Refuge and Resilience

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.

• Forced migrants
• Health despite adversity
• Historical and theoretical aspects of resiliency
• Human trafficking
• Immigration and health care
• Law and detention
• Medical science and treatment
• Mental disorders and problems
• Mental healthcare policy for refugees
• Refugee mental health
• Social adaptation
• Social and Psychological resources
• Social determinants
• Staying health during resettlement
• Stress process research
• Trauma and psychological treatment
• Vulnerability, resilience an d empowerment

“Refuge and Resilience succeeds in bringing together theoretically oriented sections, study results and examples of comprehensive models of care. The writing is very accessible with many clinical vignettes, case examples, and excerpts from research interviews that bring the text to life. … this volume will be of great interest to students, researchers, mental health professionals, policy makers, and citizens concerned with building a society that supports refugee resilience.” (Gabrielle Bélanger-Dumontier and Mélanie Vachon, Transcultural Psychiatry, Vol. 52 (2), April, 2015)

“This volume provides strong coverage of many dimensions of resilient trajectories and outcomes in diverse refugee populations and settings. … Refuge and Resilience provides an excellent and fairly comprehensive examination of its topic. … Refuge and Resilience succeeds on many levels and is a must read for all who work with refugees or seek to make or implement policies that promote rather than impede the resilience and well-being of refugees, forced migrants, and the broader societies where they live.” (S. Megan Berthold, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 59 (49), December, 2014)

• Center on Immigration and Justice, Vera Institute of Justice, New York, USA

  Laura Simich

• Department of Psychiatry Equity, Gender and Populations Division, University of Toronto Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada

  Lisa Andermann

Policies and ethics