Low-cost mental health tool helps refugees in limbo

Article excerpt

A self-help workbook combined with brief phone support significantly improved mental health outcomes for displaced refugees in Indonesia, according to research from UNSW. The study focused on roughly 12,000 refugees trapped in prolonged limbo, barred from working, separated from family, with no resettlement timeline in sight. The intervention, designed to be low-cost and scalable, offers a practical tool for addressing the psychological toll of indefinite displacement. Researchers tested the approach in one of the world's largest refugee populations living in this state of uncertainty.