We're in the midst of a "migrant crisis" as tens of thousands of brave, desperate people seek new lives in Europe, risking life and limb to get here. Amidst the tragedy and controversy, the continued plight of those people who actually make it to relative safety is often forgotten. Unsurprisingly, given all they've endured, refugees often have serious mental health problems, including hallucinations. As an indicator, research published in 2011 reported that 80 per cent of 130 young Somali refugees surveyed in Minnesota had symptoms of psychosis.
Now a timely, heart-wrenching study published in the journal Psychosis has reported the results of in-depth interviews with seven African refugees or asylum seekers in the UK (aged 26 to 43; one woman), all of whom reported experiencing symptoms of psychosis. The researchers' aim was to gain insight into the "lived experience" of their participants. This is the first time the first-hand perspective of refugees with psychosis has been documented. "Such information is crucial for understanding and working with such clients," the researchers said.
[For more of this story go to http://digest.bps.org.uk/2015/...be-refugee-with.html]
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