Mental health services for Syrian refugees in Lebanon_perceptions and experiences of professionals and refugees.pdf (896.49 kB)
Mental health services for Syrian refugees in Lebanon: perceptions and experiences of professionals and refugees
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 19:50 authored by Hala Kerbage, Filippo Marranconi, Yara Chamoun, Alain Brunet, Sami Richa, Zaman ZamanZaman ZamanWe applied semi-structured and in-depth interviews to explore the perceptions and experiences of 60 practitioners/policymakers and 25 Syrian participants involved in mental health services for refugees in Lebanon. Refugees were found to view their distress as a normal shared reaction to adversity while professionals perceived it as symptomatic of mental illness. Practitioners viewed Syrian culture as an obstacle to providing care and prioritized educating refugees about mental health conditions. Policymakers invoked the state of crisis to justify short-term interventions, while Syrian refugees requested community interventions and considered resettlement in a third country the only solution to their adverse living conditions. The therapeutic relationship seems threatened by mistrust, since refugees change their narratives as an adaptive mechanism in response to the humanitarian system, which professionals consider manipulative. We discuss the implications of our findings for mental health practice in humanitarian settings.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Qualitative Health ResearchISSN
1049-7323Publisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Department affiliated with
- BSMS Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Brighton and Sussex Centre for Global Health Research Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-12-04First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-12-04First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-12-03Usage metrics
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