World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 each year, with the aim to raise awareness of mental health issues and support efforts to improve mental well-being. As the World Health Organization states, World Mental Health Day “provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.” In that spirit, we want to share some important facts about mental health in refugee populations, information about our own Mental Health Counselor’s vital work, and some tips for maintaining mental wellness during this stressful time.
Refugees and Mental Health
While not all refugees have experienced violent trauma as a product of war or violence, all refugees have experienced some degree of trauma due to displacement. According to the Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center, refugees can be put at high risk for mental health diagnoses including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, often attributed to the unpredictably lengthy asylum process, detention, and the loss of culture and support systems. As refugee admissions have been drastically cut in recent years, families have been torn apart and more and more refugees (nearly 30 million worldwide) have become trapped in traumatic situations. Read our statement on the recent proposal to cut refugee admissions and learn how you can speak up for refugees.
Mental Health and US Together
Souhad Chbeir, US Together’s Mental Health Counselor
US Together is fortunate to have our very own Mental Health Counselor, Souhad Chbeir, who joined our team in 2019. Souhad’s workload grew as the pandemic increased uncertainty in people’s health, financial status, and immigration processes. The population Souhad works with mostly includes clients with a past history of trauma that has resulted in depression and/or anxiety. Through Telehealth and phone appointments, Souhad has successfully been able to provide cognitive behavioral therapy (that is, working on negative cognition that affects feelings and behaviors, and restructuring cognition into more realistic and positive thinking). Read more about Souhad’s work in our Mental Health Awareness Month post from May.
During the pandemic, our staff have noted that financial burdens in particular are increasing the stress on the populations we serve. Just this month, the naturalization fee doubled, and recent changes to asylum-seeker work permits force that population to wait an entire year before generating income. Hana Abdelbaki, our Victims’ Services Coordinator, noted that the pandemic has increased the difficulty of finding affordable providers who can provide continuous care.
However, there are also success stories of perseverance and resiliency: for example, through a partnership with Ohio University, medical student Ayah Shehata has been able to provide a weekly mindfulness program to a group of male victims of crime. As Hana described it: “For those individuals in our programs, there is a lot of possibility. Support groups for mindfulness help these clients control their anxiety.” Souhad also has seen success with her clients: she described one client—with significant traumatic experiences in her home country—who has written down every single therapy skill she has learned from Souhad in a notebook that she references whenever she begins to feel overwhelmed. Another client has seen such positive results from the skills he learned in therapy that he has begun to teach them to his friends and family who have gone through similar experiences. This, Souhad says, is the goal of therapy: while trauma cannot be erased or forgotten, therapy can help develop the skills to deal with it in a positive way.
Mental Health Resources for Everyone
As Souhad points out, “mental illness does not have to be induced by something.” One does not need to be a refugee or victim of violence or crime to experience mental health challenges, and in the face of an unprecedented global pandemic, anyone and everyone should take the time to check in on their own mental well-being. A few tips and resources that Souhad recommended:
Frequent exercise can improve mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. If exercising outdoors, public health professionals recommend maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from people outside your household to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Use virtual tools like social media, video chats, or even a good old-fashioned phone call to keep in touch with family and friends.
Challenge patterns of negative thinking by focusing on realistic steps you can take to improve your immediate situation.
Seek out online resources for mental wellness. Therapist Aid, for example, has worksheets, videos, and interactive content, and users can filter by age, topic, and more