In recent years, scholars in the fields of refugee studies and forced migration have extended their areas of interest and research into the phenomenon of displacement, human response to it, and ways to intervene to assist those affected, increasingly focusing on the emotional and social impact of displacement on refugees and their adjustment to the traumatic experiences. In the process, the positive concept of "psychosocial wellness" was developed as discussed in this volume. In it noted scholars address the strengths and limitations of their investigations, citing examples from their work with refugees from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Palestine, Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, Eastern Europe, Bosnia, and Chile. The authors discuss how they define "psychosocial wellness," as well as the issues of sample selection, measurement, reliability and validity, refugee narratives and "voices," and the ability to generalize findings and apply these to other populations. The key question that has guided many of these investigations and underlies the premise of this book is "what happens to an ordinary person who has experienced an extraordinary event?" This volume also highlights the fact that those involved in such research must also deal with their own emotional responses as they hear victims tell of killing, torture, humiliation, and dispossesion. The volume will therefore appeal to practitioners of psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, and anthropology. However, its breadth and the evaluation of the strengths and disadvantages of both qualitative and quantitative methods also make it an excellent text for students.

Return migration is a topic of growing interest among academics and policy makers. Nonetheless, issues of psychosocial wellbeing are rarely discussed in its context. Return Migration and Psychosocial Wellbeing problematises the widely-held assumption that return to the country of origin, especially in the context of voluntary migrations, is a psychologically safe process. By exploding the forced-voluntary dichotomy, it analyses the continuum of experiences of return and the effect of time, the factors that affect the return process and associated mobilities, and their multiple links with returned migrants' wellbeing or psychosocial issues. Drawing research encompassing four different continents – Europe, North America, Africa and Asia – to offer a blend of studies, this timely volume contrasts with previous research which is heavily informed by clinical approaches and concepts, as the contributions in this book come from various disciplinary approaches such as sociology, geography, psychology, politics and anthropology. Indeed, this title will appeal to academics, NGOs and policy-makers working on migration and psychosocial wellbeing; and undergraduate and postgraduate students who are interested in the fields of migration, social policy, ethnicity studies, health studies, human geography, sociology and anthropology.

Print version originally published: Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum, 2004.

It is estimated that at least 33 million people around the world have been displaced from their homes by war or persecution. Numerous studies have documented high rates of psychological distress among these survivors of extreme violence and forced migration, yet very few have access to clinic-based mental health care. In any case, clinic-based services cannot adequately address the constellation of displacement-related stressors that affect refugees daily, whether in a new region of their homeland or a new country--stressors such as social isolation, the loss of previously valued social roles, poverty and a lack of employment opportunities, and difficulties obtaining education and medical care. Additionally, many refugees from non-western societies find western methods of psychiatric and psychological healing culturally alien or stigmatizing, and therefore underutilize such services. This book brings together an international group of experts on the mental health of refugees who have pioneered a new approach to healing the psychological wounds of war and forced migration. Their work is guided by an ecological model, which, in contrast to the prevailing medical model of psychiatry and clinical psychology, emphasizes the development of culturally grounded mental health interventions in non-stigmatized community settings. The ecological model also prioritizes synergy with natural community resources to promote adaptation, prevention over treatment, the active involvement of community members in all phases of the intervention process, and the empowerment of marginalized communities to address their own mental health needs. Drawing on their expertise in community psychology, prevention science, anthropology, social psychology, social psychiatry, public health and child development, the authors present a variety of highly innovative, culturally grounded interventions designed to improve the mental health and psychosocial well-being of communities that have survived the nightmares of political repression, civil war, and genocide. They discuss the various conceptions of well-being and distress that have informed their projects, their own integrations of western and indigenous approaches to understanding and relieving psychological distress, and in several instances their creative use of well-trained paraprofessionals. They examine with remarkable candor the challenges they have faced in carrying out their work in extraordinarily demanding conditions. An extended introductory chapter reviews and analyzes what we know about the impact of political violence and exile on mental health, and lays out the ecological model in rich theoretical and empirical context. The first of two concluding chapters addresses the critical and often-neglected issue of the evaluation of community-based interventions in conflict and post-conflict settings; the second sums up the implications of the achievements and limitations of the programs described, poses questions that must be answered, such as "How adequate is the PTSD construct in capturing the nature of refugee trauma?", and suggests numerous directions for future research and practice. The Mental Health of Refugees: Ecological Approaches to Healing and Adaptation is an essential reference for all professionals who seek to serve members of this vulnerable population, for those who train and supervise them, and for program administrators and policymakers concerned with refugee well-being. It is also an excellent resource for graduate courses in public mental health, community psychology and psychiatry, refugee and immigrant studies, psychological trauma, medical anthropology, and ethnopolitical violence.

Annotation Identifies psychosocial issues relevant to refugee relocation and explains the development of culturally sensitive intervention strategies to assist refugees in adaptation.

This study seeks to understand the relationship between social support and psychosocial well-being in refugees who have experienced high incidences of torture and trauma. Additionally, this study seeks to understand how the aforementioned relationship is impacted by sex and duration of stay in the United States, while controlling for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. A total of 253 participants were included in the study sample. Results of the study indicated that social support is a significant predictor of anxiety and depression in refugees. The study further reflects that social support accounts for 1% of the variance in refugee wellbeing while controlling for PTSD. Finally, the study found that sex was not a predictor of social support and psychosocial wellbeing and that time spent in the US was inversely correlated with social support and psychosocial wellbeing.

This book provides an overview of theoretical, empirical, and clinical conceptualizations of mental health following exposure to human rights violations (HRV). There are currently hundreds of millions of individuals affected by war and conflict across the globe, and over 68 million people who are forcibly displaced. The field of refugee and post-conflict mental health is growing exponentially, as researchers investigate the factors that impact on psychological disorders in these populations, and design and evaluate new treatments to reduce psychological distress. This volume will be a substantial contribution to the literature on mental health in refugee and post-conflict populations, as it details the state of the evidence regarding the mental health of war survivors living in areas of former conflict as well as refugees and asylum-seekers.

This book addresses the psychosocial and medical issues of forced migration due to war, major disasters and political as well as climate changes. The topics are discussed in the context of public health and linked to organizational, legal and practical strategies that can offer guidance to professionals, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations. Both internal and international displacement present substantial challenges that require new solutions and integrated approaches. Issues covered include an overview of current health challenges in the new refugee crises: medicine and mental health in disaster areas, long-term displacement and mental health, integration of legal, medical, social and health economic issues, children and unaccompanied minors, ethical challenges in service provision, short and long-term issues in host countries, models of crises intervention, critical issues, such as suicide prevention, new basic and “minimal” intervention models adapted to limited resources in psychosocial and mental health care, rebuilding of health care in post-disaster/conflict countries, training and burn-out prevention. The book was developed in collaboration with the World Psychiatric Association, and is endorsed by Fabio Grandi (UN High Commissioner for Refugees), Manfred Nowak (former UN Special Rapporteur for Torture), and Jorge Aroche (President of IRCT).

This open access book provides an empirical account of the psychological and social experiences of 3500 African migrants to 6 European countries: Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, France, and the UK. It discusses the psychosocial motivations for migration from Africa, who migrates where, and stressful pre- and post-migration factors affecting the social and psychological wellbeing of migrants. The book also includes a detailed exploration of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among African migrants. Addressing and offering solutions to pre- and post-migration problems in Africa and Europe as well as the problems associated with the perilous journeys involved, this unique study is a must-read for anyone interested in cross-cultural psychology and social science, and particularly in migration and mental health.

Includes statistical tables.