Alternative Approaches to Wellbeing
The Alternative Approaches for Refugee Mental Health Wellbeing as “Recommendations” for refugee service providers was developed to address the changing and growing needs of refugees in New Jersey and the existent lack of culturally appropriate mental health services to address refugee wellbeing. This project was initiated under the auspices of the Refugee Wellness Council, that brought together a group of refugee service providers, mental health clinicians and academic researchers, who identified this gap in their extensive work with refugees in various capacities. This white paper was developed to provide recommendations to refugee resettlement service providers and includes specific interventions addressing the cultural identity and the pre-migration, migration and post-migration experiences of the refugees we serve in New Jersey. These interventions are evidence based in cross cultural contexts and comprise trauma informed practices effective in addressing the complexity of refugee experiences.
The Refugee Wellness Council hopes that organizations serving refugees in NJ can implement, monitor and evaluate these practices, with the goal of creating sustainable mental health interventions that ensure overall wellness in our refugee communities. We welcome your feedback! Please email cwsjerseycity@cwsglobal.org with any comments or suggestions.
