Migration, Violence, Mental Health
Psychotraumatology, Health Policies and Protection
abstract
This chapter discusses psychopathological issues related to migration in general, and to the so-called ‘forced migrants’ in particular. The latter are those migrants who are forced to flee their countries to save themselves from violence. As a consequence, they are more at risk for mental health issues due to the lack of a migration project (which is a resilience factor in migrants) and to the psychotraumatic experiences they suffer. We will describe the psychopathological reactions in traumatised persons, the effect of re-traumatisation they suffer during the migratory trip, and the role of Post-Migration Living Difficulties occurring in Italy in worsening the mental health of asylum seekers. Moreover, a brief section on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on these persons will be added, focusing on mental health service utilisation. Finally, we will discuss the difficulties of the Italian National Health Service in adequately healing these persons, and the indication given by the Italian National Guidelines to create services dedicated to these topics.
Keywords: Readmission agreements • Migration • Migration, Violence • Torture • Psychotraumatology • Mental health • Violence • Crimes against humanity • Principle of non-refoulement • Borders • Mental Health