The overall objective was to improve the mental health training of professionals from health and social sector who work with migrants and refugees in various settings (e.g. psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, physicians, nurses, cultural mediators, interpreters, counselors). The project consortium developed a innovative, comprehensive modular training (in five curricula and five languages) that was made available through an e-learning platform. The training was developed based on the target groups’ views, collected through co-creation activities in the partner countries. In the longer term, EU-MiCare will improve service delivery for migrants and refugees, while contributing to the development of a more effective, integrated multidisciplinary approach in the provision of mental health services to this population in the consortium countries and beyond.
Migrants and refugee flows to Europe – often from war regions - have become recurring phenomena. Migrants and refugees are often faced with unique and prolonged stressors and adversities during their journey and settlement in a new country. The psychosocial well‐being of this population has become of critical concern not only for migrants themselves but also for host communities and health services of transit and final destination countries. Despite the increased need for receiving support, migrants and refugees are often underrepresented in mental health services, and service providers and professionals report a lack of training opportunities that would help them better to understand the needs and conditions of these populations and to act accordingly. EU-MiCare responds to the needs of professionals in the healthcare and social sector to be trained on the specific area of refugee and migrant mental health. By offering content tailored to the previous experiences and knowledge, the project addressed the training needs of different professional categories, such as healthcare professionals (including mental health professionals), social workers, physicians, psychologists/psychotherapists, cultural mediators/interpreters.