International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling
Volume 40, Issue 4, 2018, Pages 365-386

The Role of Mental Health Counselors in International Human Rights: Reflections on Counseling Services with Urban Refugees at the Refugee Law Project in Kampala, Uganda (Article)

Lanfranchi M.* , Akinsulure-Smith A.M.
  • a North Academic Center, The City College of New York, CUNY, 7/120, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, United States
  • b North Academic Center, The City College of New York, CUNY, 7/120, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, United States

Abstract

Drawing on the experiences of a Mental Health Counselor trainee in the Anti-Torture and Mental Health Unit of the Legal and Psychosocial Department of the Refugee Law Project in Kampala, Uganda, this article provides an overview of the refugee population and services in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in East Africa. Using case examples, this paper highlights the challenges of and opportunities for providing effective mental health services to this population within this context, while reflecting on the first author’s experience. The article concludes with considerations for ethical and culturally competent practices for mental health counselors in the early stage of their professional careers who are new to the field of human rights and social justice. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Author Keywords

Mental health counseling Forced migrants Uganda human rights Psychosocial services

Index Keywords

career counseling social justice refugee mental health service counselor Uganda Article human human experiment
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85044048537&doi=10.1007%2fs10447-018-9331-5&partnerID=40&md5=aa2a8a945022bf4f5587e3d74ac6b8bc
DOI: 10.1007/s10447-018-9331-5
ISSN: 01650653
Original Language: English