Migration has a strong impact on mental health, and treament services need more resources, according to the World Psychiatric Association. A conference in Rome titled "Migrant Mental Health" highlighted European and Italian trends in migrant mental health as well as needs and effective strategies for dealing with challenges.
Illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, and post-traumatic stress syndrome are just a few of those that can come about for many people following the decision to emigrate or flee their home country. Italian and international experts took part in a conference in Rome titled "Migrant Mental Health: European-level trends and transcultural approach", in which they affirmed how migrant mental health is an essential topic that must be part of the national Italian and European discussion in order to combat imbalances in society.
The European situation
On a European-wide level, the number of those who suffer from schizophrenia or psychosis is two to 10 times higher in the migrant population when compared to the native population, according to Dinesh Bhugra, president of the World Psychiatric Association, who spoke with ANSA on the sidelines of the conference in Rome. He said Western models musn't be imposed on migrants. "What we must do is work using cultural mediators to help those who are treating these people," he said. "Mental health services never receive the resources they need. Migration has had a stronger impact on mental disorders, which means it needs more resources," Bhugra said.
A glance at Italy
Massimiliano Aragona of Italy's National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (NIHMP) said post-traumatic stress syndrome is at the heart of migrant mental health problems. He said migrants come from traumatic situations both before and during their journeys, and that they develop disorders also due to the conditions in which they live once they reach Italy.Those conditions include boredom and "empty days" that not everyone is able to manage, "above all if they have family members who are still exposed to danger, or if they are afraid of being repatriated," Aragona said. He said psychosis isn't a common disorder in their samples, and that migrant diagnoses of schizophrenia are actually lower than those of Italians, which is the opposite of international trends. He said that's probably because "ours is a more recent immigration". "Migrants' mental suffering is an understandable reaction to their difficult living conditions," he said, adding that it's important to improve resettlement conditions.