Effects of trauma and the refugee experience on psychological assessment processes and interpretation

Abstract

All psychological assessments occur in a cultural context, whoever the participants. When the participant being assessed is someone of refugee background, several contextual domains, both current and historical, require close attention. Those domains are the effects of torture, violence and traumatic loss; pre-arrival hardships such as poor nutrition, inadequate shelter, lack of access to health services and disruptions to schooling; settlement stresses involving unfamiliarity with Australian systems and discrimination; and family functioning and fractures to family nurturance, maintained by ongoing separation from and dangers to significant others left behind. Given that the purpose of psychological assessment is to formulate appropriate interventions for promoting mental health, learning and wellbeing for individuals presenting with special needs, professional expertise demands a comprehensive analysis of the causes of identified problems.

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