Anxiety and mood disorders in forcibly displaced people across the world

Abstract

Purpose of review Displaced persons around the world have intensified in the previous decade and are predicted to rise further with greater global instability. The mental health issues involved with fleeing one's home, and attempting to make a new life in a host country need to be understood and addressed- Recent findings Prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder appear to be higher for displaced peoples than for the population in the host country. This is consistent across different methods. Traumatic life events in the country of origin as well as during flight contribute to symptom severity. Factors in the host country increasing severity including isolation, discrimination, low social support. There are successfully implemented intercultural interventions at the individual level of the practitioner, as well as at the institutional level. Summary There are many possibilities for successful interventions in displaced people, realizing this at a scale appropriate to the size of the problem remains a challenge.

Mood and anxiety disorders: a challenge for mental healthcare systems in a changing world

“…Individuals who are particularly vulnerable to deterioration in well being and mental health are those who have been forcibly displaced. Schouler-Ocak and Moran [3] present data on the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in this population, as well as point out the risk factors for these problems and discuss issues related to therapy: intercultural psychotherapy and ethnopharmacology. The experience of being forcibly relocated internally or abroad due to persecution or war is often associated with experiences of prolonged violence and torture, while adaptation to life in a new place can also prove very difficult.…”