Barriers to access to outpatient mental health care for refugees and asylum seekers in Switzerland: the therapist’s view

Author(s) : Nikolai Kiselev, Naser Morina, Matthis Schick, Birgit Watzke, Ulrich Schnyder, Monique C. Pfaltz

Source : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02783-x

Abstract:

“More than 120,000 refugees and asylum seekers are currently living in Switzerland. The prevalence of mental disorders among this population is significantly higher than that in the general population. While effective treatment options and cross-cultural, specialized treatment centers exist, they tend to be overloaded by their target populations. General outpatient primary health care providers might be able to compensate for the lack of specialized treatment slots. To date, however, it is unknown how often and under what conditions (e.g., length of waiting lists) refugees and asylum seekers are treated outside of specialized centers and whether there are barriers that prevent providers in outpatient settings from treating more patients in this subgroup. The present study aimed to assess the challenges and barriers faced by psychiatrists and psychotherapists working in outpatient settings in Switzerland in treating refugees and asylum seekers to determine the potential capacity of this group to provide mental health care.”