Background: While it is recognised that many refugee and migrant clients present at mental health services with non-specific psychological distress little is known about successful intervention strategies.
Aims: The aim of this study was to systematically review clinical files to determine the degree of ‘demoralisation’ symptoms among a sample of refugee and migrant clients attending a community-based mental health service.
Method: Sixty-four closed cases were reviewed using a specifically designed case review sheet as a checklist which included diagnostic criteria for a Demoralisation Syndrome.
Results: The findings indicated that while many of the refugee and migrant clients had attracted a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, in the main they did not benefit from a normal course of treatment. Further analysis suggested that demoralisation may be a preferable concept for many of these clients rather than affective disorder. This finding suggests that demoralisation may be a different construct than low mood or depression.
Conclusions: The findings add support to the concept that demoralisation could be a distinct diagnostic entity in its own right that may be useful to clinicians attending refugee and migrant clients.
