> Marc Chaussivert works as a clinical psychologist and team leader at STARTTS.

This case study is about a group intervention for a small group of young women. It is interesting as an illustration of the benefits of group interventions alongside individual work in providing a level of support that is not available through only conducting individual interventions.

The young women ranged in age from 15 to 21years. The group took place in a city location and drew participants from southern and western Sydney. The young women were all originally from Africa. They all spoke English fairly well as a result of having learnt English prior to coming to Australia or having already resided in Australia for some time.

They were all referred by other services providers and in all cases the reason for referral aside from trauma history also involved concerns around their vulnerability due to their age and their family situation.

All were unaccompanied when they arrived in Australia and were still in a situation where there were no identifiable and reliable parental figures involved in their day-to-day lives. Only a couple of them appeared to have any effective relationships with parents anywhere (i.e. only two even had regular phone contact with parents overseas). All were also seen by me on an individual basis at least for an assessment.

The aims of the group were:

1. To develop and provide the young women with a supportive, safe space so they would feel less isolated
2. To facilitate the expression and sharing of feelings and material that was troubling them (based on built trust and safety)
3. To facilitate the forming of new and enjoyable relationships amongst themselves.

To illustrate the value of this kind of intervention I will focus on the situation of one young woman in particular – I will call her Yasmen. She was a very recent arrival unaccompanied by any family or friends with grave fears for her immediate family. She was very isolated with no friends or acquaintances even close to her age in Australia. I was hoping that in the first instance the group might be a way for her to form some friendships with other young women to at least enable her to feel less alone and possibly a bit supported.

In the first group session Yasmen attended, following some work with clay, the conversation over refreshments turned to Yasmen with some of the other young women, not knowing of her situation, asking her about her family. As she explained her circumstances there was some unease but also thoughtful silence as Yasmen was listened to before the conversation moved on to something else. I think it was important here for Yasmen to be taken seriously without avoiding what was difficult or trying to make it OK through any false reassurance. My concern however, at Yasmen’s level of isolation and aloneness, led me to think about being a bit directive around the exchange of phone numbers between the young women so they might be able to be in contact with the others outside of the group. But I decided against this, thinking that it would be forcing something onto the dynamic that was developing between the young women.

When it came time for the next group meeting a week later I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the other young women had not only been in contact with Yasmen but that they had actually spent time together during the weekend between the two meetings and had had a lot of fun together.

Some weeks later when there was a break down in the relationship between Yasmen and the family that had provided her with temporary accommodation, the other young women from the group became a very important resource in her finding a new and more supportive housing arrangement.

This experience of group work has been for me a powerful illustration of how group interventions can assist in addressing some of the more immediate physical problems that asylum seekers and persons from refugee background can face, including isolation and a lack of physical support. In this sense group work can help provide an important emotional resource in the process of recovery.

The supportive framework that was established through the vehicle of the group has clearly extended beyond the life of that sequence of weekly meetings, not only through the relationships created amongst the young women but also through the trust established - such that I continue to have an intermittent contact with these young women as specific concerns arise. On occasion we meet at a youth service closer to where they live and at other times they come to the city location to meet with me as individuals or as a group.

> Marc Chaussivert
Marc works as a clinical psychologist and team leader at STARTTS. He has a special interest in work with children and adolescents from refugee backgrounds and enjoys combining clinical approaches with community development and creative modalities.