Vulnerable migrants People from BME groups with little or no English But findings are relevant for victims beyond these 4 client groups

Refugee Resource Refugee Resource aims to relieve distress, improve well-being and facilitate the integration of refugees and asylum- seekers through psychological, social and practical support

Psychosocial approaches Psychosocial approach to coping and recovery promotes resilience and well-being Counselling services can work with other support agencies to provide holistic, psychosocial support

Background & Context RR concern that counselling is not widely available across Thames Valley for these clients BME groups = 15.4% of Thames Valley population Research into these often over-looked clients: 63 organisations & 3 focus groups

What we found.... Range of counselling and other support services for victims of crime but limited access for key client groups Counselling offered by both counselling organisations and other organisations as part of a wider range of services offered Statutory provision (mainly IAPT – Improving Access to Psychological Therapies)

Barriers to accessing counselling services... Not knowing how to access counselling or if have the right to access it Language barriers and lack of interpreters Seen as culturally inappropriate by both sides Confidentiality issues Lack of funds Not in stable enough situation Long waiting lists in some organisations

....and lack of appropriate provision Few counselling services specifically address needs of these client groups and professionals can sometimes find it difficult to know where to refer them

‘One client I referred [to Refugee Resource] was very hard to engage. She was coming with various ill-defined ailments and reading between the lines I felt she’d escaped quite horrific problems in her own nation and that some of her family had been killed. And that she wasn’t really expressing this to anybody so I referred her to Refugee Resource and I think that she began to talk – as far as I know – for the first time about it…’ GP, Oxford

Innovative therapeutic approaches Mothertongue, Reading The Children’s Society, Oxford Refugee Resource, Oxford

Innovative approaches: other services Outreach work by DA organisations, eg IDVAs speaking other languages & skyping for DA support, HW Polish website, Banbury Sunrise, Banbury Refugee and other community organisations Red Cross, MK

Recommendations for counselling providers Be willing and open Provide translated material Provide trained interpreters Participate in specialist training for counsellors (transcultural and trauma focused) Outreach work Work with family systems Local networking and collaboration (eg sharing staff language skills/interpreters) Learn from the good practice of others Develop greater ethnic diversity of counsellors

Possible models for a counselling service for victims of crime

Type of Counselling Service Option 1 A short-term service for all victims of crime Option 2 A more flexible (short-medium) service for victims most in need

Type of Counselling Service Option 1 A short-term service for all victims of crime For any victim where the crime has caused significant psychological distress or harm 6-12 hours of PCC- funded counselling Clients with more complex needs/trauma only taken on if provider can fund longer-term counselling themselves if needed

Option 2 A flexible service for victims most in need For victims: o of serious crime o vulnerable or in complex circumstances o least access to counselling Short or medium- term (max 24 hours of counselling) Requires more specialist counsellors with expertise in complex trauma/abuse

Management and Referral Pathways Model 1 Consortium working through Local Service Hubs A Local Management Group runs each hub: holds the budget; receives referrals; jointly assess where to refer client Client is referred to a provider within the consortium, or spot-purchased externally

Model 1

Model 2 One central Hub for the Thames Valley Single Budget Holder advised by a Board with broad clinical expertise Budget Holder manages a personalised budget, receives funding applications, and awards funding packages to clients. Clients referred on to counsellors using a Preferred Provider Framework

Model 2

Strategies to ensure accessibility and equality For counselling providers Analyse who is not accessing the service and what the barriers and needs are Adapt service to meet needs – Translation – Interpreters – Outreach – Counsellors trained in transcultural and trauma- focused work

Strategies to ensure accessibility and equality For the PCC Ensure that commissioned providers offer: quality counselling suitable for crime victims a robust plan to make their service accessible & appropriate to diverse clients Provide dedicated funding for these plans

Thanks to the Thames Valley PCC for funding this research Refugee Resource