Strongly focused on practical solutions in mental health care for refugees and forced migrants, this welcome addition to the literature is an interdisciplinary evaluation of the social and psychological resources fostering resilience in the face of adversity.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach and focusing on the social and psychological resources that promote resilience among forced migrants, this book presents theory and evidence about what keeps refugees healthy during resettlement. The book draws on contributions from cultural psychiatry, anthropology, ethics, nursing, psychiatric epidemiology, sociology and social work.

Concern about immigrant mental health and social integration in resettlement countries has given rise to public debates that challenge scientists and policy makers to assemble facts and solutions to perceived problems. Since the 1980s, refugee mental health research has been productive but arguably overly-focused on mental disorders and problems rather than solutions. Social science perspectives are not well integrated with medical science and treatment, which is at odds with social reality and underlies inadequacy and fragmentation in policy and service delivery. Research and practice that contribute to positive refugee mental health from Canada and the U.S. show that refugee mental health promotion must take into account social and policy contexts of immigration and health care in addition to medical issues. Despite traumatic experiences, most refugees are not mentally ill in a clinical sense and those who do need medical attention often do not receive appropriate care. As recent studies show, social and cultural determinants of health may play a larger role in refugee health and adaptation outcomes than do biological factors or pre-migration experiences. This book’s goal therefore is to broaden the refugee mental health field with social and cultural perspectives on resilience and mental health.

Preafce: Laurence Kirmayer.- 1: Editor’s Introduction: Laura Simich.- 2: What is resilience and how does it relate to the refugee experience?  Historical and theoretical perspectives: Wade E. Pickren.- 3: Social determinants of refugee mental health: Farah N. Mawani.- 4: The debate about trauma and psychosocial treatment for refugees: Clare Pain, Pushpa Kanagaratnam, Donald Payne.- 5: Reflections on using a cultural psychiatry approach to assessing and fortifying refugee resilience in Canada: Lisa Andermann.- 6: Personal and social forms of resilience:  Research with Southeast Asian and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Canada: Morton Beiser.- 7: Social support in refugee resettlement: Miriam Stewart.- 8: Newcomer youth self-esteem: A community-based mixed methods study of Afghan, Columbian, Sudanese and Tamil youth in Toronto, Canada: Nazilla Khanlou, Yogendra Shakya, Farah Islam, Emma Oudeh.- 9: Newcomer refugee youth as ‘resettlement champions’ for their families: Vulnerability, resilience and empowerment: Yogendra Shakya, Sepali Guruge, Michaela Hynie, Sheila Htoo, Arzo Akbari, Barinder Jandu, Rabea Murtaza, Megan Spasevski, Nahom Berhane and Jessica Forster.- 10: A social entrepreneurship framework for mental health equity: The program model of the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture: Sean A. Kidd, Kwame J. McKenzie, Mulegeta Abai.- 11: The role of settlement agencies in promoting refugee resilience: Biljana Vasilevska.- 12: Mental healthcare policy for refugees In Canada:Kwame McKenzie and Andrew Tuck.- 13: Supporting human trafficking survivor resiliency through comprehensive case management: Lauren Pesso.- 14: Migrant mental health, law and detention: Impacts and alternatives: Chelsea Davis.