“Mental Health of forced migrants” – PsychCare Project

Mental health represents an area of key concern for refugees who are subject to a series of potentially traumatic events. Effectively addressing these issues for forced migrants represents challenge for migrant reception centres throughout the EU.

In response to this challenge, the Psychoanalytic Institute for Social Research in Rome, Italy has developed Guidelines for Integrated Mental Health Care for Forced Migrants as part of the project PsychCare – Psychiatric Services for Refugees (financed by the Open Society Foundations Mental Health Program) that will be presented at the final conference to be held on November 17^th.

For many years, Italy has found itself directly involved in the phenomenon of forced migration, with important numbers of arrivals. Despite this long-gained experience, reception system and national health service still face difficulties in providing an adequate response to health needs of forced migrants. Quite often, in fact, living in reception centres have negative effects on the refugees and asylum seekers’ mental health.

Psychcare guidelines, which represent the main output of two years of work dedicated to advocacy work in four Italian regions – Lazio, Lombardy, Campania, and Sicily – involving migrant reception services and local mental health providers, are a contribution to improve the system in order to more effectively promote mental health of forced migrants, starting with early emergence of problems and prevention. The results of the project are meaningful also in a regional dimension, since all Member States face similar challenges.

Speakers at the conference include Sandra Zampa, the Italian State Secretary for Health and the Italian MEP Pietro Bartolo.

The online conference will be held from 3pm to 5:30 pm.

• Download the Event Program

The conference will be held in English and Italian. A simultaneous translation service will be provided.