Do you worry about going crazy or ‘losing your mind’? While pre-arrival trauma is well recognised in refugee populations, settlement may also contribute to mental illness, and is often associated with multiple stressors. Consider functional impairment, behavioural difficulties and developmental progress as well as mental health symptoms when assessing children, or the impact of parents’ mental health status on child wellbeing. The Network draws members from every Australian State and Territory. Children and those with little access to offshore refugee application processes are some of the worst affected. Where there is no torture or trauma history, referral to mainstream mental health services may be more appropriate. Thousands of refugees travel to Indonesia, hoping to make it to Australia. Refugee Council of Australia. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 49: 723–732. This report summarises the outcomes from the Improving access to mental health services for refugees and asylum seekers in the west project. Australian researchers recently travelled to a large refugee camp in Bangladesh* where around 500,000 Rohingya people are living. Refugees and asylum seekers are at a high risk of mental health problems. Adolescents may also make new meaning from past trauma, and present with mental health concerns in relation to trauma in early childhood. Withdrawal or lack of interest in normal activities; retreating into screen-based play is common. Psycho-education about common mental health symptoms and conditions (e.g. Useful analogies can be to get things ‘off one’s chest’ or a pressure cooker valve ‘letting off steam’, rather than ‘bottling things up’. Addressing mental health issues in the whole family. Developmental assessments take time and require close liaison with families and the help of a skilled interpreter. The Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide can be used by doctors, nurses and other primary care providers to inform on-arrival and ongoing health care for people from refugee backgrounds, including people seeking asylum. Setting: Population-based study of Australian children and their families. 449 Children and adolescents in detention are at high risk of mental health problems, including PTSD, anxiety and depression, sleep and behavioural disturbances, and enuresis. Encouraging play in younger children (between children, and between parents and children) and enjoyable activities in older children/adolescents, including sport and exercise. We advise clinical screening for emotional wellbeing and mental disorders as part of the post-arrival screening, and ongoing review for stressors related to the refugee and resettlement experience over time. Hodes M, Jagdev D, Chandra N, Cunniff A (2008) Risk and resilience for psychological distress amongst unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents. Explaining that counselling may not suit everyone, but that it may help provide strategies to reduce further build up of emotional stress, strengthen emotion regulation, and increase social connectivity, can be a useful strategy. Self-harm or suicidality are extremely rare in younger children, but require urgent review if present at any age. Its release was the first step in developing a policy 2nd edn. What are the most important results you hope to get from treatment? Technology such as mobile phone applications may be useful. Developmental assessment page. Findings regarding refugee mental health can be biased both by the demographic profiles of refugee and asylum-seeker samples, which are untypical of the Australian population , and by service context. An assessment of emotional wellbeing and mental health should be part of post-arrival health screening, although concerns in these domains may only emerge over time, as trust and rapport develop. Setting realistic goals for behaviour and avoiding overreacting to difficult behaviour during transition periods. Furthermore, in some source countries, authority figures, including health professionals, may have been complicit in torture or other form/s of persecution. Objectives: The aim of this study was to report on the physical and mental health of migrant and refugee fathers participating in a population-based study of Australian children and their families. Free interpreters are available for GPs and medical specialists providing Medicare-rebateable services in private practice. Refugees and asylum seekers living in Australia are particularly vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal behaviours, but aren’t getting the specialised mental health care they need, according to a Spotlight Report published today by the National Mental Health Commission. New Roots smartphone app, ANU Australian child and adolescent trauma, loss and grief network – refugee children and families information. ADOPTED 2018 (First adopted 2002, revised 2006, 2009, and 2012) References 1. It is also important to consider the presence of family members in the room, and issues specific to working with interpreters. A comprehensive post-arrival health assessment offers an opportunity to build trust and rapport, consider risk and resilience, and raise awareness of mental health and supports in Australia. These include: A list of services for each state and territory is available in the Foundation House Promoting Refugee Health Guideline.21. 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