MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING RESOURCE
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Mental health rights
Detention
Articles
These articles - from academic journals and health sector sources - explore the mental health and general health needs of refugees. Issues covered include post traumatic stress disorder, torture, the effects of detention on refugee health, refugee children and disability. They can either be downloaded as PDFs or read in full online.
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18 Items
2005
This article looks at policy on assisting those experiencing extreme stress, in situations of war, genocide and displacement. As regards refugees, it deals with large populations movements rather than individual refugees seeking asylum in the UK but may still be instructive.
Link
2002
This position statement of the Transcultural Special Interest Group at the Royal College of Psychiatrists explores the difficulties refugees face in accessing mental health services, due to lack of awareness about entitlement to welfare and uncertainty when dealing with officialdom. It is possible, it concludes, that refugees may find current services inappropriate to their needs.
Link
2001
This technical document has been prepared by WHO as a tool for developing a community-oriented assessments of refugees. It is not aimed primarily at refugees who have sought asylum in countries such as the UK, but may still be of use in determining refugee's mental health needs.
2001
A short article by Gro Harlem Brundtland outlining refugee's mental health needs and WHO's priorities.
Link
Pat Bracken and Phil Thomas, July/August 2000
This short article, from mental health charity Mind, challenges some of the assumptions made about asylum seeker's mental health. It argues that the clinical definition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ignores the socio-cultural dimensions of war-related suffering as it is experienced by refugees.
Link
Derek Summerfield, 2000
In this article, Summerfield argues that the reframing of normal distress as psychological disturbance in refugees who have experienced war is a distortion. He goes on to state that personal recovery is grounded in social recovery and rights and social justice shape collective healing.
Link
1996
The 96-page document is an invaluable resource for tackling the mental health problems faced by refugees, understanding their cultural needs and developing coping strategies. It includes helping skills, stress and relaxation, functional complaints, common mental disorders, refugee children, traditional medicine and traditional healers, alcohol and other drug problems, victims of torture, victims of rape, and services that promote well-being. (PDF file)
Angela Burnett and Yohannes Fassil, 2002
This is a comprehensive resource pack for health care workers which covers background information on the experiences of refugees and their asylum status, culture and language, eligibility for healthcare and key areas for clinical concern. Psychological wellbeing and the psychological impact of torture are also discussed.
Link
2002
This is a comprehensive assessment of the healthcare needs of asylum seekers in the UK. It includes information on the health of asylum seekers on arrival, as well as the effects of the asylum process on refugee health and the suitability of current service provision.
Link
Angela Burnett, 2002
PDF article. This briefing for the Medical Foundation explains the background of refugees in Britain, their legal rights and their broad healthcare needs - including their mental health problems.
Link
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