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. 2025 Sep;49(3):523-543.
doi: 10.1007/s11013-025-09923-6. Epub 2025 Jul 18.

Experience of Personal Recovery from Mental Disorders Among West African Refugees: A Clinical Case Study

Marie-Aude Piot  1 , Sarah Stabler  2 , Marie Köenig  3 , Clément Nougarède  2 , Stéphanie Larchanché  4 , Jean-Sébastien Cadwallader  5   6 , Amina Ayouch-Boda  2 , Christine Lefin-Ringuenet  2 , Karine Lacombe  2   6 , Laure Surgers  2   6
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Experience of Personal Recovery from Mental Disorders Among West African Refugees: A Clinical Case Study

Marie-Aude Piot et al. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Exposure to multiple vulnerability factors increase the likelihood of refugees experiencing mental health issues. Certain post-migratory factors exacerbate these disorders, while the processes of personal recovery remain unclear. This study explored the experience of personal recovery among West African refugees with mental issue, with the aim of helping health professionals in host countries to provide more appropriate care. We used the qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis method. Ten participants were purposively sampled for face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Two themes emerged from the analysis. Despite their extreme socio-economic precariousness, mental disorders were perceived as forbidden conditions compared to the processes of acceptance of their somatic pathologies; hindering access to mental healthcare more markedly. Rebuilding a sense of security basis in the host country was seen as an essential step, but was also associated with factors that hindered the care process. Certain encounters could enable a return to care with patience, understanding and warmth. Our results highlighted the need to overcome some short-term self-protection strategies by adopting a benevolent attitude and active listening, ensuring secure socio-economical conditions first to enable mental care, increase the multicultural skills of healers, and support therapies that are not limited to face-to-face approach through activity, art, and group support. This may help to limit the risk of transmission of suffering to future generations.

Keywords: Africa; Communicable disease; Mental health recovery; Qualitative research; Refugee; Western.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. Ethical Approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the National Research Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The French Research Committee of “Comité de protection des Personnes Sud Mediterranée” approved this study: N°2018-A01480-55. This qualitative study was conducted together with a quantitative part whom manuscript entitled “Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases in a hospitalized migrant population in Paris, France, a retrospective study”. It was published in 2022 ( https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604792 ) . Ethics approval was delivered by the Institutional Review Board: N° 2017-A02859-44. Informed Consent Before the interviews we provided to all participants oral information, including the study's purpose, emphasis on voluntary participation, confidentiality of interviews, and absence of consequences on their care for their participation (or nonparticipation). Written consent was obtained from all participants. Trial Registration Following French law ( https://www.cnil.fr/fr/reglement-europeen-protection-donnees ), this study was registered in the French Public Directory of Reference method ( https://documentation-snds.health-data-hub.fr/fiches/methodologies_de_reference.html#champs-d-application ) under the Number 4914111018.

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