The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how mental health is tied to citizenship, and to help professionals understand mental health in the context of social rights and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how mental health is tied to citizenship, and to help professionals understand mental health in the context of social rights and responsibilities, to move towards a right-based practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The author will explore the concept of citizenship together with mental health service users’, relatives’ and professionals’ organisations. Using a qualitative analysis of this exploration, this study will develop, implement and evaluate, using a randomised design, awareness interventions with mental health professionals.
Findings
The author will use thematic analysis for qualitative data and multilevel mixed-effects linear models to evaluate the effect of the awareness interventions.
Social implications
The results of the project will enable conversations between mental health professionals, relatives and service users that might help them understand mental health as part of citizenship.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this will be the first controlled study of standardised citizenship-based awareness interventions for mental health professionals.
Details
Keywords
Michael Brune, Francisco José Eiroá-Orosa, Julia Fischer-Ortman and Christian Haasen
Psychotherapy with refugees in the western world is quite often complicated because many refugees live without a secure residency status. It is difficult to have a structured…
Abstract
Purpose
Psychotherapy with refugees in the western world is quite often complicated because many refugees live without a secure residency status. It is difficult to have a structured therapeutic perspective when doing psychotherapy with these patients because of their fears and daily problems. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate psychotherapy results for 190 traumatized refugees (40 per cent without a secure residency).
Design/methodology/approach
To measure the outcome of the psychotherapies the paper used HAM-D and CGI at baseline and at the end of the therapeutic process.
Findings
The study shows that, although refugees without a legal status had more depressive symptoms and lived with much higher psychosocial stress, psychotherapy was as effective as for traumatized refugees with a legal status.
Research limitations/implications
Heterogeneity, convenience sampling and retrospective completion of some of the baseline assessments.
Practical implications
Psychotherapeutic treatment of refugees has a clear positive effect on them and should be applied even in those without legal residence status in the host country.
Originality/value
This is the first study assessing the effectiveness of daily practice psychotherapy for refugees with and without a legal status in a comparative fashion.