Chapter 20 - A Psychodynamic Approach to Working with People Experiencing Multiple Exclusion Homelessness

Summary

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the relational dynamics underlying ‘multiple exclusion homelessness’ and an approach to working in this area. Adults experiencing multiple exclusion homelessness have often, during their developmental years, experienced multiple homes, disrupted attachments, un-forecasted endings, multiple and short-lived figures of support – all experiences that can lead a person to develop an understandable anxiety about trusting anyone to remain stable in their life. These dynamics may inadvertently be recreated in the person’s adult life through the impermanency of different organisations they are involved with. Multiple exclusion homelessness can be understood as a late emerging symptom of underlying difficulties in someone’s relationships with care. A psychologically informed approach for staff working in the homeless sector is outlined. The staff-service user relationship, while often viewed as important within mainstream services, is commonly seen as a vehicle through which treatments can be completed rather than as the treatment itself. By contrast, a psychologically informed service for people experiencing multiple exclusion homelessness understands that the reverse is often more accurate: that the tasks and activities are really just the vehicle through which a relationship can develop that carries the possibility of developing a sense of safety, trust, and continuity.