Mental health for refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons: A call for a humanitarian agenda
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Every day, nearly 34,000 people are forcibly displaced as a result of war, conflict or persecution.Globally, more than 65 million people have been forced from their homes and about 21 million of these are refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.About 80% of these refugees, over 16 million, are under UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) mandate, and fully 5.2 million Palestinians are refugees registered by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East).Approximately 10 million persons are stateless and denied access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.Currently, more than half of the world's refugees are from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia (UNHCR, 2017).The major receiving countries are Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia, and Jordan.Despite all of the popular media attention to waves of refugees, only 17% of those displaced reach Europe; 56% remain in Africa and the Middle East.Behind every number in the UNHCR statistics there is an individual story of someone forced to uproot and move due to war, conflict, persecution, and hardship-and, for many, this situation has led to persistent displacement and uncertainty in ''temporary'' situations that now span generations.We know that being an asylum seeker, refugee, or forcibly displaced has a profound impact on mental health, with an increased risk of developing common psychiatric disorders, such as, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychotic disorders as well as disabling symptoms of psychosocial stress (Hassan, et al., 2015;2016).In addition, there is often poor access to mental health care and a lack of funding for
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Psychological distress and mental disorders are particularly prevalent among refugees and forced migrants, as war, displacement, and other crises often exacerbate existing mental disorders and may lead to new ones.
“Psychological distress and mental disorders have been found to be particularly prevalent among refugees and forced migrants (Bäärnhielm et al. 2017), as war, displacement, and other profoundly disruptive crises often exacerbate existing mental disorders and may lead to the development of new ones (Ventevogel 2018;Kirmayer et al. 2011).”
From Throwing therapy at the problem mental health and humanitarian intervention in Palabek refugee settlement, northern Uganda (2023) · cites this paper as Bäärnhielm et al. 2017
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Shala, M., Morina, N., Burchert, S., Cerga-Pashoja, A., Knaevelsrud, C., Maercker, A., & Heim, E. (2020) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2020.100339 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Torre, C. (2023) · London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) · doi:10.21953/lse.00004557
- Authors
- Bäärnhielm, S., Laban, K., Schouler-Ocak, M., Rousseau, C., & Kirmayer, L. J.
- Affiliations
- Transcultural Section, World Psychiatric Association
- McGill University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Kirmayer, Laurence J.
- Venue
- Transcultural Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 5-6
- Pages
- 565-574
- ISSN
- 1363-4615 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7471
- OpenAlex
- W2772817476
- Cited by
- 61
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Transcultural Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Health › Migration, Racism, and Human Rights
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration and Exile Studies
- Keywords
- refugee mental health, asylum seekers, displaced persons, forced displacement, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, psychosocial stress, access to mental health care, statelessness, Palestinian refugees, Syrian refugees
- MeSH terms
- Altruism, Mental Disorders, Humans, Mental Health Services, Refugees
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