Refugee Mental Health
August 2022
Refugee Mental Health
Recent conflicts in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Ukraine have contributed to a growing population of refugees fleeing to safety. Many experience extreme life stressors during their journeys, including premigration violence, the trauma of forced migration, and postmigration stressors. Despite needing access to mental health care, many refugees face barriers to care.
Research has shown that integrating aspects of culture into care, such as incorporating customs or building pride in traditions, can improve mental health services for refugees. Studies of culture integration have shown favorable results, including an increase in utilization of mental health services when delivered alongside culturally congruent complementary and alternative medicine.
The first section of this collection offers studies describing symptom presentation and mental health service utilization among refugee populations. These studies highlight a high symptom burden and complex medical needs facing many refugees or migrants. Next are studies that have sought to improve mental health services for refugees by integrating culture and language capacity into mental health treatment. These studies highlight approaches to providing culturally congruent mental health care and showcase strategies that could be implemented to better serve refugee populations.
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MENTAL HEALTH OF REFUGEES
COVID-19 and Mental Health Among People Who Are Forcibly Displaced: The Role of Socioeconomic Insecurity
Yael Blay Benzaken, M.A., Shani Zohar, M.A., Kim Yuval, Ph.D., Anna Aizik-Reebs, Ph.D., Solomon Gebreyohanes Gebremariam, Amit Bernstein, Ph.D.
In Advance July 14, 2022
Representation of Asylum Seekers and Refugees Among Psychiatric Inpatients in London
Kamaldeep Bhui, M.D., Bernard Audini, Ph.D., Swaran Singh, M.D., Richard Duffett, M.D., Dinesh Bhugra, Ph.D.
2006; Volume 57, Issue 2, pp. 270-272
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Cuban Children and Adolescents After Release From a Refugee Camp
Eugenio M. Rothe, M.D., John Lewis, Ph.D., Hector Castillo-Matos, M.D., Orestes Martinez, M.A., Ruben Busquets, M.D., and Igna Martinez, B.A.
2002; Volume 53, Issue 8, pp. 970-976
HADStress: A Somatic Symptom Screen for Posttraumatic Stress Among Somali Refugees
Joseph J. Westermeyer M.D., Robyn Campbell B.S., Rebecca Lien M.P.H., Marline Spring Ph.D., David R. Johnson M.D., M.P.H., James Butcher Ph.D., Jacqueline Hyland B.S., Paul Thuras Ph.D., James M. Jaranson M.D., M.P.H.
2010; Volume 61, Issue 11, pp. 1132-1137
Characterizing the Mental Health Care of U.S. Cambodian Refugees
Eunice C. Wong, Ph.D., Grant N. Marshall, Ph.D., Terry L. Schell, Ph.D., S. Megan Berthold, Ph.D., Katrin Hambarsoomians, M.S.
2015; Volume 66, Issue 9, pp. 980-984
U.S. Cambodian Refugees’ Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Mental Health Problems
S. Megan Berthold Ph.D., L.C.S.W., Eunice C. Wong Ph.D., Terry L. Schell Ph.D., Grant N. Marshall Ph.D., Marc N. Elliott Ph.D., David Takeuchi Ph.D., Katrin Hambarsoomians M.S.
2007; Volume 58, Issue 9, pp. 1212-1218
Using the Cultural Formulation to Resolve Uncertainty in Diagnoses of Psychosis Among Ethnoculturally Diverse Patients
Ademola B. Adeponle, M.D., M.Sc., Brett D. Thombs, Ph.D., Danielle Groleau, Ph.D., Eric Jarvis, M.D., M.Sc., and Laurence J. Kirmayer, M.D
2012; Volume 63, Issue 2, pp. 147-153
STRATEGIES TO INCORPORATE CULTURE INTO MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT
Culturally Congruent Intensive Case Management Service for Three Refugee Communities
Lin Fang, Ph.D., Frank Sirotich, Ph.D., Kristina Nikolova, Ph.D.
2018; Volume 69, Issue 10, pp. 1116-1116
Multiple-Family Group Treatment for English- and Vietnamese-Speaking Families Living With Schizophrenia
Gail M. Bradley M.Psych., Grace M. Couchman D.Psych., Amaryll Perlesz Ph.D., Anh Thu Nguyen B.O.T., Bruce Singh Ph.D., Colin Riess B.Med.Sc.
2006; Volume 57, Issue 4, pp. 521-530
Converting Cultural Capital Among Teen Refugees and Their Families From Bosnia-Herzegovina
Stevan M. Weine, M.D., Norma Ware, Ph.D., Alma Klebic, B.A.
2004; Volume 55, Issue 8, pp. 923-927
Interpreters in Transcultural Psychiatry
Signe Skammeritz, M.D., Nevra Sari, M.D., Oscar Jiménez-Solomon, M.P.H., Jessica Carlsson, M.D., Ph.D.
2019; Volume 70, Issue 3, pp. 250-253
Rethinking Interpreter Functions in Mental Health Services
Doris F. Chang, Ph.D., Elaine Hsieh, Ph.D., J.D., William B. Somerville, Ph.D., Jon Dimond, Ph.D., Monica Thomas, Ph.D., Andel Nicasio, Ph.D., Marit Boiler, M.P.H., Roberto Lewis-Fernández, M.D.
2021; Volume 72, Issue 3, pp. 353-357
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