Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental Disorder among Refugees in Western Countries

This literature review focuses on mental health promotion and mental disorder prevention among adult refugees in EU and other Western countries. Two areas emerge as important for further action: limitation of stressors during and after migration, and identification and treatment of past trauma. Refugee migrants are at high risk of poor mental health (including mental disorder and suicide) and social exclusion; holistic approaches are necessary to improve their situation. There is great need for evaluation of treatment and mental health promotion interventions, as well as for training of mental health professionals, and service user involvement must be increased. Mental health professionals are important advocates in reception and resettlement policy and practice because there is a risk that migration management will govern provision of mental health promotion and care to such an extent that mental health and lives are threatened and underlying medical ethics and the human right to health are compromised.