Looks at the intersecting worlds of sanctuary-seeking and mental health
Refugees don’t just survive displacement, they build strength, community, and new ways of coping that challenge everything we know about mental health.
The Migrant Art of Coping shares stories of refugees navigating harsh borders, restrictive laws, and failing support systems. Drawing on their words, experiences, and creative practices, each chapter offers insights and activities on belonging, care, and survival.
Whether you’re a mental health professional, a concerned citizen, or simply curious about how people find hope in the face of upheaval, this book will shift the way you see wellbeing, identity, and healing.
About the Author
Dr. Sohail Jannesari is a researcher, writer, and educator bridging mental health, migration, and social justice. He partners with sanctuary seekers, young people, survivors of human trafficking, and community groups to explore lived experience, challenge harmful systems and support wellbeing. Find out more on www.sohailj.com.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I: Moving Through an Anti-Migration World
1. Sanctuary Seekers at the Crossroads of Mental Health
2. Living Under the Weight of the Law
3. State, Charity and Legal Support: Blessing or Curse?
Part II: Resistance and Healing in Motion
4. Refusing to Be Erased
5. Building Bridges Through, Across and Because of Borders
6. Support that Moves with Lived Experience
Part III: Arriving at a New Mental Health
7. A Worldview of Mental Health
8. Decolonising Mental Health Services
9. The Art of Coping
Glossary
Notes
Index
What People Are Saying
"When you are forced to flee from state terror are you just a victim? This is the crucial question that Sohail Jannesari wants the world to reflect on as our states deepen their commitment to cruelty as statecraft. The answer, however, is not provided by him; instead he gathers the answer from an extraordinary group of sanctuary seekers who reveal to him their strength, versatility and creativity as they adapt, cope, and ultimately rebuild themselves. In Jannesari’s story, it is terror that is defeated every time a migrant re-fills an application, re-builds a home and re-plays a game of chess in a community center." Tithi Bhattacharya, Professor of South Asian History and the Director of Global Studies at Purdue University
"The Migrant Art of Coping expertly speaks to the intersection between mental health, migration, anti-racism, and decolonisation. It draws on sanctuary seeker resistance to imagine ways of improving the mental health of sanctuary seekers, as well as mental health services, in ways that can better serve the diverse needs of today’s multicultural societies. It is a powerful call to action, a hopeful manifesto for change, and a must read for anyone interested in migration and mental health." Lucy Mayblin, author of Asylum After Empire: Postcolonial Legacies in the Politics of Asylum Seeking