Refugee Health Program: Mental Health Refugees experience many heightened stressors before, during, and after the migration process. These, in combination with the more typical everyday stressors, can lead to a heightened risk of mental health challenges and needs. Mental health care is, therefore, an integral part of refugee health. When working with refugee patients, health care providers should be aware of this potential background of trauma as well as linguistic, cultural, and experiential differences. This webpage provides resources on refugee mental health screening, general refugee mental health considerations, guides to cultural and trauma-informed care provision, and educational resources for both general and specialized refugee mental health Refugee mental health screening Introductory and Referral Scripts for the RHS-15 – A sample script by EthnoMed for clinicians on how to have a dialogue with refugee patients about counseling referrals after completion of the RHS-15 Refugee Health Screener-15 – A mental health-specific screening for refugees developed by Pathways to Wellness and created to "sensitively detect the range of emotional distress common across refugee groups" Harvard Trauma Questionnaire – A screening tool by the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma that inquires about a variety of trauma events, as well as the emotional symptoms considered to be uniquely associated with trauma. WE-Check: Minnesota Wellness and Emotions Check – A screening resource by the Minnesota Department of Health focusing on wellness and emotions General mental health resources The National Child Traumatic Stress Network – Provides mental health clinicians and professional interpreters with information about a trauma-informed approach to mental health interpretation that is socio-culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of children and families receiving services. Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers – A non-profit organization focused on refugee healthcare and consisting of medical practitioners, social workers, resettlement workers, and other professions Refugee Mental Health: A Primary Care Approach – An academic article on the mental health needs of refugee populations and how to address them within a primary care setting, including symptoms, characteristics, and recommendations Cultural and trauma-informed care If you work with refugees, pay special attention to the unique mental health concerns that are often present, Be aware of how past traumas and cultural background can affect mental health. A Trauma-Informed Understanding of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support – A Switchboard guide to the concepts of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and its implementation in support of resettled refugees’ MHPSS Trainings and educational resources Traumatic Stress Among Refugee Children and Youth Series: Below are links to three webinars hosted by Switchboard, created to serve as a foundation for refugee service providers in understanding traumatic stress throughout typical stages of human development: Part 1: Viewing Trauma Through a Developmental Lens(opens external video) Part 2: Implementing Trauma-Informed Care with Children and Families(opens external video) Part 3: Responding to Abuse, Exploitation and Trafficking(opens external video) Access to Mental Health Services for Refugees and Other Vulnerable Immigrants in the US: Overcoming Barriers and Strengthening Enabling Factors – A Switchboard webinar on barriers facing refugee access to mental health care services and promising practices to support refugee engagement Addressing Mental Health Needs of Refugees in Primary Care Settings – A webinar by the Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center on the mental health needs of refugees in primary care settings Suicide Among Resettled Refugees – A webinar by the Boston Children's Hospital Center for Refugee Trauma and Resilience on suicide prevention strategies in the context of refugee social and cultural backgrounds Listening to and Talking With Our Children(opens external video) (16 languages available): A new mental health resource, developed by the Vermont Language Justice Project, aimed at parents to promote their children's mental health. Specialized refugee mental health Refugees are from a variety of backgrounds and demographics and, as such, may need specialized considerations when it comes to mental health practices. Refugee Youth Mental Health Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Child Refugee and Asylum Seeking Populations – A report by Public Health Wales, Bangor University, and the Cymru Well Wales ACE Support Hub on the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in child refugee and migrant populations, as well as the risks, impact, and potential paths to resilience Applying Trauma-Informed Practices to the Care of Refugee and Immigrant Youth: 10 Clinical Pearls – An academic article on the increased risk of mental health challenges for refugee and immigrant youth and recommendations for practitioners, including clinical examples of helpful skills and dialogue prompts Refugee Women Mental Health Refugee Women's Alliance - Domestic Violence – A webpage describing the need for support of refugee women from domestic violence as well as domestic violence brochures in English, Amharic, Dari, Swahili, Somali, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Burmese, Lao, Thai, and Tigrinya Fundamentals of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) for Refugee Service Providers: What Does a Culturally Responsive Approach Mean? – A Switchboard guide outlining GBV within refugee and migrant communities and how to approach GBV services with a culturally-informed lens Tips and Strategies for Culturally Sensitive Care – A guide by the Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center guiding how to provide culturally-informed care to refugee women, including how to navigate language, modesty, religious observations, and traditional practices Treating Immigrant and Refugee Patients Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence (PDF) – A guide by the American Psychiatric Association on risk factors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in refugee and immigrant populations, assessment, and treatment considerations Survivors of Torture and Mental Health Applying Ambiguous Loss Theory to Torture Survivors: A Conversation with Pauline Boss – A webinar by the Center for Victims of Torture outlining the principles and application of Ambiguous Loss theory in caring for torture survivors Enhancing Empathy by Measuring Torture Symptoms with Survivors – A webinar by the Center for Victims of Torture that identifies a range of tools for working with survivors of torture as well as how to improve clinical practice, evaluation, and empathetic capacity Group Therapy Model for Refugee and Torture Survivors – An academic article on the clinical application of the Center for Torture and Trauma Survivors' therapy group model and its two variants Therapy for Refugees and Torture Survivors: New H.E.A.R.T. Model – A webinar series by the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma describing the mental health challenges facing refugees and how the H.E.A.R.T. model ("Healing Environment and Restorative Therapy") can be applied in a therapy setting Refugees and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Effective Treatment for Refugee Adults with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Summary of Practice Recommendations for Clinicians – A provider-oriented, evidence-based summary of recommendations for treatment of PTSD in refugees created by the Pennsylvania Refugee Resettlement Program, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Refugee Health Program, Multicultural Health Evaluation Delivery System, Inc., and PolicyLab Glossary of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Terms in Different Languages: Glossary of terms pertaining to the treatment of PTSD for use by those working with refugee populations (Arabic | Karen | Nepali | Swahili) Talking About PTSD: Improving Care and Communication for Refugee Patients(opens external video) - A PolicyLab webinar where content experts discuss evidence-based practices for treating PTSD in refugees with cultural and linguistic differences through better communication and care techniques Questions? Contact us: Email dcfrefugee@wisconsin.gov Call (414) 270-4744 *DISCLAIMER: Some state and federal agencies are reviewing their websites. Some of the links on this page may have been recently updated.
