[Psychiatric work among refugees in Indochina].

Refugee psychiatry deals with reactions related to escape and camp life, and to adjustment reactions to the host country. ICM (The Intergovernmental Committee for Migration) deals with refugees from the time they are accepted somewhere. This includes transportation, and medical screening to make sure that refugees are fit for travel, satisfy public health requirements etc. This work involves evaluations and efforts to improve health, such as keeping patients out of the psychotic stage and detoxifying opium users. Essentially, a refugee population has the same psychopathology as any other group, and the important thing is that they be understood in the wider frame of reference of their political and cultural background.