Working with Traumatized Immigrants with a ptsd Diagnosis

Abstract

Graef-Calliess Iris (Germany).

Germany has always been an important host country for asylum seekers. Although recently an increasing number of investigations about mental health of specific migrant groups have been published in Germany, there is a paucity of research concerning mental health of traumatized asylum seekers. The aim of the presentation is to present study results which describe socio-demographics, types and frequency of traumatic experiences, psychiatric diagnoses, suicidality and time to access to mental health care in traumatized asylum seekers who applied to an outpatient department of a clinical center with high expertise in transcultural psychiatry and psychotherapy in Hannover, Germany. The study shows that most of the traumatized asylum seekers had experienced multiple pre-migratory traumatic events, had unfavorable post-migratory conditions, had PTSD and depressive disorders as diagnoses, and had high suicidality and late access to mental health care. This is indicative of the mental health situation of asylum seekers in Germany in general. Ways of dealing with this challenge for the mental health care system and options for clinical management will be presented.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.