This volume addresses the complexities involved in attending to the mental health of refugees. It covers theory and research as well as clinical and field applications, emphasising the psychotherapeutic perspective. It explores the delicate balance between accepting the resilience of refugees whilst not neglecting their psychological needs, within a framework that avoids pathologising their condition. Moreover, it deals with the difficulties in delineating the various relevant intersecting perspectives to the refugee reality, e.g. psychological, socio-political, legal, organisational and ethical. The book introduces important considerations about the actual psychotherapy with refugees (in individual, family and group settings) but in addition, it encourages the introduction of therapeutic elements to all types of work with refugees. Thus, it argues for the necessity of approaching every facet of the refugee experience from a therapeutic perspective; this is why the title refers to therapeutic care rather than to psychotherapy.

This book is an in-depth practical guide for mental health practitioners working across diverse theoretical orientations to provide mental health services tailored to the needs of refugees.

The need to support refugees has never been more urgent, but how can everyone working with them provide consistently effective care? Written for a range of professionals including therapists, teachers, social workers, housing support workers and healthcare professionals, this essential guide offers a holistic, person-centred framework to ensure that all those working with refugees to provide them with excellent support. Informed by the authors' direct work with refugees, the book starts with a comprehensive introduction to understanding the underlying issues that lead to the complex needs of an asylum seeking client group. Using an easy-to-follow 'what?', 'why?' and 'how?' structure, within the four key phases of refugee experience. It also shows professionals how to sensitively address trauma, loss and separation with clients who are adjusting to a foreign culture and language using three core principles (therapeutic relationship, bearing witness and psycho-education). Informed and accessible, this guide will help you create a safe, welcoming environment for asylum seekers in all stages of their journey to improve their psychosocial wellbeing and mental health.

""Cultural Identity and Mental Health is a unique book because it defines culture and identity from a developmental perspective; therefore delving more deeply into the psychological, social and biological aspects of the immigrant and refugee experience in the U.S.A. and it explains how these experiences help to shape the development of the person's cultural identity. The book presents a very detailed discussion on the concept of acculturation and reviews all of the available literature on the subject. It also covers the sociological, anthropological, political and economic aspects of the immigrant and refugee experience and how these variables impact on mental health, thus presenting the experience of migration from a very broad and humanistic perspective. This book embarks on a deep exploration of the psychodynamic experience of immigration, while at the same time covering the epidemiological risk factors and protective factors related to the immigrant experience; thus, presenting ample and up to date empirically-based data. The book has a unique chapter addressing the true and accurate statistics of immigrant criminality and explores and analyzes this data under a new lens, helping to dispel the myths that result from contemporary anti-immigrant rhetoric. It also explains the types of crimes committed by immigrants, immigrants as victims of crime, cultural crimes, and motivations and the explanatory narratives presented by those who violate immigration laws. In addition, it also covers the history of immigrant criminality in the United States. The book has another important chapter addressing Immigrant Narratives and the role and importance of the personal-historical narrative in life-story construction, and the narrative as a therapeutic tool that can help to repair the trauma of loss and dislocation suffered by many immigrants when they leave their country of origin and begin a life in a new host country. It also introduces the role of the new immigrant narratives in contemporary literature and how this literature can be used by teachers and parents to help integrate the experiences of the different generations of the immigrant family, as well as to educate the younger generations of Americans about the country's new cultural diversity. There is a chapter that explains the new concept of Transnational Identities that result from the improved communication technologies, as well as from more accessible travel, which have deeply changed the immigrant experience and are part of the new phenomenon of globalization. Another interesting chapter analyzes the phenomenon of Return Migrations comparing the points of view of the returning immigrant with those of the ones who stayed behind, further analyzing this topic from a psychological and socioeconomic perspective. It also explains the psychological meaning of Pilgrimages in which the pilgrim visits, not necessarily the land of his or her actual birth or upbringing, but the land of the ancestral family history, in an attempt to bridge the gaps between the generations and to better integrate the pilgrim's sense of ethnic and cultural identity. In addition, this book also has an extensive and well-documented chapter on the refugee experience, outlining the current world-wide refugee crisis and explaining the sociopolitical reasons behind the crisis, as well as offering new evidence-based treatments for this population. This is a very comprehensive and well-written book that covers adults, children, adolescents and families and describes the sociocultural experience of the various generations of immigrants in their adaptation to life in the U.S. It also explores the immigration-related family separations as well as the psychological impact faced by the children that stay behind and later re-unify with their parents in the U.S., as well as those families that are separated by deportation. Finally, the book also presents a comprehensive chapter on culturally-sensitive and culturally-competent evidence-based mental health treatments for the various generations of these populations, including recommendations on ethno-pharmacology. One of the many strengths of the book are the very compelling and clearly explained clinical cases, which help to illustrate the theoretical concepts that are presented in each chapter. This book is a very timely and very valuable contribution to the bio-psycho-social study of the immigrant experience to the U.S. in its first generation and beyond, and is an essential tool for students and professionals in the social sciences, in the fields of social work, psychology, medicine and psychiatry, and for members of government organizations responsible for urban planning, policy and budgets, as well as for agencies dealing with the reception, placement and assistance of immigrants and refugees. ""--

"This book is an in-depth practical guide for mental health practitioners working across diverse theoretical orientations to provide mental health services tailored to the needs of refugees. These needs are felt more keenly than ever as displaced populations continue to grow. Refugees often experience high rates of psychological distress, and appropriate mental health care services remain severely underdeveloped. Chapters in this edited volume outline research-supported psychological interventions that can be used in a culturally sensitive manner. They cover important topics like cultural humility, issues in screening and assessments, and specific ethical dilemmas when working with refugees. The book explores the ways in which Western interventions such as cognitive behavior therapy, group therapy, expressive therapy, and school-based programs have been adapted to serve resettled refugee populations. Strengths and limitations of these approaches as well as recommendations for incorporating more holistic frameworks in practice are discussed, providing mental health professionals with a better understanding of the psychological issues associated with the refugee experience and best practices for treatment"--

This important new book explores how to support refugee family relationships in promoting post-trauma recovery and adaptation in exile.