When assessing people from very different backgrounds who have had complicated and challenging life experiences, mental health professionals need to be wary of jumping to wrong conclusions.

With people seeking asylum, interpreting appearance, behaviour and non-verbal communication is likely to be harder than usual. Narrative style and autobiographical memory aresubject to diverse influences that include attachment security and autobiographical competence, emotional distress, external prompts and context, social identity, and culture. Major adversity and PTSDcan result in complex difficulties in giving clear consistent accounts. Neurodevelopmental diversity and intellectual disabilities present specific challenges. People seeking asylum also face some narrative dilemmas particular to their situation.

The outcome of an asylum claim often hinges on judgements about a person’s credibility.While determining credibility is the responsibility of the Home Office and courts, mental health professionals can contribute to good decision-making by offering clinical explanations for features of a person’s account or behaviour that have been used to cast doubt on their credibility.