ABSTRACT
It is understandable that the endurance of trauma is always the first issue to feature in any discussion of the refugee experience. This chapter explores ideas concerning the fulfillment of this task, building on some experience both at the Refugee Therapy Centre and with participants in social psychiatry research projects. The important role of social support in promoting both physical and mental health has long been acknowledged in research circles but has gained much wider acceptance. Social integration involves a behavioural component—active engagement in a wide range of social activities or relationships—and a cognitive component—a sense of communality and identification with one’s social roles. Some writers see social capital as representing the sum of an individual’s resources, but others define it as belonging to whole communities so that each individual residing in that locality can benefit from such “capital”. In contrast to this “communitarian” approach, the “network” approach adopts a micro-level analysis.
