Mental health treatment for resettled refugees: A comparison of three approaches

ABSTRACT

Mental health concerns are a major factor in the overall wellness and stability of resettled refugees. While the need for mental health treatment for this population has been well-documented, less is known about the effectiveness of various treatment modalities on mental health outcomes. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the impact of three different mental health interventions among refugees from Burundi, Burma, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Bhutan. The effects of eight weeks of randomly assigned office-based counseling (treatment as usual [TAU]), home-based counseling (HBC), and a community-based psycho-educational group (CPG) on posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, somatization, and social support were evaluated using a pre–post design. Results indicate merit in each of the treatment modalities, with varying efficacy across intervention according to mental health symptoms. In general, however, participants in HBC and CPG demonstrated greater overall improvement in mental health outcomes than participants receiving TAU.

KEYWORDS:

• Community mental health
• mental health
• refugee

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Innovative Community Academic Partnership Program at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work.

Notes

^1. Depression as measured by the PHQ-9 was not included in these analyses due to the aforementioned translation error.

^2. All treatment groups experienced a significant increase in positive social interaction.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Innovative Community Academic Partnership Program at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work.