The latest inform from the European Migration Network (EMN) examines the challenges migrants face in accessing mental health services and the responses of Member States to these challenges.

Forced migrants are often at higher risk of developing mental health conditions due to exposure to stressors before, during and after their migration process, and specific groups - such as women, children, victims of gender-based violence and victims of trauma - can find themselves facing other difficulties that compound this risk. Early interventions and support from host countries and communities, such as measures to facilitate affordable and non-discriminatory access to services or to reduce communication barriers, can be hugely beneficial to those at risk.

This inform maps the policies in place in European Union (EU) Member States to provide support to legally residing migrants and to ensure their access to mental health services, focusing on the underlying challenges that migrants face in accessing mental health services, and the practices developed by Member States to address these challenges. 16 Member States identified effective measures, which broadly focused on training professionals, providing specialised services and ensuring migrants’ access to mental health services through universal access to healthcare. 

The mapping focuses on policies for all third-country nationals legally residing in the EU.