Addressing trauma in collaborative mental health care for refugee children

Abstract

Primary care institutions, including clinics, schools and community organizations, because of their closeness to the family living environment, are often in a privileged position to detect problems in traumatized refugee children and to provide help. In a collaborative care model, the child psychiatrist consultant can assist the primary care consultee and family in holding the trauma narrative and organizing a safe network around the child and family. The consultant can support the establishment of a therapeutic alliance, provide a cultural understanding of presenting problems and negotiate with the consultee and the family a treatment plan. In many settings, trauma focused psychotherapy may not be widely available, but committed community workers and primary care professionals may provide excellent psychosocial support and a forum for empathic listening that may provide relief to the family and the child.