Taking an interdisciplinary approach and focusing on the social and
psychological resources that promote resilience among forced migrants,
this book presents theory and evidence about what keeps refugees healthy
during resettlement. The book draws on contributions from cultural
psychiatry, anthropology, ethics, nursing, psychiatric epidemiology,
sociology and social work.
Concern about immigrant mental health and social integration in
resettlement countries has given rise to public debates that challenge
scientists and policy makers to assemble facts and solutions to
perceived problems. Since the 1980s, refugee mental health research has
been productive but arguably overly-focused on mental disorders and
problems rather than solutions. Social science perspectives are not well
integrated with medical science and treatment, which is at odds with
social reality and underlies inadequacy and fragmentation in policy and
service delivery. Research and practice that contribute to positive
refugee mental health from Canada and the U.S. show that refugee mental
health promotion must take into account social and policy contexts of
immigration and health care in addition to medical issues. Despite
traumatic experiences, most refugees are not mentally ill in a clinical
sense and those who do need medical attention often do not receive
appropriate care. As recent studies show, social and cultural
determinants of health may play a larger role in refugee health and
adaptation outcomes than do biological factors or pre-migration
experiences. This book's goal therefore is to broaden the refugee mental
health field with social and cultural perspectives on resilience and
mental health.
