Psychological support to refugee students: the role of various actors

Refugees are at considerable risk of developing common mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (Carswell et al., 2009; Cleveland & Rousseau, 2013; Fazel, Wheeler, & Danesh, 2005; Fouchier et al., 2012; Gerritsen et al., 2006; Gerritsen et al., 2004; Heeren et al., 2012; Keller et al., 2003; Kim, Kim, & Lee, 2013; Mann & Fazil, 2006; Marshall, Elliott, Berthold, & Chun, 2005; Renner & Salem, 2009; Robiant et al., 2009; Tufan, Alkin, & Bosgelmez, 2013) but it is important to tell that, despite their traumatic experiences, many refugees exhibit remarkable resilience and strength (Berman, 2001; Frater-Mathieson, 2004; Rutter, 2003). Resilience is the ability to maintain relatively stable, healthy levels of psychological functioning despite the experience of threatening events (Bonanno, 2005; Papadopoulos, 2007). Papadopoulos (2007) clarified that people may exhibit the wide range of possible responses to adversity, and these responses are not exclusive of each other. Asylum seekers may indeed develop negative psychological symptoms as a result of their refugee condition but, at the same time, also have a range of other resilient responses, e.g. continuing to have a sense of humour that they had before becoming refugees or the ability to look after their children etc. As pointed out by Papadopoulos, it is important to assist them to identify these positive characteristics and alternative responses to adversity and not see them only as vulnerable people. The literature review identified a number of factors that either build or impede resilience in refugee people. Usually, resilience depends on the interaction between individual, family, social, cultural, political and contextual factors (Punamaki, 1989; Ungar, Brown, Liebenberg, & Othman, 2008) before and after traumatic experiences (Schaffer, 2000)