To address this, researchers from the University of Warsaw have helped create MentalHealth4All, an international digital platform aimed at supporting the mental well-being of migrants and refugees across the European Union.

The Polish version of the platform, available at www.mentalhealth4all.eu/pl, was developed by a team from the University of Warsaw’s Institute of Applied Linguistics: Professor Łucja Biel, Professor Agnieszka Biernacka, Urszula Okulska-Łukawska, Aleksandra Kalata-Zawłocka, and Katarzyna Czarnocka-Gołębiewska.

The tool, designed for both migrants and professionals working with them, is currently available in 15 languages.

“As part of the project, our team conducted numerous interviews with refugees and migrants, as well as social workers, cultural mediators, translators, psychologists, and psychiatrists. This allowed us to identify the needs, barriers, and communication strategies in accessing mental health support,” said project leader Professor Łucja Biel.

Based on their findings, the team prepared multilingual information materials and educational videos, co-created and evaluated with input from both specialists and migrants.

“Migrants and refugees face numerous mental health problems. These problems result from traumatic experiences in their own countries, such as war or other crises, sexual violence, and economic hardship. Therefore, these individuals may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety disorders,” explained Aleksandra Kalata-Zawłocka.

She added that the migration process itself can also be traumatic. “People on this journey encounter violence and life-threatening situations. Sending them back to another country, known as pushback, is also a source of enormous stress. Fear for their own survival and that of their loved ones, for their very existence, arises,” she said.

The challenges don’t end upon arrival in a new country. Migrants often don’t speak the local language, are unfamiliar with the culture, lack financial stability, and are unsure where to turn for help, all factors that can exacerbate mental health conditions.

“Our interviews revealed that a significant problem is a lack of stability and uncertainty about the future, for example, how long this situation will last and when it will be possible to return to one's own country,” said Professor Biel.

According to Kalata-Zawłocka limited access to care in one's native language remains a major obstacle. “The communication barrier is enormous,” she said. “Furthermore, they do not know how medical care works in a given country. For example, in Poland, we have problems getting an appointment with a psychiatrist, the wait for an appointment reimbursed by the National Health Fund is very long.”

Fear of stigma and privacy breaches also discourages many migrants from seeking help.

“Seeking help of a therapist or psychiatrist is often accompanied by shame and fear that someone from the local community will find out, which might, for example, be against cultural norms in a given country,” Kalata-Zawłocka said. “The presence of an interpreter often raises concerns that this information might leak out. This is where prejudice against interpreters comes from.”

Professor Biel added that women, who made up the majority of study participants, expressed particular fears. “Migrant and refugee women fear that in the event of a divorce, their husbands will exploit the fact that they sought psychiatric treatment,” she said.

The MentalHealth4All platform aims to address these obstacles by providing clear, accessible, and culturally sensitive information for both migrants and the professionals who work with them. It includes guidance on recognizing mental health issues, navigating healthcare systems, and locating support services in various European countries.

“The platform shows, for example, how to initially recognize a mental health problem. This is important because not everyone realizes they have such a problem,” Kalata-Zawłocka said.

The platform is the result of a three-year international initiative, MHealth4All: Development and implementation of a digital platform for the promotion of access to mental healthcare for low-language-proficient third-country nationals in Europe.

It was co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF), with participation from 13 partners across nine countries, including universities and NGOs. The project team included specialists in intercultural communication, interpreting, clinical and social psychology, psychiatry, and migrant support.

The platform offers resources in Turkish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Dutch, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Slovenian, Chinese, Persian, Arabic, and English. It also includes a map of mental health support centres across Europe.

A map of centers that provide assistance is also available.

For more information or to access the platform, visit www.mentalhealth4all.eu.

Joanna Morga (PAP)

jjj/ agt/ amac/