ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the impact of the work and the dilemmas it raised at a number of levels (self, therapeutic work, the institution, and the wider network). Traditionally, therapists thinking about the "refugee identity" tend to be more simplistic and centred around the pre-trauma, trauma, and post-trauma experiences and contexts. When working with refugee families, we—both therapists and clients alike—are strangers in foreign lands. One of the most difficult tasks has been making connections between the experience of working with Juan and the theoretical thinking that has underpinned the work. He was described by staff as a beautiful young man, and many staff, knowing of his history, took a protective position in relation to him. One of the ways that the chapter used to make sense of the work and to hold a direction was to keep having conversations with each other and with our colleagues both in the unit and in the community.
