Abstract
A psychiatry trainee reflects on a period of work on the Greek island of Samos with the international medical non-governmental organisation Medécins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, providing mental health and psychosocial support to asylum seekers. The clinic provided services to asylum seekers who were living in a crowded refugee camp, many of whom were experiencing symptoms of severe mental illness. The author reflects on the nature and severity of these presentations, and questions the role of psychiatry in treating mental illness that is clearly exacerbated by circumstances resulting from European asylum policies.
Highlights
A psychiatry trainee reflects on a period of work on the Greek island of Samos with the international medical non-governmental organisation Medécins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders, providing mental health and psychosocial support to asylum seekers
The author reflects on the nature and severity of these presentations, and questions the role of psychiatry in treating mental illness that is clearly exacerbated by circumstances resulting from European asylum policies
I had dreamed of working for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) since I began my medical degree
Summary
On Samos, MSF provides mental health and sexual and reproductive health services at two day care centres outside the camp. The aim of the project at that time was to provide quality mental healthcare and psychosocial support for asylum seekers, targeting those with more complex mental health needs. This was delivered through one-to-one and group sessions, with medication only for those with more severe symptoms. There were other organisations on the island providing mental health and psychosocial support, but overall psychologists and psychiatrists were in very short supply. Asylum seekers have the right to access the public mental health services, but the mental health department was overwhelmed and getting an appointment was extremely difficult. There were no in-patient psychiatric facilities on the island, and arranging an admission on the mainland was next to impossible and only considered in extreme circumstances
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