"Damaged" & "Difficult": Deconstructing the Disempowering Discourses that Dominate Refugee Resettlement

Trauma and the risks of trauma work tend to dominate discussions of refugee resettlement, effectively pathologizing refugees, in addition to those who work with them. This preoccupation with trauma does not allow for... [ view full abstract ]

Trauma and the risks of trauma work tend to dominate discussions of refugee resettlement, effectively pathologizing refugees, in addition to those who work with them. This preoccupation with trauma does not allow for alternative discourses of resilience and ignores the detrimental effects of negative resettlement experiences such as prejudice and poor access to support and services. It also disregards the opportunities for personal and professional growth documented in studies exploring the experiences of professionals working in resettlement.
This critical discourse analysis, informed by post-structuralism and post-colonialism, explores the extent to which a cross section of professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, cross cultural workers, and interpreters) engaged in refugee resettlement in New Zealand, reproduce and/or resist these disempowering discourses. The importance of reflecting on the representation of resettling refugees will be reiterated and implications for successful resettlement identified.