Settlement-integrated refugee mental health.

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, Vol 63(4), Nov 2022, 667-677; doi:10.1037/cap0000345In this community-based naturalistic study, we investigated a “settlement-integrated” model of mental health care for refugees. Mental health care was coordinated through a settlement agency and a team of multilingual, culturally responsive settlement workers and counsellors, who provided supported referrals and counselling to address symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as social and cultural adjustment issues. A mixed-methods design was applied with the aim of assessing the reduction of symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale–9), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale–7), and PTSD (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire–16); evaluating client satisfaction using a seven-item questionnaire; and understanding the clients’ experiences of counselling using semistructured qualitative interviews. Over the course of the intervention, refugee participants (N = 74, response rate = 86%) in the settlement-integrated mental health programme demonstrated significant reductions in anxiety, t(73) = 12.89, p
Source: Canadian Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research