Chapter 20 - Migrants and mental health:

Summary

Mental health services have often been found inaccessible or inappropriate by members of migrant, black and minority ethnic (BME) and other minority communities, and usage has been reported to be poor compared to the white community. Migrants are frequently divided into two distinct groups, although other categorisations are possible. Within any grouping, there will be a number of subgroups. The group listed as forced migrants includes refugees and asylum seekers. An asylum seeker is someone who has left their country of origin and applied for refugee status and is awaiting a decision on their application. Some migrants will not be fluent in English and will require the services of an interpreter to enable them to access mental health services. The need for training for both interpreters and clinicians is increasingly recognised by mental health practitioners, as are the advantages for patients of a trained and experienced interpreter.