This study focused on the uniqueness and complexity of refugee children’s experiences on their way and upon arrival to Greece. The study involved 18 students, 13 Iraqi Kurds, 2 Afghans, 1 Kuwaiti and 2 Syrians, from an integration programme at a Greek elementary school in central Macedonia. Children’s narratives were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three overarching themes emerged from the data: (1) open wounds, (2) a never-ending journey and (3) restricted mobility – mental immobility
BetancourtTS (2005) Stressors, supports and the social ecology of displacement: Psychosocial dimensions of an emergency education program for Chechen adolescents displaced in Ingushetia, Russia. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry29(3): 309–340.
2.
BronsteinIMontgomeryP (2011) Psychological distress in refugee children: A systematic review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review14(1): 44–56.
3.
De RuukN (2002) The Pharos School Prevention Programme Manual. Final Report of Project for the European Commission. Canterbury: University of Kent.
4.
FazelMBetancourtTS (2018) Preventive mental health interventions for refugee children and adolescents in high-income settings. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health2(2): 121–132.
5.
FazelMSteinA (2002) The mental health of refugee children. Archives of Disease in Childhood87(5): 366–370.
6.
HodesMJagdevDChandraN, et al. (2008) Risk and resilience for psychological distress amongst unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry49(7): 723–732.
7.
JoshiPTFayyadJA (2015) Displaced children: The psychological implications. Child & Adolescence Psychiatric Clinics of North America24(4): 715–730.
8.
LijtmaerRM (2001) Splitting and nostalgia in recent immigrants: Psychodynamic considerations. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis29(3): 427–438.
9.
NakeyarCEssesVReidGJ (2017) The psychosocial needs of refugee children and youth and best practices for filling these needs: A systematic review. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry23(2): 186–208.
10.
SameroffA (2010) A unified theory of development: A dialectic integration of nature and nurture. Child Development81: 6–22.
11.
SmithJAEatoughV (2006) Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In: BreakwellGFife-SchawCHammondS, et al. (eds) Research Methods in Psychology, 3rd edn.London: SAGE, pp. 322–341.
12.
SmithJAOsbornM (2003) Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In: SmithJA (ed.) Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods. London: SAGE, pp. 51–80.
