Survivor Support: how a Values-based Service can Enhance Access to Psychological Capital

Research examining the support needs of victims/survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking have focused on various aspects of the victim ‘journey’, both in terms of understanding recovery trajectories and in proposing a variety of solutions. Despite this corpus of evidence, little is known about interventions in supporting survivors in residential safe house settings towards recovery and reintegration. Drawing on interviews with staff, volunteers and survivors, this chapter will examine the practice of support in a safe house for women in the UK, which is rooted in the values of Love, Respect, Community and Spirituality. The chapter then makes the case for the benefits of applying the theoretical concept of Psychological Capital (Luthans, 2004), and its key features of Hope, Resilience, Optimism and Self-Efficacy, to understand survivor experiences of this values-based support. Bringing academic knowledge and conceptual frameworks to practitioners’ attention can be useful in making explicit underlying assumptions about survivors needs, best practice interventions and how to improve support as new findings emerge. The significance and benefits of values-based models of support demonstrates the potential to improve access to psychological capital for survivors, incorporating hope, resilience, self-efficacy and optimism, in turn improving positive outcomes.