Experience of therapist immigrant from Poland in times of Brexit: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Leaving the European Union (EU) has involved extensive changes in British economic and social reality. Brexit referendum is a unique event, since no other member state has ever decided to exit the European Union. Brexit has not only implied a political change but, more than anything, a major social change in immigrants’ life.
This qualitative research project uses Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experience of therapist immigrants from Poland in times of Brexit. The study will attend to capture subjective experience of Brexit, how it affects counsellors and psychotherapists from Poland, including shifts, changes, and the impact on personal and professional life. Eight participants took part in the research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the transcribed data were analysed.
Themes emerged from the data revealed how participants made sense of complexity, uncertainty, and possible changes in their professional and private life. Themes that appeared to be significant included feelings of otherness and betrayal by the British society. Participants experience remained invisible and their voices were silenced during the Brexit debate. Participants also identified lack of adequate professional support. This research contributes towards a deeper understanding of social changes and their impact on mental health. The findings of this study contribute to the body of literature regarding the mental health of immigrants, in particular immigrant therapists from a counselling psychology perspective. It is hoped that the study will encourage therapists to reflect deeper on the tentative interplay between, broadly speaking, mental health and politics. It is considered that by opening up the space for understanding the difficulties of the political situation and admitting the challenges of the material, therapists expand the range of emotional availability. Possible future research has also been explored based on the findings. This study and its findings contribute to the expanding Brexit research literature with an IPA methodology and in the context of Counselling Psychology.