Professor of Modern Languages ​​at the University of Alcalá, Raquel Lázaro, is the coordinator of the European project Mental Health for All in which nine countries participated to develop a multilingual, culturally sensitive and evidence-based digital information and communication platform in mental health, which reduces language and cultural barriers in access to mental health services for refugees and migrants.

What is the project about?

This is a European project that has been running for two years out of a total of three years, financed by the AMIF Fund (the abbreviation in English for Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) of the European Union, and its aim is to remove barriers to access to citizens’ mental health medical services. third country. To do this, we created a multilingual resource arsenal so that mental health professionals and patients have the means to increase access to these services. Mental Health for All is divided into two disciplines. On the one hand, resources related to translation, interpretation, multilingual and intercultural communication and, on the other hand, mental health, for this reason we work with professionals in the fields of psychology, psychiatry and health communication in the project . During the first year of the project, we have analyzed what resources exist and how we can make them more accessible in the countries that are part of the consortium: Spain, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia. .

Given this analysis, have you noticed much difference in multilingual mental health resources in each of these countries?

In Spain there are many resources. Perhaps the country analyzed with the least amount of material is Lithuania, but this has to do with the number of immigrants they receive. In this analysis, in addition to resource mapping, surveys of health professionals and interviews with language service providers, namely translators and interpreters and intercultural mediators, have been included.

What types of multilingual mental health services are there in Spain?

There is no stable scheme by region, as many health systems also implement intercultural mediation services financed by regional health services, city halls, or some private or public project. For example, in the Community of Madrid, there is an ‘Intercultural health’ program, which was started at the Ramón y Cajal Hospital and has become well established, not only in mental health but also in any medical specialty. The bottom line is that mental health deserves special attention, not only at the European level, but also for detecting social problems and ensuring that there are resources and funds to address these problems. it is a very different matter according to different languages ​​and cultures. For example, disorders that are very common in Spain, such as anxiety or autism, are not even considered diseases in other countries.

At what point was the study?

We are currently finalizing preliminary results from surveys and interviews with mental health professionals, language service providers, and patients from third countries. This phase will be completed by the end of June and the results will be transferred to other work packages. In addition, we have also created mental health promotion videos with scripts in various languages, both in the countries participating in the project and in the languages ​​of third countries. We have also compiled a list of recommendations for action, including having professionals in translation, interpretation, and intercultural mediation, instead of using family and friends for this task. Similarly, we recommend that professionals who perform intermediation and translation work be knowledgeable about mental health. To support this recommendation we have prepared special training for them.

How did UAH participate in this project?

Most importantly, we’ve tackled the second work package, which is resource mapping. The platform currently operates on a pilot basis and it is now possible to search for available resources in each country. The University of Alcalá has a strategic role in this project, not only because of the creation of this repository, but also because it will consume new resources that we create.