Navigating Foreignness and non-nativeness in post-Brexit UK

This research was situated within one of the biggest social and political events in recent European history, namely Brexit. An IPA study, stimulated by the lead author’s own personal experiences, explored how foreign and non-native counselling and psychotherapy trainees experienced living and training in the UK, and working with native-speaking clients in the time of Brexit. Four primary themes were identified in the research which revealed the extent to which trainees experienced a disruption in their sense of living and belonging within the UK, a loss of personal and professional certainty and safety, fears of exposure to racism and ‘othering’ as well as feelings of inadequacy when working with native clients post-Brexit. These findings highlight the need for practitioners, training programmes and professional bodies to critically reflect on the impact of potent socio-political events on minority demographic practitioners as well as their engagement with clients.