Introduction: Mental illness remains a significant issue for refugees worldwide. However, there remains a stigma surrounding mental health, mental illness, and mental health treatment throughout the world. Cultural stigma is just one of many barriers to mental health care for refugees that needs to be addressed.
Purpose: The purpose of this review was to distinguish the perceptions of mental health among refugees according to country of origin, because knowing these cultural differences can break some of the barriers and lead to better treatment approaches to mental health care for refugees.
Methodology: An extensive literature review of relevant articles published between 2000 and 2021 was performed using the databases APA PsycInfo, Global Health, MEDLINE via Ovid, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, and Google Scholar. The following groupings of search terms were used: (i) refugees, asylum seekers, displaced, and migrants; (ii) perceptions of mental illness, perceptions of mental health, and stigma of mental illness.
Results: There were numerous similarities and differences in the perceptions of mental health among refugees from different cultures. There were similarities in terms of mental health stigma, with certain cultures thinking of mental health/illness as taboo, as shameful, or associating it with evil spirits. A few of the cultures studied had similar ideas about the causes of mental illness, believing it was due to traumatic events or possession by evil spirits. The refugee groups had some common treatment options, including informal conversation, religious-based ideas, and community-level solutions. Some of the differences between refugees from different cultures involved certain symptoms associated with mental health, including physical symptoms, and differing degrees of religiosity.
Conclusions: This review of the perceptions of mental health held by refugees from countries around the world highlights the importance of cultural differences. Mental health care in this population should focus on cultural competency and community-level solutions and include mobile health clinics and telehealth.
