Wellness Corner 21: Refugee Wellness Outreach

For this week’s Wellness Corner, let's try putting ourselves in the shoes of others for a change. 

I read an article this week which piqued my interest, and I’d like to share it with you. 

Dr. Amit Bernstein, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel, noted after working with several refugees that despite their resilient exterior, refugees represent “a real public health crisis of mental health that we didn’t know about.” They harbor not only trauma and stress, but separation, grief, isolation, loneliness, fear, conflict, and no access to education or work. Refugees do have a right to recovery despite challenges with healthcare and other hurdles. The Observing Minds Lab decided to try using mindfulness to help.

Mindfulness-Based Trauma Recovery for Refugees (MBTR-R) is a recently developed mindfulness and compassion training intervention “that is trauma sensitive and socio-culturally-adapted for diverse populations of asylum seekers and refugees.” Those who take the nine-session course learn to cope with post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, anger and aggression, suicidality, and substance abuse. The course teaches attention, awareness, and compassion, a skill transcending language and culture.

Though often dismissed, MBTR-R is certainly an interesting and legitimate option to consider for refugee intervention. What do you think?

Part of the reason why I chose to write about this is that I’m currently formulating a refugee wellness outreach initiative with Kinkaid Community Service. More details about that soon! Do let me know if you are interested.

Stay well,

Eshaan