Children of Refugees: Torture, Human Rights, and Psychological Consequences

There is a wide gap between the psychological needs of the children of refugees and the services provided. Refugees’ home countries, cultures, and social make-up are widely diversified, and their needs cannot be readily consolidated. This diversity of interest and need goes unacknowledged by the service-providers who may treat them as a single, homogenous group. Some refugees’ needs are exaggerated, while others are ignored. This approach often ignores the justifiable and legitimate interest of refugees’ psychological wellbeing. Many children of refugees may struggle with questions of race, ethnicity, language barriers, and other socio-political and economic issues that can influence their mental health and psychological wellbeing. Preoccupations of the child’s emotions with those issues therefore have effects on child personality formations.

Apart from having an overview of the relevant processes involved in therapeutic work and possible challenges therein, it is also important for the therapist to have an overview of the child’s situation in the past and any current issues, which this book provides. In order to provide effective therapeutic intervention to children and young people, whether they are unaccompanied or with family, knowing the legal framework and human right issues is vital.