The contemporary refugee crisis: an overview of mental health challenges

There has been an unprecedented upsurge in the number of refugees worldwide, the majority being located in low-income countries with limited resources in mental health care. This paper considers contemporary issues in the refugee mental health field, including developments in research, conceptual models, social and psychological interventions, and policy. Prevalence data yielded by cross-sectional epidemiological studies do not allow a clear distinction to be made between situational forms of distress and frank mental disorder, a shortcoming that may be addressed by longitudinal studies. An evolving ecological model of research focuses on the dynamic inter-relationship of past traumatic experiences, ongoing…