Asylum seekers’ needs ‘not met’

TEAMS of specialists to provide psychological services to asylum seekers who suffer from complex mental health problems still have not been set up, as recommended by a 2008 report.

In a special report on the topic, the College of Psychiatry of Ireland recommended that multidisciplinary teams with an interest in the mental health of asylum seekers should be established in urban centres.

The report noted that the mental health care of asylum seekers requires skills “not normally found in a conventional mental health setting” and pointed out the needs of asylum seekers did not feature in A Vision for Change, a reform document for mental health services.