Asylum hotels and mental health

More than 32,000 asylum seekers are being housed in hotels in the UK, the latest figures show. There's been intense political debate in recent weeks focused on the cost – both financially for the government and for local communities. But what about the cost to the mental health of those living in the hotels? Today we’re going to hear from an asylum seeker who spent more than a year in a hotel in London, and we’ll examine the evidence for the impact on people’s mental health with clinical psychologist Dr Janelle Spira. Dr Peter Olusoga, senior lecturer in psychology at Sheffield Hallam University, joins us in the studio with the latest research, including a study that raises the prospect of using a common acne drug to cut risk of schizophrenia and new evidence on the psychology of losing. And what if we could mentally reframe winter to make it more enjoyable? We get some tips from clinical psychologist Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Gerry Holt Content editor: Ilan Goodman Production coordinator: Jana Holesworth Studio engineer: Tim Heffer Details of organisations offering support with mental health, or feelings of despair, are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

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Asylum hotels and mental health is an episode from All in the Mind by BBC.

This episode is 28:14 long.

This episode was published on Nov 18, 2025.

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