Child refugees’ mental health at risk

Britain’s complicated asylum seeker process, its detention centres and UK life are damaging the mental health of refugees and their children, researchers have found. Inadequate support and resources for refugees and asylum seekers is both triggering mental health problems among asylum seekers and making any existing conditions they have worse show two new reports. In the first report to paint a picture of the services available to refugees and asylum seekers, the mental health charity Mind found people who come to the UK seeking refuge were often denied access to key services and treatments. And mental health provision for children and young people in particular was “extremely limited,” said the report, which also highlighted limited of psychological services to treat those who have experienced torture.

Mental healthcare in detention centres was inadequate to meet the high levels of need, the study found, particularly of people with severe and long-term problems. It also found limited use of interpreters by mainstream mental health services, as well as inadequate provision of culturally appropriate services. “Every year thousands of people arrive in the UK seeking sanctuary, often fleeing conflict and persecution having experienced torture, violence or imprisonment,” said the charity’s Marcel Vige. “It’s not surprising that many will have developed mental health problems as a result of their traumatic experiences but what is surprising is that many more will develop mental health problems once on UK soil. A popular assumption is that once refugees arrive in this country that their problems are over but our research has clearly shown that it can be just the beginning.”

“We found that refugees and asylum seekers routinely face isolation, poverty and destitution, which can have a devastating impact on their mental wellbeing. Accessing services is hugely difficult for a wide range of reasons, from language barriers to the stigma surrounding mental health, and this further marginalises them to the isolated fringes of society. While we came across some excellent examples of tailored services for refugee and asylum seekers a vast number are not getting much needed help.” The charity is now calling for investment in services to meet the mental health needs of refugees and asylum seekers particularly children, young people and families as well as services to address trauma and torture. More than one-third of 1 million asylum-seekers (out of approximately 4.2 million in western Europe) have come to the UK in the past decade from about 35 countries.