How to make a referral
Below is all the information you might need about our referral process, including the criteria that a young person must meet to make a referral.
Our referrals are currently closed. In line with our next intake period, referrals are due to reopen in February 2027. Capacity is reviewed fortnightly by our referrals team, please check back for updates.
Our waiting list remains open. Please email our Clinical Administrator on bryony.cribb@baobabsurvivors.org or call 0207 263 1301 with enquiries
Please find below a list of organisations, recommended by our clinical team, who may also be able to provide support to the young people you are working with:
- Email address – reception@helenbamber.org
- Phone number – (0) 203 058 2020
- Website – Contact Us | Helen Bamber
- Email address – referralslondon@freedomfromtorture.org
- Phone number – 020 7697 7777
- Website – Contact us | Freedom from Torture
- 12 Middle Ln, Crouch End, London N8 8PL
- https://opendooronline.org/
- Phone: 020 8348 5947
- 14 Willis Rd, Croydon CR0 2XX
- https://youngroots.org.uk
If looking for a mentor or befriending scheme, we recommend contacting the following organisation:
- https://hiasjcore.org/
- JUMP befriending project, please contact – jump@hiasjcore.org
Important
Before submitting a referral, please note, Baobab does not take on referrals just for Specialist Clinical Reports. Reports are only prepared by Baobab in the context of our therapeutic and psychotherapeutic work. We usually need six months to prepare a report, which would be a psychological, developmental and treatment report.
Referral Process
For all new referrers, we recommended reviewing the following criteria that a young person must meet to make a referral as well as the Journey Document outlining the assessment process and support provided by Baobab.
- Must be under the age of 24 at the time of referral and have entered the UK unaccompanied before the age of 18.
- Must be seeking asylum in the UK or have refugee status.
- Must have experienced organised (state/community) and/or interpersonal violence in home country or on their journey into exile before the age of 18.
- Experiencing violence can include witnessing violence against community members or witnessing violence against family members, as well as directly experiencing violence themselves.
- Experiences may include violation, humiliation, imprisonment, or murder of parents, being forcibly recruited into rebel/government armies, being imprisoned and tortured for political activities or for the alleged activities of their parents, being trafficked for sexual or labour exploitation or crime.
- Must have lost aspects of childhood and adolescent developmental experience through experiences of traumatic violence and loss (generally young people referred to our Centre function developmentally at a much more immature level than their chronological age).
- Is having psychological difficulties now they are in the UK.
- Can attend the Baobab Centre independently, or if not, must be accompanied by the referrer until such a time as they feel able to travel to the centre alone.
- Does not need specialist psychiatric care and is not violent.
- Is not currently experiencing active addiction issues.
- Has agreed to participate in psychotherapy work and would like to work towards coming to understand themselves better.
If the young person you are referring meets the above criteria, we recommend contacting our Clinical Administrator, Bryony, on bryony.cribb@baobabsurvivors.org or call 0207 263 1301, to discuss your young person’s situation and to ensure our model of work fits with your young person’s needs. Following this discussion, a referral form will be emailed to you to be completed in full and emailed back.
Before making a referral, please take time to review this Journey Document with the young person you are working with. Talking through the information together can help them understand what assessments involved, what support Baobab provides, and what they can expect if they join our service.
Next steps
The referral form will be discussed and assessed in our bi-weekly referral meeting attended by clinicians and caseworkers at Baobab. When an assessment slot becomes available our Clinical Administrator will be in touch to suggest a date and time for the first assessment appointment.
Important
Please note that the Baobab Centre does not take on a duty of care for the young person until the young person is formally taken on as a member of our community, until this point, clinical responsibility and duty of care resides with the referrer.
Assessment Process
The assessment process at Baobab takes place over 2–3 weeks and there are three assessment appointments in total.
All assessment appointments take place in person at Baobab’s office. All assessment appointments take place in person at Baobab’s office. A Baobab Therapist will be present at all three assessment appointments. If an interpreter is needed this will be flagged in the referral form and Baobab will book and pay for them.
To help assist the assessment process and ensure its smooth running, the following documents should be shared with our Clinical Administrator ahead of, or during, the first appointment:
- The young person’s statement and any legal documents, such as:
- Copies of the screening and substantive interviews with Home Office staff.
- Copies of any interviews with Social Services that are relevant to the asylum claim.
- Copies of any refusal letters from the Home Office and dates of any future appeal hearings/decisions of the judge in past appeal hearings.
- The young person’s specialist reports, such as:
- Copies of any specialist medical/psychological reports that have been written about scarring and physical/psychological health issues.
- For young people in Local Authority Care – we need a copy of the last two Pathway Plans and any Age Assessment carried out.
The young person being referred and the referrer meet with two members of Baobab’s MDT. This includes a Baobab Therapist and either a caseworker or a second therapist. During the appointment the young person will talk together with the referrer and Baobab members about how things are for them and the support you may need Baobab Therapist, another member of Baobab’s team.
The young person being referred will meet with the Baobab Therapist as an opportunity to reflect on the first assessment session and to share more about their difficulties and details of their history. In this session, the young person’s wishes for therapeutic involvement will be explored. The young person’s referrer must accompany them to this appointment but may be asked to wait in reception.
In the final assessment appointment, the clinicians will explain in more detail the ways of working at Baobab. At this point we usually try to arrange a meeting between the young person and an existing member of our community who shares their language. This is an opportunity for informal questions to be asked.
Following the three assessment appointments, the referral will be discussed by members of our multidisciplinary child, adolescent and young adult centred, clinical team and casework team. If taken on, the young person will be allocated to the Welcome Group as well as to an Individual Therapist. After the decision has been made to take on a young person, a welcome letter will be shared confirming the start date of the Welcome Group and the young person’s Individual Therapist, as well as the proposed date/time of their regular individual therapy sessions.
Individual Therapy takes place in person at Baobab’s office, on a weekly basis. It is encouraged that the logistics of the therapy sessions are discussed directly between the young person and therapist, e.g., rescheduling sessions.
Young people begin their journey at Baobab with a six-week Welcome Group. This is for young people who have completed their assessments and are new to Baobab. The group will help young people learn about Baobab, meet staff and find out about the support we offer, including therapy, casework, groups and activities. Young people can ask questions, meet other young people who are also new and learn what to expect at Baobab. Two Baobab workers of different genders will run the group. Young people in the group will come from different countries, backgrounds and genders. Food is shared each session.
The aim of the psychotherapy groups at Baobab are to help introduce new members to the wider community within a small therapeutic group setting. All Baobab groups have a psycho-social and developmental model of work, with an aim to help young people to begin the process of trusting others again, specifically others who share their experiences.
The group setting provides an experience of being with others in a playful, protected and safe way, geared to their emotional and functional level of understanding. The groups help young people explore ideas indirectly and at the same time begin to develop a language for their difficult feelings, memories, anxieties, fears, symptoms, worries and conflicts.
Through the work of the group the young people will learn about our holistic and integrated services and about the different activity based therapeutic groups we run. These include philosophy, music, arts based open workshop, and sports-based groups. They will also learn about psychotherapy groups and about case-work support.
Monthly Consultation Service
On the third Wednesday of every month, we hold our Baobab Consultation Service.
The meeting is an opportunity for anyone working with current or former unaccompanied asylum seekers, to meet with our Director, Sheila, and Senior Caseworker, Jodie, to discuss any challenges and problems of the work, exploring any issues in a confidential manner.
The meeting runs from 9:30–11am, with tea/coffee and pastries provided. If you would like to attend our next consultation meeting, please email Elisa, our Clinical Administrator for details – elisa.obrien@baobabsurvivors.org