ABSTRACT
A psychosocial evaluation of asylum seekers is sought by attorneys to support an asylee client’s claim that her fear of returning home is well founded. In this chapter, the forensic goal and both the political and emotional implications of such an evaluation are described as follows: The forensic goal of the written report is to depict the asylee’s psychological symptoms, which are acceptable in court as evidence of persecution at home. The report has political implications because it is written to influence the opinion of the asylum officer, which is discretionary. The evaluation process itself has emotional implications because of the nature of the connection made between interviewee and evaluator as the former tells her story. Positive feelings of recognition often emerge for the former in this process. For the evaluator, in turn, the experience is described as one of “vicarious resilience,” an enlivening one, to say the least. Finally, the chapter describes the work of other professionals as this influences the evaluation process.
