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In this special journal issue, we focus on the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and families who have been forced to flee their homes due to extreme, catastrophic conditions resulting from war, religious and ethnic persecution, violence, and human rights violations.
Tragically, we continue in the twenty-first century to confront the mental health consequences of these devastating experiences impacting children, youth, and families worldwide. In recent years, persons in South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, the Northern triangle of Central America (NOTC), and Venezuela are among those reported to be most significantly impacted, many fleeing their former homelands, and arriving in Turkey, other countries in the Middle East, Europe, Australia, the United States and Canada seeking asylum and resettlement. (For further demographics based on United Nations reports, see Kaplin, D., 2019). Though the countries of origin may differ from those of earlier years, the consequences are sadly familiar. Few of us can fail to be moved by the photos of children trapped and/or fleeing war-torn and violence-ridden areas. We are devastated at the sight of youngsters escaping bombs, small children confined behind barbed wire or fences, and the bodies of asylum-seeking children washed ashore on the beaches of countries in various locations worldwide. The diversity of needs presented by those effected compel us to continue to grow in our understanding of international policy, psycho-social impact and recent approaches to assessment and treatment interventions at various stages of the forced migration experience. Articles in this special issue present the thinking and personal reflections of contemporary clinicians involved currently with these populations. Some are newer voices, others more seasoned contributors to these efforts. We also wish to acknowledge a long history of the contributions of mental professionals on whose shoulders many stand as they d