Hunger, thirst, lack of hygiene and lack of medical care are not the only problems for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. They also suffer from depression, anxiety and stress, due not only to their displacement, but to their precarious existence. To help overcome these issues, some organizations, such as Medicins du Monde, the Amel Association and the ADN Center, focus on mental health and meet with the refugees to talk and treat their distress. This is not only good news for the Syrian refugees, who currently number more than 1 million, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. It's also good news for Lebanon, where new policies and action toward mental health treatment could be implemented.

In December 2014, nine men and women gathered at 8 a.m. at the ADN Center in Tripoli to listen to speech therapist and psychologist Zanoob El Zohory present a session about acceptable behavior for children and how to get them to overcome anxiety.

The ADN Center is a free psychology clinic created by Lebanese and Syrian aid workers, volunteers and doctors with the help of the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations. Every day, around 15 doctors and trainees who specialize in psychology gather to talk about the best techniques to treat their patients before visiting the nearby camps, such as Hay al-Tanak, al-Minieh, Nabi Youchaa and Markibta. At the camps, they may discover new cases, as well as follow up on ones they have already started to treat.

In al-Minieh camp in northern Tripoli, there are two weekly group sessions — one with the parents to advise them on their children’s issues and another with the children who suffer mostly from nocturnal enuresis (nighttime incontinence) and panic attacks. “It is very important to focus on the refugees’ mental health, because the conflict lasts for too long,” said Dr. Amer Kabakibo, the Syrian-French medical doctor who co-founded the ADN Center.