Prof Angela Nickerson (USNW) - Coping with uncertainty: Understanding the impact of external and internal factors on refugee mental health

Abstract

There are currently over 110 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, and, in 2022 less than 1% of these were permanently resettled. Accordingly, tens of millions of people around the world are coping with prolonged uncertainty in the aftermath of significant exposure to trauma and adversity. There is an urgent need for research evidence to inform both structural change and evidence-based psychological interventions to improve the mental health of refugees living with prolonged uncertainty. In this talk, I will present findings from longitudinal research studies undertaken with refuges living in in Australia and Indonesia. These studies elucidate how external (e.g. visa insecurity) and internal (e.g. cognitive appraisals) factors impact on the mental health of refugees living with prolonged uncertainty. Findings will be discussed in the context of using research evidence to inform structural policy change, and evidence-based clinical practice to support refugees to recover from the psychological effects of trauma and displacement.  

About the speaker

Angela Nickerson is Professor and Director of the Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program at the School of Psychology at UNSW, and an NHMRC Investigator Leadership Fellow. Angela leads a program of research at UNSW that uses longitudinal and experimental methods, as well as randomized controlled trials, to understand factors influencing refugee mental health, and to inform policy and clinical practice. Angela is a clinical psychologist who has worked with refugees in Australia, Switzerland, the US, Timor-Leste and Indonesia. She is currently President-Elect of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.