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Help and Hope for Mental Health

008 03 2016 Nadia

There are several best practices that research suggests can help refugees. They include:

  • promoting social integration
  • overcoming barriers to care
  • facilitating engagement with treatment
  • providing specific psychological treatments to deal with traumatic memories

More systematic studies are necessary to assess how these best practices can be implemented and specified for different groups of refugees. Long term studies are also necessary to accurately identify which mental health intervention are appropriate and to assess long-term effectiveness.

Listen to Aline talk about things that have helped her in her mental health journey:

Watch how art therapy can be used to heal trauma in refugee children:

Filmmaker Robert Bourke takes an in-depth look at a study being implemented among Syrian families to counteract multigenerational trauma brought on by prolonged displacement. His film, Terror and Hope, documents activities therapists use to try to decrease cortisol, the stress hormone, in adolescents and increase oxytocin, the bonding hormone, to heal the brain from toxic stress. Check out his film below:

Refugees in Tacoma, WA battle loneliness and isolation by coming together in song. Making connections with other refugees have allowed them to build a network of support, learn from each other, and participate in an activity that brings them joy. Listen to their story and their music:

Their Story is Our Story aims to change the perception and reception of refugees worldwide. We urge local citizens to create communities where newcomers feel supported and safe by contacting your elected officials to express support of refugee resettlement, to volunteer, or to donate in-kind or funds.

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2025, more than 117.8 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by war, persecution, or human rights abuses — and 45 million of them are children.

They arrive in refugee camps and countries seeking safety and carrying little: legal papers, if they're lucky. A backpack. A child's hand in theirs.

What they carry that we can't see is heavier: fractured families, homes they'll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

In a climate where immigrant stories are often ignored or twisted, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares what they survived, they reclaim their voice. When we amplify it through film, photography, and advocacy, the world listens. Hearts soften. Policy begins to shift.

Because when a lawmaker sees a person instead of a statistic, and a neighbor understands instead of fears, rebuilding becomes possible.

Your support helps us share these stories where they matter most.

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, Their Story is Our Story

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