Syrian Refugees in Canada: Clinical Experience in Mental Health Care

Abstract

War is the most serious of all threats to health (World Health Organization, 1982) and can have severe and lasting impacts on mental health. Forced displacement and migration generate risks to mental well-being, which can result in psychiatric illness. Yet, the majority of refugees do not develop psychopathology. Rather, they demonstrate resilience in the face of tremendous adversity. The influx of Syrian refugees to Canada poses challenges to the health care system. We will present our experience to date in the Ottawa region, including a multisector collaborative effort to provide settlement and health services to newly arriving refugees from the Middle East and elsewhere. The workshop will be brought to life by engaging with clinical cases and public health scenarios that present real world clinical challenges to the provision of mental health care for refugees.

Objectives

(1) Understand the predicament of refugees including risks to mental health, coping strategies and mental health consequences, (2) know the evidence for the emergence of mental illness in refugees and the effectiveness of multi-level interventions, (3) become familiar with published guidelines and gain a working knowledge of assessment and management of psychiatric conditions in refugee populations and cultural idioms of distress.

How will the participants receive feedback about their learning? Participants will have direct feedback through answers to questions. The authors welcome subsequent communication by email. Presenters can give attendants handouts on pertinent and concise information linked to the workshop.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.