Refugees in Resettlement: Processes, Policies, and Mental Health in the United States

Abstract

According to 2019 data, there are 26 million refugees and 3.5 million asylum seekers around the globe, representing a major humanitarian crisis. This Major Contribution provides information on the experiences of refugees resettled in the United States via the presentation of five manuscripts. In this introductory article, we address the current refugee crisis, refugee policies, and resettlement processes in the United States, as well as the American Psychological Association’s response to the crisis and the role of counseling psychology in serving refugees. Next follows three empirical articles, addressing aspects of the resettlement experiences of three groups of refugees: Somali, Burmese, and Syrian. The final article provides an overview of a culturally responsive intervention model to use when working with refugees.

Strengthening Culturally Competent Health Communication

“…35,36 Finally, stress from COVID-19 stigma may have a profound mental health impact. 37 Our current research indicates that many Clarkston residents feel concerned about being judged negatively if they seek COVID-19 testing or if they test positive for COVID-19 and admit to avoiding testing as a result. Stay-at-home orders and requests to wear masks may also propagate mistrust, stigma, fear, and marginalization in a community habituated to evading governmental and institutional authority as a result of their lived experiences of flight from persecution and oppression in their homelands.…”

“…Stay-at-home orders and requests to wear masks may also propagate mistrust, stigma, fear, and marginalization in a community habituated to evading governmental and institutional authority as a result of their lived experiences of flight from persecution and oppression in their homelands. 37 Refugees have been marginalized by anti-immigrant public rhetoric, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, the separation of children from parents, denial of permanent legal status to immigrants with legal protections to stay in the United States, dismantling of the refugee resettlement program, and reduction in social support services for refugees. 38 The Trump administration executive orders to ban migration from majority-Muslim nations, slash refugee admission numbers, and deny citizenship to legal immigrants had far-reaching repercussions in the communities where new arrivals had been welcomed for decades.…”

Protecting vulnerable populations: COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, and refugees and asylees

“…[32][33][34] Post-migration stressors are associated with managing a new life in a foreign environment, culture, language, and economy while dealing with separation from family and friends, and the loss of the refugee's social network. 31,[35][36][37][38] Refugees who experience trauma before migration are more likely to experience postmigration stress and the ongoing effects of cumulative trauma. 32,[37][38][39][40] Changes associated with resettlement can impede the refugees' ability to make a successful transition to their new environments in ways that accommodate and mitigate their traumatic experiences.…”

Contemporary Refugees: Issues, Challenges, and a Culturally Responsive Intervention Model for Effective Practice

“…Fleeing from danger may expose refugees to atrocities, such as, rape, killing, and other inhumane acts, that may result in unresolved psychological challenges during resettlement (Atari-Khan et al, 2021;Bemak & Chung, 2017a;Maung et al, 2021). As Nilsson and Jorgenson (2021) explain, refugees are at higher risk for developing serious mental health problems (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010; Bemak & Chung, 2016;Kinzie, 2005). Refugees experience greater degrees of generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, depression, dissociation, and higher rates of psychopathology as compared to the general population (APA, 2010;Hollander et al, 2016;Vickers, 2005).…”

“…Following the premigration period there is an adjustment to a new life. Nilsson and Jorgenson (2021) describe the importance of overcoming barriers such as language, unemployment, and discrimination. In addition, Atari-Khan et al's (2021) study of Syrian refugees finds that concerns about loved ones and the loss of social supports, relationships, and cultural identity contributes to postmigration stressors.…”