Presentation Information
[SY-37-01]Use of the CFI with asylum seekers: learnings from their experience
*Lukas Claus2,1, Seline van den Ameele2,3, Bernard Sabbe2 (1.Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium)(Belgium), 2.CAPRI (Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute), Universiteit Antwerpen (Antwerp, Belgium)(Belgium), 3.Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Brugmann University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium(Belgium))
Keywords:
Cultural Formulation Interview,Asylum Seekers,Mental Health
Asylum seekers experience significant mental health difficulties, yet they often face barriers to appropriate psychiatric assessment and care. Given their diverse backgrounds, a comprehensive evaluation that considers cultural and contextual factors is essential. The Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) has been proposed to enhance cultural sensitivity in mental health care, but its application in asylum seekers remains largely unexplored. Therefore, we conducted a study on the use of the CFI in asylum seekers, focusing on different aspects: its contribution to illness narratives, its impact on clinical outcomes, and the asylum seekers’ experience of the instrument.
First, this presentation will explore the nuanced experiences of asylum seekers with the CFI. On the one hand, it will illustrate, with concrete examples, the advantages of the CFI approach, such as promoting meaningful encounters, generating new insights, and strengthening the patient-clinician relationship. On the other hand, it will outline the barriers encountered during its administration, including the complexity and number of questions, uncertainty regarding its benefits, and emotional distress linked to recalling past traumatic experiences. Additionally, the notable impact of the CFI on diagnostic categorization will be addressed.
The presentation will further elaborate on the CFI’s potential to provide asylum seekers the space to articulate their suffering, and for the clinician to create a safe framework to do so, enabling an authentic encounter. Concrete attention points for CFI administration with asylum seekers will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will translate the learnings into perspectives for future research and potential adaptations of the CFI.
First, this presentation will explore the nuanced experiences of asylum seekers with the CFI. On the one hand, it will illustrate, with concrete examples, the advantages of the CFI approach, such as promoting meaningful encounters, generating new insights, and strengthening the patient-clinician relationship. On the other hand, it will outline the barriers encountered during its administration, including the complexity and number of questions, uncertainty regarding its benefits, and emotional distress linked to recalling past traumatic experiences. Additionally, the notable impact of the CFI on diagnostic categorization will be addressed.
The presentation will further elaborate on the CFI’s potential to provide asylum seekers the space to articulate their suffering, and for the clinician to create a safe framework to do so, enabling an authentic encounter. Concrete attention points for CFI administration with asylum seekers will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will translate the learnings into perspectives for future research and potential adaptations of the CFI.