People with a refugee background are often in need of psychosocial support. There is still a severe shortage of treatment in Switzerland.
This is where the SPIRIT project comes in and aims to improve the resilience of refugees and give them equal access to adequate health care.
Welcome
News
Research internship at the Universitätsspital Zürich
As part of the projects SPIRIT (Scaling-up Psychological Interventions in Refugees in Switzerland) and BRIGHT (Boosting Refugee Integration through Psychological Intervention), the Ambulatorium für Folter- und Kriegsopfer (AFK) is now offering an internship position.
Report from neo1 regional radio
«Refugees help refugees: The Swiss Red Cross Canton of Bern launches a new program»
Video recording of the symposium
Missed the broadcast? No problem. The recording of the symposiums “Scalable psychological interventions: Quo vadis?” is available here:
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War in Ukraine
The current situation in Ukraine leads to many people from Ukraine seeking protection in Switzerland. Therefore, the PM+ program will be extended to Ukrainian in order to ensure adequate care for Ukrainian refugees within the framework of the SPIRIT project. More information on the benefits of using PM+ in crises can be found in this video.
About half of the refugees from Ukraine are children and adolescents. In order to provide adequate treatment for these refugee children and adolescents, the SPIRIT project will be expanded to include Ukrainians under the age of 18. For this purpose, the manual “Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions” (EASE) developed by the World Health Organization is used complementary to Problem Management Plus for children and adolescents and offered as an initial psychosocial intervention.
219’529
Persons in the asylum sector in Switzerland (as of the end of 2020)
40 — 50%
of refugees in Switzerland suffer from at least one mental illness
63 — 75%
of the surveyed asylum seekers in Switzerland are not able to communicate adequately with doctors
9 — 12 months
waiting time for a therapy place at specialized institutions for a mental illness
PM+
The brief intervention Problem Management Plus (PM+) developed by the WHO is being implemented throughout Switzerland. PM+ is carried out by trained refugees in the sense of peer support and serves to strengthen the resilience and reduce the psychological stress of refugees.
Screenings
The systematic screening is intended for the early detection of psychological stress in refugees. Refugees with mental distress can thus be identified and referred further according to their needs.
Awareness campaign
The campaign aims to raise awareness of mental health issues among refugees and specialists. It also aims to raise awareness of the availability and potential benefits of PM+.
Networking
The establishment of regional, interprofessional networks with stakeholders from healthcare, migration and social services will improve psychosocial care for refugees. The so-called “Map” provides an overview of the most important actors and programs in the field of refugees.
What are the advantages of SPIRIT?
- SPIRIT circumvents linguistic, structural and socio-cultural treatment barriers through the use of peers, among other things.
- SPIRIT is scalable, i.e. many affected people can be reached with few resources
- SPIRIT is supported by national partners (e.g. State Secretariat for Migration, Swiss Red Cross) and implemented by regional partners
- SPIRIT is evidence-based and accompanied by quality assurance and research