Resilience in the Shadows Mental Health of Vulnerable Refugees and Displaced Communities in Africa

Shahla Eltayeb is a professor of psychology, an international research leader, and a mental health expert with more than two decades of experience working at the intersection of trauma and resilience. Her work bridges academic scholarship with deep engagement in real-world contexts shaped by adversity and conflict, particularly in Sudan and across diverse African settings.

Holding a PhD from Maastricht University and a master's degree in health psychology from Leiden University, Eltayeb’s research and practice are grounded in culturally responsive approaches that center long-term psychological recovery. Drawing on sustained work in African and other low-resource contexts, she emphasizes locally informed pathways to healing that honor community knowledge and lived experience.

As a writer and scholar, she is drawn to narratives that unfold beyond public attention where resilience is expressed quietly through endurance, adaptation, and connection. Her work reflects a sustained commitment to understanding resilience not as the absence of suffering, but as the capacity to live, rebuild, and find purpose amid profound challenges.