App for Refugees

ALMHAR-App

ALMHAR is designed for refugees who had to flee from their homes and who are living in exile. Fleeing your home is an incredibly overwhelming, frightening and life-changing experience. Many refugees who had to leave their homes and countries develop some sort of emotional or physical problems due to their experiences. If this is the case for you, it does not mean you are weak or crazy. Such problems are mostly normal reactions of normal people to abnormal experiences!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the goal of this app/brochure?

Understanding of common symptoms: The app explains how and why our mind and body react to stressful events. Understanding this can be reassuring and make it less frightening. This by itself can already make you feel better.

Develop ways to actively deal with common problems: After each topic, there are practical tips on how to deal with recurrent problems. The app is not meant to replace professional help from a therapist or doctor. It is meant to give you first practical support. If symptoms do not get better with time, it might be helpful to seek more professional help.

How can you use the app?

The app consists of 12 topics, and you can read them as you like. Every topic describes a specific symptom, its causes, and tips on how to deal with them. Some tips may coincide. They can be applied to help with different problems.

What about privacy?

By using this application, you also participate in a research study that investigates the effectiveness of this app. If you agree to use the app, some personal information will be asked at the beginning (sex, age range, country of origin, country of living, 10 questions about your general stress level) as well as every 14 days (10 questions about your general stress level). You can choose, if you want to answer these questions or skip them. The app will work without answering the questions at any time. If you decide to answer the questions, the information will be anonymized collected and stored for research purposes. It is not possible to by identified by the questions you might answer and the anonymized data will not be transferred to a third party.

Are the tips for help always suitable for everyone?

All tips in the app are known to help people to deal with these particular problems. They can help you to deal actively with the problems you experience right now and influence how you feel.

However, not all tips are suitable for all situations or for everyone. It is important to try out the tips and practical exercises to find out whether or not they are helpful for you.

If you found your method, it is crucial to practice regularly in order to achieve the best results. Give it a serious try and practice as much as your current situation allows

Who can offer more help?

The practical tips we list in this app may sometimes not be enough for dealing with every problem or symptom. If your symptoms persist or worsen, it can be helpful to see an expert. Here is an idea of who-is-who:

A general practitioner is a physician who provides routine care (e. g. immunization, flu, cough).

A psychotherapist is an expert on treating mental problems using psychological methods. This usually involves regular talking sessions.

Social workers support people coping with problems in everyday life, like housing, food, work, childcare, education, finances. There are social services that offer specifc support for refugees.

Where can I download the app?

Currently, the app is not available for download.

If you would like to access the contents of the APP, please download the following brochures as PDFs in Arabic, English and Farsi. Unfortunately, a German brochure is not available.